Gamed

So far, I have completed two tiny projects for the Ravellenic Games:
In the hand-dye high dive, I dyed another skein of Patons Wool with turmeric for Erin's bolero. I was so excited to have this finished before I realized the yarn colors were off. And I had run out of turmeric. And I had no intention of re-dyeing the yarn. So I left it. It's exactly one pale shade of yellow lighter than the first skein.
Here are some photos of the dye process:

I also completed Erin's bolero using both skeins of hand-dyed turmeric yarn. I absolutely love the pattern and the FO. It's super adorable and only took me 8 days (which is a lot longer than it would have taken if I hadn't been working every day. I mostly did it during naptime because by the end of the day I was too exhausted to do anything at all). The place where the two different shades of yarn are joined is just noticeable but I'm not going to worry about it:

I also started another pair of socks for the Ravellenic Games. I'm not sure whether I'll finish them in time, but I figure that if I don't, at least I'll be half a project closer to another finished Christmas present:

Once the Ravellenics are over, this channel will return to its regularly scheduled programming, beginning with at least one more pattern repeat on DM's afghan.

Checked

So my idiotic self decided I didn't need to check the fit on the Tardis socks because I'd done a gauge swatch before I started. I didn't really deem it necessary to try on the WIP until this point:

where I determined that my first foray into intarsia didn't go very well and my tension was off, and the socks were so tight around my ankle/calf that my foot went numb. The lettering is almost unreadable and the sock itself is definitely unwearable. I think part of the problem is that the white yarn was mystery stash yarn and was a bit thicker than the black and the Tardis blue yarn that it was contrasting. That meant that the spaces between white letters were way too small to be noticeable. And to give myself some credit, it was my first try with intarsia and I thought it looked great...when I wasn't wearing it.

In other knitting news, I've done 6 pattern repeats on DM's lacy throw (and my nerdy self calculated that this is exactly 29.54% complete). It still looks pretty much the same though, so I think I'll post another photo at the halfway point. It's coming along nicely- it isn't taking nearly as long as I thought it would.

I also started a pair of plain stockinette socks for Chris for Christmas (try saying that 3 times fast). The yarn came from Tuesday Morning of all places. I had heard they sold good yarn, but when I went in to check I walked every aisle and didn't see any at all. Then I wandered in with DM looking for something entirely different and the yarn just materialized in front of me like magic. And it was all awesome. Anyway, it's Wisdom Yarns Marathon Socks Phoenix (I think they specify the city in which the colorway was dyed) in the colorway Salt River. And it really does look like a salt river when knit, check it out:

I also picked up some more Marathon Socks, this time dyed in the Twin Cities I guess, for Jeff, Chris's husband:

He'll also be receiving a pair of plain stockinette socks. One day, when I haven't got quite so many gifts to give, I will make a pair of patterned socks in the two-at-a-time toe-up method. I'll also make myself a Haapsalu shawl, or maybe try Ravelry's Queen Susan shawl. One day, you know when pigs fly and all my dreams come true and they finally come up with fat free cheesecake that doesn't taste like crap.

I tested out some turmeric dyeing for Erin's bolero and the smell seeped through NB's entire house (she and I collaborated on this experiment). Here are some photos:

Not my favorite color, but definitely Erin's, so it'll do. I'm planning on dyeing the other skein as part of the hand dyeing competition in the Ravellenic Games, then entering the bolero as part of the sweater competition. Maybe I'll do a pair of socks as well, but that might be overstretching my abilities.

Pictured

Here's what I've been working on:

Yarn dyeing. The colors turned out way more pastel than I wanted, but that's what you get for having a vegan mom who can only receive bamboo blend sock yarn. Rainbow socks will be her birthday gift, June 28th.

DM's Lacey Afghan. Almost two pattern repeats, each 16 rows long. Finished, it'll be 21 pattern repeats long. 

I lost all the materials for the second Katniss socks, but I just recently found them. I keep all of the materials for every sock I'm working on in little makeup bags like this one:

which is nice when I'm digging through my purse-the needles don't stab me and I can find everything all at once, but it's unfortunate if I take the bag out and can't find it again.

I've also finished 1 and a half yellow owl socks for Erin. The owl is too little, but I'm lazy so I'm not changing it.

Sorry about the lag in posts. I've just recently moved into NS's house because my mom and sister moved away and my house has no water due to a dried up well. It's been really hectic trying to get settled in here, made only the more chaotic by the fact that my boss cut NS's hours and gave me her class, so I'm now officially a preschool teacher as opposed to an assistant, and now I have a pissed off friend (not at me, because she insists it isn't my fault, but she's angry at the situation).