Yes, I’m Writing, But… There Were Goldfish, You See…

It started inauspiciously enough. I knitted a few balls out of leftover black, white and gray yarn. Little, round, baseball sized orbs that quickly became dog and cat toys. I knitted more, up to softball size, some with color changes of black to gray to white. I decided they were Zen balls, good for squishing while attempting to meditate on life, and gave them away, mostly for people to throw at each other in a very un-zen like manner. I’d post a picture, but unfortunately, the only one I retained is thoroughly covered in dog slobber, and is not a very appetizing sight.

Then came the goldfish. Innocently enough, I spotted the pattern, and thought ‘Wow, I know a few pint-sized people who would like those.’ So I knitted orange goldfish and dropped them in the mail to swim their way around the country.

Knitted Goldfish

Apparently, knitting four goldfish didn’t get them out of my system, so I knitted two more, one in the last of the orange, and one in purple, because really, what small fry is going to complain if his goldfish isn’t regulation color? The more obnoxious the better, when it comes to kids and stuffed animals.

Knitted Purplefish

Of course knitting is like writing poetry, you can’t stop with just one. So I knitted socks,

Hiking Socks from my hand-dyed wool
Wyoming Autumn Colorway

and a beanie,

Beanie from my hand-dyed wool
Berry Picking Colorway

and now I’m working on a Norwegian mitten pattern.

Star Pattern Norwegian Mitttens
Knit Picks Swish Wool

I could say all the knitting cuts into my writing time, but frankly, I can’t do one thing continuously all day, even write, as much as I'd like to. I knit when I have a free moment; before work, after dropping Son Two off at the high school - they start earlier than I do, waiting to see the doctor, dentist, etc., before bed in a vain attempt to relax, (Ack! I followed the wrong line on the chart and the pattern is off… eh, no one but me will notice) and while waiting for dinner to cook... instead of washing more dishes. (That’s why doG made paper plates…)

Knitting is a great way to two-track your mind, I can ponder character motivations, or poetry revisions while adding a few rows to a project. And I’m never without a project to knit on, at last count, I had nine UFO’s. (Unfinished Objects) Well, nine that I'll admit to...

The drawback to this method is forgetting about a project for say, oh, a year, and picking it up again and having to figure out where I left off in the pattern, because I am not all about notes and details like markers, you see. The advantage? I’m a much better knitter than I was a year ago, so I’m quicker to figure out where I left off. Just think, in another year or two, I might be able to knit a project straight through, without dropping it for a neat sock pattern I just found on the Internet. (Darn you, Ravelry!)

I’m sure there will be loads of other distractions to keep me from doing what I should be doing at the time. And for the record, yes, I wrote a poem today. A rather harsh poem about my intense dislike for telephones and their annoying rings, and how I should yank the darn thing right out of the wall, and just keep my cell, which I can put on silent and ignore if I wish. I know, I know, I could ignore the landline, I should ignore the landline, but I can’t ignore it … and that’s a whole 'nother fish story.



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Everyone's A Critic

Anubis D Cat inspects my work on the Wyoming Spring Socks. His whole stance suggests disdain, from the dyeing to the design to the knitting. Despite his withering disapproval, I forged ahead and finished the socks. They are a gift, and will soon be in New Zealand with Elaine, who gets to vacation there for three weeks. The other reason the socks are green? I'm jealous. I want to go to New Zealand with them. :(



Yes, they look huge, but they aren't really, they're just on sock blockers, stretching out after a final wash. Interesting striping, I'm never sure how some of the dye jobs will look on a finished product, the color variations here are much more subtle than the picture shows. 3 shades of green, and two of brown. Of course, everything looks good in a skein.

I've dyed my colorways of Wyoming Spring, Summer, Autumn, and all I have left to do is a Winter colorway. Could turn out slush gray, scoria red, and traffic cone orange at this rate...

Kool Aid Dyes

No, I didn't kill off the Kool-Aid character, even if he is an annoying pest. They said jolly, fun-loving beverage provider (1), I say slightly psychopathic mascot with ice cubes for brains. If he's so great, why'd he have to change his name from "Pitcher Man"? Was it some FBI protective custody thing? Did all that citric acid do someone in? Or just contribute to the slightly sour expression of elementary teachers everywhere?

I like dyeing yarn with Kool-Aid, it's fairly quick and easy, and everything smells good in the end. I do it in the microwave, what could be simpler? I dyed small batches with straight color the first time, then it was anything goes. Yes, I do follow directions on things, particularly recipes at least the first time. After that, everything is open to tinkering. Which explains some of my spectacular sourdough bread failures the past few weeks. You can only push the envelope so far, before it all turns to brick bread.

For once in my life I appreciated taking color theory in college art classes. It allowed me to start with this:

and eventually end up with these:

Summer Waters


Big Horn Meadow


Berry Picking

Wyoming Summer


Wyoming Fourth


Wyoming Autumn


Byzantine Necklace


Wyoming Spring

I found a neat FAQ that lists all kinds of things you can add Kool-Aid to or make with it. (Besides a tongue staining beverage). The only frustrating thing about dyeing with Kool-Aid is that many times the more interesting flavors - in terms of color- are discontinued. So if you see someone in the grocery buying 50 packets of Kool-Aid at a time, they may not be running a daycare, but rather hording against a discontinued item that leaves them without an easy way to obtain the perfect green of a spring morning. Cake decorating gels, Easter egg dyes, they're all fair game for experimentation. "Just buy Jacquard acid dyes from any respectable fiber arts company" you say? "They come in every color, and even have directions."

Well, what's the fun in that??