Progress...

I finished the knitting on the Perfect Sweater. I just need to sew it up, which is a bit of a daunting task. I've just worked two 11-hour days, so there hasn't been any time for the sweater since the weekend. I'll post pics as soon as it's finished.

I'm working on my husband's socks. That's working out well, and I may not have to unravel them as I thought I might. They seem a little big, but I think they'll be fine once I get a couple of inches done. When I get them up to the ankle join, I'll start posting tutorial pics again.

I'm off to bed...exhausted.

Yarn Goodies in the Mail

I got my yarn. I ordered some for dyeing, which I talked about earlier. If I get to work on that this weekend, I'll be sure to take lots of pictures. Unfortunately, I have to work a little this weekend, so that may keep me from dyeing (bleh).

If it turns out that I'm any good at it, I may offer a few skeins for sale. I'll post pics here of the results, and you all can let me know what you think of my first dyeing.

I also ordered enough laceweight to do two shawls. I'm going to do the Birds Nest shawl from Folk Shawls, which I mentioned a couple posts ago. The shawl is very pretty, and I think it's something doable for a first lace project. So far my lace has extended to dishcloths and a few swatches, so this should be fun.

I finished the back on the Perfect Sweater, and I'm almost up to the V-neck on the front. Anyone want to take any bets on whether I'll get to wear it this year?

About to dye!

We have the flu here, so I've been playing nursemaid. I was okay until today, but I'm finally coming down with it too. Maybe I can finish that sweater?

I've been thinking of dyeing my own yarn for a while now, and I just ordered 6 skeins from knitpicks to get started. For now, I'm going to experiment with Kool-Aid dyeing and see how I do with that before trying acid dyes (if I try them at all).

I've been doing some research, and I thought you all might be interested in some yarn dyeing links too, whether you plan on using Kool-Aid or something else.

• Knitpicks has a tuturial. Scroll down and click the free pattern download button.
• Knitty also has one.

Both Knitty and Knitpicks cover the basics of Kool-Aid dyeing, but they both focus mostly on solid colors. Knitty talks a little about handpainting, but it's a bit too brief for me.

• Fig and plum has some nice pictures of hand-painting.
• And here's a tutorial on using Wilton's icing dye for yarn.
• Although these are written for acid dyes, they are good instructions for doing handpaint in general.
• Pea Soup shows how to dye with regular food coloring, and the skein in the pictures is too cute!
  
• See Eunny Knit has a very good tutorial on tying off your yarn to make a self-striping yarn with regular stripe repeats.
• And here's another tutorial on making your own self-striping yarn.
  

So, go a little crazy, pick some colors, and get to dyeing! I just ordered my yarn, so when it arrives, I'll be sure to post pictures of my work, and results.

Maybe I'm too ambitious?

Good news: I've made more progress on the Perfect Sweater.

Bad news: I'm still stuck in stockinette hell. I knit, knit, knit and still, I've got lots more stockinette to go.

Good news: My husband's socks I'm doing for my tutorial look great.

Bad news: They're a little too big. I measured like I always do, and for some reason, they're still too big. I'm not sure, but I think frogging is in their future.

Good news: I picked up a cool pattern book on crocheted rugs today. We have an old house, so they'd look great. I even have some yarn I'd like to try for them.

Bad news: If I'm having trouble finishing a sweater, how in the world will I finish a rug? My knitting time is limited usually, so that's a big undertaking. I might get one finished by next spring.

I'm also planning on starting a shawl as soon as I order some yarn for one. I'm holding off though till I finish that sweater. Anyone want to bet on whether I get to wear it before it gets warm weather?

Fabulous shawl patterns

This is a fantastic book. I picked it up this weekend when we went browsing at Barnes and Noble. I was considering a new sock knitting book, something with some patterns that are more complicated than what I've done.

Instead, I ran across this book and sat down to look through it. This turned out to be a definite must-have. I'm valiantly putting off buying yarn for any of the shawls so I can finish my sweater and my husband's socks first. Maybe that'll motivate me to finish?

If you haven't checked it out, there's a nice mix of triangle, square and rectangle shapes. Also, some are quite large and complex, others look pretty doable even for a first lace project. Anyone have any experience with any of the patterns? Any pics of shawls from the book?