KALS

I don't know why I join knit-alongs. I rarely participate in them fully. I start out with good intentions but somewhere along the line I get distracted by other projects.

I belong to six KAL's and the only one I'm active in is the Shirley Paden KAL. I joined the Summer of Socks again this year even though I didn't get a single pair done last year. Guilt started knocking on my door so today I cast on a pair of socks. I'm knitting Marilinda by Cookie A.


The yarn is Kona Merino Fingering that I dyed this year. It's hard to tell in the picture that it is a semi-solid done using one shade of Grasshopper Pro Chem One Shot dyes. I was going to add it to my Ravelry project page when I realized that I never got around to stashing this skein and several others.

I have 13 rows to go on the back of the Circles and Butterflies sweater. I'm debating whether or not to block it and put the front and back together or wait until the sleeves are done. The only reason I'm hesitant is that I may need to make some adjustments to the armhole depth. They seem too deep but I'm not sure they will be once the sweater is stretched out and blocked.

I delivered Tyler's sweater on Saturday. It was a hit but I forgot to take pictures before I packaged and delivered it. One of his grand aunts let me take pictures on her camera and she is going to send them to me. Much as I love knitting for my mother I think I love knitting for babies and children even more. The sweaters are so tiny and cute!

There's one more baby on my list and a special sweater for my youngest niece. I mentioned earlier that I was considering making fingerless gloves for the girls this Christmas. They were here two weeks ago so I checked with them to see what their colors are and they've all changed! Since I already dyed some of the yarn I'm debating whether or not to continue with the colors I currently have or start over. Decisions, decisions!

The Happy Dance

I couldn't help but do the happy dance. I am so pleased with this project thus far.


I have until July 15th to have the back and front finished so I'm taking a brief hiatus to knit a pair of socks.

I belong to several kal's but it seems that I have a hard time completing or even starting projects for most of them. These socks are for the Solid Socks KAL on Ravelry. They are the Cubist Socks by Cookie A.


This month the color is orange so I'm using Kona Superwash Merino Fingering dyed cantaloupe from the stash. The color is really loud in person and not the lovely orange you see on the screen. I may overdye it to tone them down a little once they are finished.

It's that time of the year when I debate whether or not I'll enter anything in the fair. I have some projects in mind if I do decide to enter but they'll be stealth knitting this year. There are several baby and toddler projects that I need to make and that will have to figure in my time scheme.

I also need to decide if I'm going to do any major Christmas knitting. I really enjoyed making the fingerless gloves for my mom and in the event that I do decide to make gifts they will be at the top of the list. I plan to do some more handpaint dyeing and would like to dye specifically for these. Another project that I would like to dye for is a sweater. I have to figure out a method for making repeatable colors because this will take a lot more dye than I usually mix. I hope to have some interesting projects to show in the future.

Finally Success

After three times I've finally got my sweater gauge right. I'm using size 6 needles and even though it is more open I like this gauge a lot better. I'll need to either make or dye a camisole to wear under it.


Even though this process has been trying I'm still enjoying it. The successes more than make up for the failures.

When I was preparing for the dye day I purchased a Yarn Meter from Nancy's Knit Knacks. It is attached to optional tensioning unit because I ordered the Yarn Meter Plus.


One of the yarns I needed didn't come skeined so I had to measure skeins for one of my dyers. Since I have quite a bit of yarn on cones it has turned out to be one of the best purchases I've ever made knitting wise. I plan on dyeing yarn for two large projects in the future and I've already measured the skeins for them.

Millie a friend, guild member and dye day participant bought her dyed skeins to our monthly dinner gathering. I was gobsmacked at how different and beautiful everything was once they dried. Her handpaint is gorgeous as are the immersions. One technique that I thought didn't work was successful and the results can be seen once the yarn dries. We are definitely in for a treat on Tuesday.