The Nose Knows

Smells

When we moved to Berkeley I was expecting to have to make some adjustments. Although we share a coast, the Bay Area is quite different from Seattle in many ways—part of the adventure of moving, especially for a set-in-her-ways third-generation Puget Sounder. But really—when you live in a densely populated city, why would you expect that the animal your dog has cornered in the back yarn would be a SKUNK??? Shadow, acting like the Cowardly Lion (“Let me at him!”), was persuaded back into the house before disaster occurred.

One insomniac night I was looking out the front windows only to be startled by some movement near the car: two deer, grazing along the sidewalk. Spooky and lovely.

Other Smells

Mix undyed wool, Kool Aid packets, and a free half hour, and what do you get? A mess, frankly!

Start out neatly . . .

My sister gave me some undyed yarn for Christmas. I vaguely remembered how to dye with Kool Aid, so I soaked the yarn in warm water, squeezed out the excess, arranged it in the glass pan, poured on the dye, put it in the microwave—only to discover that the pan wouldn’t fit in the microwave.

Looks OK, sort of!

Uh oh. Laid out some plastic wrap, lifted the yarn out of the pan and onto the wrap, closed up the packet, folded it to fit the pot.

Steamed

Uh oh. Now the colors have pooled in a brown mess. Steamed it anyway. Read the directions—oh, forgot the vinegar. Well, move on. Rinsed, dried, and wound into a ball.

Drying next to the Sue Socks (I’d spilled coffee on them, so they were washed on the needles!)

In a ball

We’ll see how this knits up! Wanna put any money on it?

Say Hello

Tonight Celia is taking me to a knit-in in San Francisco! Friday, it’s off to Nathania’s. A veritable social whirl for this gal.

Comments

[maryse]

hi there! you know your ball looks pretty good! i'm eager to see what it looks like all knitted up.

[Patti]

It's very pretty on the ball.

I read somewhere that if you use hot water for the dipping (or pouring), you can skip the microwave step. I hope so - my son and I are going to try it this weekend.

[Beth]

Soooooooo much fun to read your blog. Thanks for showing pictures of your essential books. I did some Kool Aid dyeing with Jesse (11 yrs.) last summer. Turned out well, but I'm not sure she and Mary have started knitting the sweater. Love the way your sock yarn AND socks are looking......very pretty.