Picture I Promised!

This looks like a rookie move right? You're thinking, "Oh poor thing, no one explained the importance of dye lots to her. Maybe she's just used to many Red Heart No Dye Lot yarns to know about this. And Oh MY she must have used yarn from not 2, not 3 but 4 different dye lots." That's what one would think, right? RIGHT? RIGHT? I guess I COULD take a picture of the four ball bands as proof they are all from the same dye lot, but I'm just too tired.

Okay, I know it is selfish to feel SO BAD about this but I'm so mad I could Spit! (My mom used to say that) I was going to wear this on Tuesday to a workshop with my peers and Oh wouldn't I look so hip? I bet it woulda made me look 20lbs lighter too ;-). I'm glad you can't hear the cuss words flying around in my head now. I'm going to alert the company I got it from, they have such wonderful customer service so I won't mention the name here with such a negative situation. I just want them to know so this doesn't happen to more of their customers and THEM!

SO, The Poncho is soaking in the washer with Dawn dishwashing liquid. You don't know how tempted I was to throw a 1/2 gallon of bleach in with it, run the wash cycle, let it disinegrate into the water and wash away so I could pretend it never happened. I wonder if I can dye it or put a rinse in it, you know, like the blue little old ladies use? Maybe soaking before I block it will even out the colors more.

The yarn I'm using for the FLAK is from the same company. Fortunately I have enough yarn (in the same dye-lot HA HA HA) to alternate rows of the skeins at the point I need to start a new skein. I'm also thinking of having an ongoing swatch with yarn from each of the skeins to check if there are differences in color.

UPDATE:

First, thanks for all the nice comments and "shoulders to cry on". I think I emailed everyone back, if I missed you, thanks so much for the encouragement! The Poncho is drying and it doesn't seem to have corrected the problem. The blocking, however seems to be going really well ;-). I contacted the shop I got the yarn from. She was apalled and fortunately hasn't had any other issues like this with the yarn. She is also going to contact the company. Also, most of you hit on what I think I need to do and that is dye it. My Hubby said, "I don't think they make that color Kool Aid. You'll have to mix all the colors." LOL I am going to have to do a bit of research. It will be fun to learn about how I should do this. Take care all!

Now what do I do?

I finished knitting the Mystic Poncho. I ran out of yarn and had to use a different yarn in a very similar color on the last two rows. It actually looks kind of cool like I meant to do it and I can edge the neckline to make it look even more deliberate. TWO ROWS Can you beleive that. I used at least 1/3 more yarn than the pattern called for. Well, that is NOT the worst of it. Even though the yarn is all from the same dye lot, There are differences in the colors. I bought 4 skeins and think there are 3 different shades . Since I've been working on this in not so great light I didn't notice it 'til tonight right before I knit the last two rows. I'm SURE it's going to look even more noticeable in better light. What do I do now? Should I wash it and hope it evens out? Can I dye it? Do I have to reknit it? Help! I'm so discouraged. I really wanted something I could actually WEAR BESIDES FUZZY FEET! I'll post pictures tomorrow if I can bear to look at it.

Walk With Me! Talk With Me!

Year before last I entered the Iditawalk. Simple enough, just walk 30 minutes a day for 35 days between February 1, 2006 to March 18, 2006 for a total of 1049 minutes. The 1049 minutes represent the 1049 miles of the Iditarod sled race. I signed up last year too but didn't walk enough to get the T-shirt and leash. I decided this year I would try to get as many of my friends as possible to join me. You do pay a donation which goes to a fundraiser for a Boy Scout Troup in Nome AK. Pretty smart idea for a fund raiser! There was a time, many moons ago, when I trained and successfully walked the Avon 3 Day (2000). I LOVED being in such good shape. It takes a LOT of time to walk THAT much though. Thirty minutes sounds more my speed now.

