Dearie Me

I am getting into the period of time between August and September where school is just around the corner, and I haven't even started most of what I wanted to get finished. This includes blog posts.

This week, we had 4-H judging. I entered the cardigan, the camisole, a ceramic plate with "You never can have too much fiber" on it, and a photograph. I was delighted to find that I had two grand champions (the cardigan and the plate and a reserve (the camisole) I got a blue ribbon on the photograph. I am obviously pretty happy about that.

School homework is getting done, a blessing to say the least. I'm not much for blood and gore, making the main book (In Cold Blood) a tough, though not impossible, read.

Fiber-wise, I did get some spinning done:
This is the second silk hankie. I still haven't decided what I'm going to do with it, even if I'm going to ply it. Perhaps I'll take a leaf out of Rachel's book and make a beret. How does that sound?

My (lovely) mom's birthday was last week Wednesday, and I just finished a seed stitch scarf for her, made out of a handspun soy silk single. I learned from a yarn book I got when I was up in WI that if you use a combo of knits and purls, the bias you normally get with singles magically disappears. An interesting epiphany, to say the least.

Coming up-

I signed up for the Ravelympics-I'm on Team Teen, and in the events Baby Dressage and Glove Decathlon.

Now, what exactly is the Ravelympics? It's quite simple. You sign up on Ravelry and you have to complete projects that are challenging for you, starting on the first day of the Olympics, and ending on the last day. (17 days total)

As the names of my events suggest, I'll be knitting gloves (fingerless for my brother-this one's way overdue and lacy gloves for me) and baby gear (remember the bolero and the vest for Riley and Ryan?). Think I can do it?

Before the Olympics start (since you can't start your projects early, other than the gauge swatches and getting the yarn, and I obiously need more to do), I'd like to try to make a purse out of some Tahiki I have, and a urchin hat out of old handspun.

Did I mention in the meantime, I am going to go to color guard camp, a school trip to Ohio and back, to the state fair, and (hopefully) finish my summer homework?

I DEFINITELY need a reality check.

Dyeing of All Kinds (Plus a FO)

Rewind, if you please, to the Saturday before last.
The day before, a certain ceramic hand was picked up from a certain ceramics teacher's workshop. This hand seemed to enjoy following me around, so I let it pose in some pictures.

Also finished around then was the Picovoli cardigan. All I have to do is steam the edges, and I'm done. One more 4-H project complete!

Anyway, back to the Saturday before last.....
Mom and I were at a spinning guild meeting consisting of fiber, yarn, and tons of dye.
We had lots of fun.
A pair of snow-white silk caps, bought on the first of this year....

.....are no longer snow-white, nor caps. The orange and yellow has already been spun, and is a hairband, and the blueish purple one will soon be spun. (The brownish hairband was also knit with handspun flax during the trip. In fact, I'm wearing it as we speak.) Some lovely alpaca, soon to be a pair of gloves... ...is now a brilliant blue (although it was meant to be lavender. I don't know how that happened.)
Mom even got in on the action, dyeing a beautiful silk scarf! Mom is very proud of her scarf, and I am, too. It's a wonderful creative endeavor. She says she's trying to keep up with me. I think she's doing a terrific job. The next day, we left for Wisconsin, with the gerbils in tow. Annie wasn't feeling very well, and we thought it wasn't right to leave her behind, to be fed by the neighbors every couple days.
She passed on on the way up, and is buried up there. It's really pretty, right by a little lake, with lots of trees and sunshine.
Be a good little girl, Annie. We'll miss you.

On a lighter note....
When we got to the cabin, I did a bit of dyeing. The first try turned out quite atrocious, but with some Rit dye remover, I miraculously got a second chance, which turned out a lot better, and is what you see here.
This yarn is for three super-secret presents, each a different color, intended to be finished before Christmas. Shouldn't be too hard, right? (McCormick food coloring and Kool-Aid. Never lets me down!)

And, hmmm....I suppose I'm all caught up. Great.
I'll go unpack the spinning wheel now.