Mossy Cottage Knits

Six Years. Who Woulda Thunk?

In belated honor of six years of blogging (as of April 21), a new blog banner! I’m insufferably pleased with myself about this because I’m as good with graphics as I am with gardening or cooking. True, on my monitor, the moss is a hideous, radioactive neon green but meh. Of course, now that I’ve figured out how to crop photos to just the right size, add text and upload the new banner, I may become a banner-changing fool. Don’t get too attached to this one. Just sayin’. (Yes, I’m talking to you, Ken.)

Despite the ants’ best efforts, carrots are up! Or, more accurately, carrot is up. It’s this big -- | -- and a stiff breeze would whack it straight to the ground but I’m thrilled. I believe at the moment of discovery, I actually squealed, “You go, little carrot!” and clapped my hands. Some happy foot-shuffling may also have been involved. (My little veggie bed is in the opposite direction of the gate I go through to get to my car in the morning but somehow I accidentally manage to swing by the bed and squint at it on my way to the car. Is this normal?)

Also belated, photos from last Saturday’s Dye Day hosted by MaryB and attended by many of my fabulous local knitting homies. Remember this yarn?

As much as I joke about the special yarns that I would grab if the house caught on fire, I would truly scoop up these yarn cakes on my panicked way out of the house since they are unique and irreplaceable: a gift from the Cuzz, and a true Mongolian camel yarn, intensely homespun in look, feel, color and…er…smell (not bad, just earthy, musty, animal-y). Thanks to Dye Day, they now look like this (only darker and tweedier):

As my mother would say, “I am pickled tink.”

Dye Day is a huge event and I am always over-the-top appreciative when one of our group volunteers to host one. These two pictures show only part of the equipment MaryB & Friends set up: chairs, tables, powdered dyes, liquid dyes, pans, buckets, tarps, plastic wrap, vinegar, electric slow cookers, propane stoves, string, strips of cloth, paper towels, towels, water, wooden spoons, tongs, roving, yarn, extension cords, wool winders, swifts…and all set up under MaryB’s deck since Mother Nature chose not to cooperate.

While, granted, I did arrive after all the hard work was done, I did my part which, judging from the evidence, was much appreciated:

The fruits of our labors:

The Gold Medal winner of the day, Evanne’s sock yarn which was white when she started. This picture doesn’t come close to doing justice to the beautiful, rich colors and the sheen and glow of the yarn.

Camel yarn, transformed:

Proof, albeit blurry, of a day well spent:

More photos, including one particularly boobalicious one of your blog mistress (and not in a pretty way) can be found here and here.

Posted by Ryan at May 7, 2009 02:39 PM