Beautiful Day

It is a bit early for our Magnolia tree to bloom. I appreciated it though. Esther and I were out planting Calla Lily bulbs. This is the first year that I've remembered they need to be planted in January. I hope they grow! Even though it may mean the weather has been off as far as agriculture is concerned, I enjoyed seeing the blooms. This Holiday has been hard to get over for me and a lot of others I know. I think it is because a lot of us have been sick for a long time. I'm plugging away on my Mystic Poncho, notice I'm at 70%. Geek that I am I have updated the template about 4 times as I've progressed over the last 1.5 days. I'm hoping to have it complete by the end of the weekend. The next installment for FLAK should be coming soon so I'll work on that when it does. Meanwhile it would be nice to have a finished object that isn't Fuzzy Feet or a Frontier hat. ;-)

P.S. I looked back in my blog, I figured I probably posted pics when this tree bloomed last year. It's about 20 days earlier this year Click to see my 1/24/05 entry. 

Esther humor regarding Fuzzy Feet.

Esther just asked if the dogs were getting smaller. I said, How can they get smaller? They can't get smaller!. She smiled and replied, "No, they can't shrink like Fuzzy Feet!"

I guess all those Fuzzy Feet left an impression!

Speaking of the dogs, I forgot to give you a Sparky update. I've been doing as the vet said, acknowledging Sparky as top dog (feeding him first, giving him attention first, walking him first). So far it is working and he hasn't had any issues with Maddy. They all play and get along fine. I've also stepped up the training for all 3 of them a bit too.

New Year Part 2

Here is my second swatch for the FLAK KAL. I made a few mistakes but the swatch will still work for measuring. Hoping I got all the mistakes outta my system. About the only "creative" changes I made was to the wave cable. It is the one that waves back and forth. Instead of the background being in stockinette I'm going to do seed. It looks slightly different. I've accidentally done the wave when trying to do a rope cable so this won't remind me of that.


I'm also working on my Mystic Poncho. I think I can have it done in a week or so. Then I'll work on the Cabled Hooded Pullover. Erin at Yes I knit and I are having a mini KAL. I sent a letter to Family Circle (hard copy and email) and have received a "yes we got your message and are forwarding it to someone who is VERY busy" email back. I don't know the status of the copyright so can't share the pattern with anyone yet. Hopefully it will be republished or the copyright wasn't renewed and it's OURS to share! Erin if you're reading this I'm sending you and email shortly.

New Years Resolutions!

(drum roll please.......)
1. Live a Healthier Life! I will attend the Gym 3 times a week and walk the dogs at least 4 times a week. No specific diet planned at first. I know that chocolate is NOT the food group at the widest part of the pyramid. Stop treating it that way! If no specific diet works, choose a plan and start mid-Feb.

2. Organize Space, and Schedule! Follow FlyLady.net 4 days a week (Zones and sink) Can't do it all right now. Concentrate on Office on days where Zone is something I don't have or already done. I need to schedule WHEN I will work on MT, Knitting, etc... I want to get more done and think this is the only way.

3. Remember, not everything is about me! I tend to get upset by others actions. Most of the time this is very unproductive. A lot of the things are out of my control and even if I think it's stupid or dangerous it is not directed at me personally. I decided this should be on of my resolutions because I take bad driving personally and I was starting to take Esther's resistance to potty training personally. Once I stopped she has been doing SO MUCH better. Imagine that! :-)

4. Knitting Resolution! If I want more yarn I either have to finish something or sell some of the yarn I already have. Also, make 1 Holiday Gift a month. (not necessarily all knitted)

Happy New Year Everyone!

Happy New Year!

I somewhat planned a meaningful blog entry for the first of 2006. I got distracted of course! I had to create an avatar for myself. Now, this is a very nice Avatar, she just needs about 20 years and 40 lbs on her and she'd look more like me. Later I'll give you a list of resolutions (short) progress on projects I'm working (complete with pics). Going to go eat lunch, take care of a few chores, knit and be back a little more organized.