FOs and UFOs

As a bit of a stay of execution, I managed to get today off from work--4 days in a row would have killed me. Thank you Marta for taking today from me. Recognizing this day as a blessing, I believe I've made the most of it. I decided today should be a day for finishing. First up, Aunt Michelle's Cancer Sucks Socks.

I found out my aunt has small cell lung cancer a couple of weeks ago. As a nurse, I believe I've come to view death as a part of life, and it sucks that she's sick. But me getting all upset about it isn't going to make her feel any better. But you know what might? A pair of nice, cozy socks! This is the monkey pattern from Knitty, the second time I've knit this, and I do so love the pattern. And love the yarn also: Cherry Tree Hill sock yarn.

Second finished object, the Americana blanket. For the past 3 or 4 weeks, all that's been left to do for this blanket was bind off the i-cord border and sew in all the yarn ends. 36 yarn ends was enough to put me off finishing this project, but today, while watching When Harry Met Sally, I bit the bullet and wove 'em in. I had so much fun making this blanket. I love the stripes, the yarn is so soft--I think it will make an excellent baby blanket.

The cable-yoke jacket is coming along--I finished sewing the sleeves to the body, now I've picked up the stitches for the button band, I bought the buttons today. Once the button bands are done, all that'll be left is the collar! Maybe I can finish it tonight if I stop blogging. :)

In the category of renewed vigor, I've picked up the Florentine Clapotis I put down last spring and forgot about--I think it as the cooler weather we had last week. Maybe I can actually wear it this fall!

I successfully died some kelly green yarn!! And, a bit less successfully, some red-purple yarn.

The green was dyed putting the kelly green dye over the royal blue dye. The red-purple was from 2 packets of black cherry Kool-Aid and 6 packets of grape Kool-aid; I had hoped it would be predominantly purple, but oh well, I love it anyways.

A couple of non-knitting items: I got a massage today at Super Magic Fingers on W 81st St. So wonderful, and cheap! I saw the film The Jane Austen Book Club--it was a nice romantic comedy--not too cheesy even!

Ok, here goes

My first knitting blog entry! I don't really know how to start. I might as well talk about what I'm working on right now. First, a mitered square blanket (pattern adapted from Mason-Dixon Knitting):

Americana Blanket, yarn: Katia Jamaica (4 balls), needles: US size 7

The squares are joined with single crochet on the back side. I'm chugging my way through the applied i-cord border. I really like the neat and tidy edge it creates. First, I went around the whole blanket with single crochet, now I'm working a 4-stitch i-chord. The edge is so soft, I think a baby will have a nice time running its fingers along the edge.

Next, cable yoke jacket from Debbie Bliss Simply Baby. I'm aiming for a 2-year-old size, though sizing kid garments without the kid present is a little challenging for me--I always fear that the sleeves won't be properly proportioned.

2-Tone Cable Jacket, yarn: Cascade Sierra (2 skeins dark blue, 1 skein light blue), needles: US size 6 for stockinette, size 5 for cables

I love the way this pattern is coming out so far. I'm trying to knit this up with as few seems as possible. So far, it looks like the only seems will be at the shoulders (3 needle bind off), and where the sleeves join the body. I have a bit of work left on this: sleeves, middle zipper bands, find appropriate zipper, collar. The yarn is so soft--and machine washable!

Yesterday I had a bit of a dyeing adventure. My first foray beyond Koo-Aiding. I got some Jacquard dyes a few weeks ago at Lee's Art Supplies on 57th. My goal was to make yarn that was mostly kelly green with short runs of royal blue. The first step was taking the skein of Cascade 220 and turning it into a much longer loop:

The next step was soaking the yarn. I soaked it for about 1/2 an hour, I think.

While the yarn was soaking, I mixed the dyes (1/4 teaspoon dye in 1 cup boiling water with 2 tablespoons white vinegar) and prepared a workspace on the kitchen table. Since we don't get the newspaper, I used a couple JCrew catalogues. On top of that, I laid out a long piece of saran wrap in a sortof-circle. My yarn loop was longer than the available space, so I had to double it up a bit on the table.

I applied the dye to the yarn with sponge brushes, about 5/6 green, 1/6 blue. I forgot to take pictures of this part, sorry! I had the gloves on, and I was really into it. Once the yarn seemed saturated with dye, I wrapped up the yarn in the saran wrap like a big yarn burrito, put it in a microwave safe bowl with a bunch of water and started microwaving it.

I cooked it in 2 5-minute sessions on high followed by a 3-minute session on low, with cool-off periods in between. I tried really hard to keep the water from boiling. Next time I'd really like to have a dying pot (aka a big cheap pot) so I could cook it on the stove. Anyways, here's my finished product!

I've named the color Un-lose-able because it's that bright. Those colors you see are true to life. It's not exactly kelly green. Oh well. Next time, I'll mix double the amount of green pigment I mix. I'm not sure what will be come from this yarn. Probably something for a kid, who else will wear day-glo green? The whole process seemed to take forever, but I'm pleased with the finished product. It probably wouldn't have seemed like such an ordeal if it had been a little bit cooler in the kitchen.

Anyways, there you have it, my first knitting blog entry! Today I'm going to Coney Island with some friends from work, and I'm bringing along my purse sock (pics to follow). Fingers crossed the sun comes out, it's overcast now.