Colors, colors, and more colors

In the knitting guild, we have swap meets twice a year. Last March, I got several balls of someone's handspun. It's going to be a striped scarf. I love how different brown yarns can be!

Here's a finished (-ish) object from the Malabrigo Magic Yarn Ball swap.
Pattern: A Touch of Whimsy scarf
Yarn: Malabrigo Worsted, in Water Green (1 ball)
Needles: US 8. I used the Brittany needles Katy sent me, and they're lovely!
Cast on: 7/11/08
Cast off: 7/15/08
I really enjoyed this pattern. It's easy to memorize and interesting enough to keep your attention (which is a big deal for me!). The only problem? It's awfully short. So it might be frogged to make something else. The Malabrigo is too good to waste on a project I won't wear.

Here's a detail shot of the scarf. I love how there are cables and lace in it, but it's not too busy.

I also did some hand-dyeing this past week.

First, I made a giant skein. (Pardon the stuff on my dresser.)

I dyed it with egg dye in ~24 inch segments. It took about 15-20 minutes for the color to set in the microwave.

Here it is drying in my bathtub.

And here it is, all wound up and ready to go!

Is it just me, or do patterned socks get knit way faster than plain stockinette ones? It seemed like it only took a couple hours to do the whole patterned leg.
Yarn: Lang Yarns Jawoll Color Aktion, in the ever-so-poetic colorway 132.0188
Pattern: Spring Forward
Needles: US 1
Cast on: 7/21/08 (I think - it's been sitting around in my bag languishing in 1x1 ribbing for a while)

And now, a Basil update - remember this little guy? Look how big he is now! He spent the night at our house earlier this week. Aside from a couple of accidents, he did really well. (I think my brother feeds him sulfur bricks, though. Phew!)

A pretty and an (intentional!) ugly

I've been in a race with myself to see how fast I could make this. (That, and the book's due back at the library.)

Pattern: Shetland Triangle from Wrap Style
Yarn: Sportweight/DK-ish cashmere from a thrift store sweater (color's most accurate in the closeup)
Needles: US 8
Cast on: 2-21-08
Cast off: 3-1-08
Blocked: 3-2-08
Modifications: I did an extra repeat (or maybe two) of the main fir cone pattern to make it bigger.

Lace on big-ish needles goes SO fast! It also had the benefit of being a very easy-to-memorize lace pattern. This was also the first time I've worked with cashmere. It's soft, but somehow it didn't feel as elastic as wool. When wet, it also smells just like wool.

And for the ugly: remember the Frankencloth? Here it is in all its completed, misshapen glory.
This was a fun project - it's just a bag of dishcloth cotton odds & ends amalgamated into a...thing.

I worked on my second Monkey sock yesterday on the way up to Tulsa. My grandmother has an acreage south of Jenks, and we went up to clear branches out of the tractor lanes. The weather was, simply, perfect. We came home filthy, scratched up, sunburned (especially me - the joys of an Irish complexion!), and exhausted, but all in all, it was a very good day. I got to hang out with my buddies Magnum and Elvira, the miniature donkeys, and Eight-Ball, the slightly deranged llama. (Totally forgot my camera yesterday. Rats.)