September 10, 2003
What I Did on My Vacation
Knitting Knews and Gratuitous Story of the Day, All in One
Below, a photo of the continued work on the aran pillow, much of it done on my trip to San Diego. After I got home, I realized that, just as the rings on a tree tell the tale of the growth of the tree, this pillow tells the tale of my trip to San Diego. To wit:
Row 1-8: Even, relaxed stitches. Knit at home, on my couch, in front of my TV, with one of my mysteriously cloned adopted black cats, warm, asleep and upside down, by my side.
Row 9: Excruciatingly tight stitches. Take-off from Seattle.
Row 15: The occasional excruciatingly tight stitch. Turbulence.
Row 20: Excruciatingly tight stitches. Landing in San Diego.
Rows 21-30: Even, relaxed stitches. The hour I spent watching “Caddyshack” with my sister and brother-in-law. While not my favorite movie (sorry, brother-in-law), it’s infinitely preferable to take-off, flying, turbulence or landing.
Row 31: Excruciatingly tight stitches. Take-off from San Diego.
Row 36: The occasional excruciatingly tight stitch.Turbulence.
Row 37: An increase in excruciatingly tight stitches. An increase in turbulence.
Row 38: A preponderance of excruciatingly tight stitches. A preponderance of turbulence.
Row 39: Superhumanly tight stitches. Hard landing in Seattle.
Row 40-49: Even, relaxed stitches. Knit at home, on my couch, in front of my TV, with one of my mysteriously cloned adopted black cats, warm, asleep and upside down, by my side.
(FYI, the pattern for the pillow is located here.)
Dye Garden Dyegest
As promised, here are photos of the hollyhock-dyed yarn. Photo 1 (which is the more accurate of the two) shows a skein dyed without any afterbath. As you can see, it came out a dark, almost black purple. Photo 2 shows the original skein plus another silvery-green skein which was the result of using an ammonia afterbath. For the second time, I remembered to include a photo of the flower in the picture! I am on a roll, baby!
I've run out of Henry's Attic so the yarn I used for this project was the genyoowine Irish aran yarn I received from K's neighbor.
Wow, you finally got a color I can love! (I'm just not a yellow, brown, orange person.) That is a nice shade.
Posted by: CarolineF on September 10, 2003 01:20 PMOOOOOOOOH, AHHHHHHHH! You get the gist...
I don't know which I like better, the Aran or the hollyhock. Or maybe both together?
You are on a roll.
Harvest preparation time - harvest commences in about 2 weeks. Think rain.
Janet
Well, Caroline, you're not alone. I'm not a yellow, brown, orange person either, but you know the saying "it's so ugly only its mother could love it?" Being the "mother" of these dyed yarns, I gotta love 'em all, even those that land in the yellow, brown and orange category. But this hollyhock yarn is exceptional. I'm mulling over what else to do with it, as in, how best to get a variety of shades. Stay tuned!
Janet, both K and I think it's ultra-cool to know a cranberry farmer. Dunno why; we just do. We are seriously intrigued by what you do, so keep us posted as harvesting progresses!
Posted by: Ryan on September 10, 2003 02:05 PMThanks for the link to pillow instructions... will print them off and consider. :) I also really like the hollyhock-dyed yarn.......good job!
Posted by: Lisa on September 10, 2003 02:37 PMLisa, at first glance the pillow instructions will look intimidating since they're a veritable sea of Ks and Ps, especially the second page. But, really, it's easier than it looks, especially if you take it a line at a time. Also, I've been through the entire pattern repeat once and so far have found no mistakes.
I really do hope you do this. As an incentive, if you do it, and if you send me a picture, I'll post it on the blog... Come on, you can do it!
Posted by: Ryan on September 10, 2003 02:47 PMHmmmmmm.............okay, okay, I'll try it! No idea when exactly, but I'll try it.......have I mentioned to you lately how many projects I have on the needles or waiting to go on needles? I have to stay away from the yarn shop for awhile, that is all there is to it. Well, at least until Saturday. ;)
Posted by: Lisa on September 10, 2003 05:22 PMRe the pillow tree rings:
hilarious.
glad you're home.
Posted by: Anne on September 11, 2003 05:05 AM