Dyeing Adventures....

As you can see from all my pictures..... I had a ball playing with dye this weekend. The results were wonderful. If you remember around Christmas I was using Kool-Aid to dye some yarn. This yarn is dyed with Country Classics for wool. I used the stove top method and the Mason canning jars method. I definitely learned a few things along the way. If you look at the last picture I posted. You can see the light heathery base of the Yarn I was using. It is some Bartlett yarn that is about ten years old. Those colors were all the rage ten years ago. I wanted to list the base of yarn and colors used. This way you can get a sense of the results.

Photo #1 Pale red base dyed with Raspberry

Photo #2 Pale yellow base dyed with Cornflower Blue

Photo #3 Pale red base dyed with Cherry ( I love this one!)

Photo #4 Pale lavender base dyed with Raspberry

Photo #5 Pale gold base(very UGLY!!!) dyed with Evergreen (this looks much better then the gold)

I have a batch of Cherry over the pale gold base, on the stove right now. I am hoping for a pumpkin orange color. I really love these dyes. The colors are very vivid. The skeins I am dyeing are 4 ounce skeins. So.....This is what I learned. For the blue and green batches I used the large Mason canning jars. The jar was really too full between the yarn and the water. I ended up with uneven results because I could not stir the yarn around properly. On Sunday morning I decided to dye each skein again using the stove top method. They both came out with beautiful even results. I think the jar method would work well with two or three ounce skeins. I would like to try dyeing a couple of colors on the skeins. I have even been dreaming of dyeing yarn in my sleep. Did I hear someone say I am compulsive? Also, If you want to see a gorgeous lace scarf? Hop on over to
Robbyn's blog. She designed a beautiful "Seaweed and Shells" scarf. She is even kind enough to share the pattern with us. Quick update on my Peaches.... She is healing more every day. Her belly is shaved and her gorgeous long tail is chopped up. But, all that will fill in eventually. She thanks everyone for thinking of her during her recovery. She sends many purrs to all of you.

Dyeing adventures









/Samples 

Happy Kitty and dying yarn...

Here is a quick update about my little "Peach". She had her sutures removed last Friday. The vet was just thrilled with how she is healing. On Thursday of this week, we let her out of her pen. Let me just say....She is one happy kitty. We have had more kitty loving then a parent should have. She has a sparkle back in her gorgeous green eyes. I really think she has not felt this well in a very long time. My husband and I are glad we decided on the surgery. On to knitting news. I have been working on my "Branching Out" scarf. It is about half way finished. I started another
Lucy Bag in some grey "Galway". This is a Christmas present for my partner at work. It is a great pattern and makes an adorable bag. It is a portable project to take out on the boat. Do you remember the bunch of Bartlett yarn in my stash? It is a light heather muted shades. Last winter, I dyed some of it with Kool-Aid. I have been playing around with Country Classic Wool Dyes . I used the raspberry shade over some muted red. The color is fantastic. I bought three other shades yesterday. I am going to head outside and get dying shortly. I will post some pictures of the finished results later. The whole dying thing is so much fun. At some point I would like to try some of the yarn from KnitPicks. They have a fingering weight that you can dye for socks. Well.... I am going to run for now. I have peppers to stuff before I can go out and play. Have a great weekend everyone.

Peaches new home and Baby Blanket...

I would like to take a minute, to thank you for all your healing thoughts for "Peaches". I wanted to drop each of you a note, but have been very busy with her care. She came home from the hospital on Monday afternoon. We have instructions a mile long for her care. The most important being..... She can not be running around and jumping for three weeks. The first thing she did when we opened the carrier was jump up on the couch and desk. Needless to say Monday was a whirlwind. My husband stayed home from work and designed a cage/pen for her. As you can see from the picture, she has extra room. I tried confining her to a large dog crate. She tried to claw her way out. There was just not enough room for her. She is on a morphine patch and several other medicines. I have to carefully bath her incision and rear end each day.

For the most part she is quite medicated and sleeping all day. I wake up the minute she cries at night. It is kind of a pain whimper and breaks my heart. I think she is coming along in her recovery. She is eating and drinking and using the litter box. It is still quite painful for her. We go back to the surgeon on Friday. I have only been working till 2:30 this week. My husband leaves for work at 2:30 and it takes two of us to administer the medicine. My customers have been very understanding. We are up to $3,000.00 dollars for her care. Thank god, I had a zero balance on the credit card. I know we made the right decision with the surgery. I have no regrets at all. I will tighten up the budget and figure out a way to pay the bill off. We both are willing to sacrifice whatever it takes for her care. I had a few customers that said we were crazy to put that kind of money into a cat. She is a part of the family and gives us more love and affection then we can count. You can not put a price tag on that!

Now.....On to some knitting content. I FINALLY finished the edging on the

Pinwheel Baby Blanket . I am very happy with the way it looks. I can't remember if I said I was using the edging from the "Truly Tasha Shawl". Now I am going to get back to my "Branching Out" scarf. I am getting the itch to cast on a pair of socks too. I guess I will close for now. I am so behind on reading blogs. I am anxious to see what everyone is working on.

Peaches\



Pinwheel Baby Blanket/

Closeup 

Pins and needles.....

I have no knitting content today. My poor blanket is languishing in its basket. My life the past few weeks has been wrapped up with my cat "Peaches". I found out yesterday she would need the surgery for "Megacolon". She had not passed any stool since Sunday. I had to take her back to the vets yesterday. Her bowel is seriously impacted. There was one point yesterday..... I was told I may have to choose to put her to sleep. My vet does not do this type of surgery. He thought the success rate was minimal with this surgery. By the end of the day, he put me in contact with the doctor across town. He specializes in this surgery. I transported her to the hospital last night. The doctor was very thorough and explained everything. He feels she will have no problem pulling through the surgery. It is very serious as they remove all of her colon.She will have a long recuperating process. Eventually she will be able to live a "normal" life. Basically all the medicines and procedures we were using did not work. There is no other alternatives but to operate. I know all of the pet owners can relate to the lengths we will go for our pets. If she had cancer or some other condition, I make make other choices.She is only seven years old. We brought her home from the shelter three years ago. She is such a huge part of our family. I just received a call from the vet. She is under anesthesia and being prepped for surgery. I am on pins and needles waiting for the next call. I think I will get my shower and keep myself busy for now. I'll end this post for now and add an update later.

**UPDATE**
Peaches came through the surgery. Dr. Woods said there was no doubt it was a case of "Megacolon". The colon was about four times its normal size.She is resting comfortably now. We are going to go see her some time tomorrow. If all goes well,she may be able to come home early next week. Thank you all for your wonderful hugs and thoughts.Off to try and get some sleep. Have a great weekend everyone.