Happy colors

My thesis pretty much imploded on Friday. I had a reader tear it apart at the very last minute and of course, instead of being productive, I've wallowed in depression this weekend. And a little bit of anger too. I've worked on my thesis yes, just not on her corrections, yet. So on Saturday when I noticed that the grocery store had a big stand with all sorts of Kool Aid flavors (previous weeks it had only 4, yes kids, 4 flavors), I knew it was time to scratch the Kool Aid dying itch.


First I washed the Knit Picks Bare Superwash merino/nylon yarn in gentle shampoo and left it soaking in water.












Then I mixed the Kool Aid packets (black cherry, orange, grape) into cups of water and "painted" the yarn. I found out that my brand new baster does not have a seal (grrr) and had to spoon the dye onto the yarn. Also, I used waaayyy too much liquid and had to sponge it up repeatedly.














But the end result was a beautiful skein of happy colored yummy smelling (and still a bit sticky) yarn. Red and orange are not my usual colors but I just adore this yarn. It produced the desired result and has indeed given me happiness.

Sure, there are some white spots, but I actually dont mind, I think it gives the yarn character. And it reminds me that it's "hand-painted."


I named it ChOrG. Ugly name for a beautiful yarn.





















In fact, I just started knitting with the yarn and I adore the colorway even more! None of the pictures really
captures the brightness and saturation of the yarn. It's very pretty and complex and somehow manages to self-stripe very nicely, without much pooling.



Happiness all around.


Well, except for the fact that I still have the never-ending stole of gray to finish in TWO WEEKS. Ugh. Cross your fingers! (I'm halfway done).

In other news - the BRUINS swept the Canadiens to make it to the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs!!!!

Excitement

I have to admit, I keep seeing Amstel Light commercials on the TV and I get really excited. Like, goose-bump excited. Holey-cow-I'm-going-to-live-there-excited. I don't even like Amstel Light. But the commercials are chock full of Amsterdam, football, and Dutch awesomeness.


It reminds me of when I was in Utrecht last summer and Holland was playing Russia in the Euro Cup. I went to a bar with a Canadian couple to see the game. I had gotten a Holland shirt at a tourist stand and the guy had gotten free lederhosen at the bar (it had a tail on the back for the lion). Here are our best lion grrrs. haha. Too bad Holland lost and the streets were full of madness.

Happy Bobmas

HAPPY BOBMAS!!

Like gmail, Ravelry is one of those internet inventions I just cant imagine my life without. Well, Ok, I can, but its a pretty crap life.

Also a shout out happy birthday to Stariel!

And now its off to school I go b/c I have serious work to do on the thesis (ahhhhh!)

Ruined

That's right. Knit Picks Harmony needles have ruined me. And caused me to do something I thought I would never do: alter knitting needles. What am I talking about? Well, you see KP Harmony are very pointy. After I got used to the pointy-ness I started to like it. I recently went back to my Takumi bamboo needles (b/c I only have Harmonies in a couple sizes) and they were way too blunt! I couldnt knit! Well, at least I couldnt do twisted knit stitches fast on a shuttle bus.

So, I sanded the bamboo needles to a better point! Crazy I know. Then I oiled them up with some jojoba oil, but they werent slippery enough. I i rubbed them on a natural candle. The pointy tip is so much better! Except, it is a bit pointier than the KP even, so I have to be careful to not split the yarn.

Here is a pict of the SM shawl so far. The Sea Pearl is super shiny so the flash bounces right off of the yarn - but it's very pretty in person! Cant wait to drop all those sts at the end
(:

Crunch time

There comes a time in every knitters life where what you want to knit, and the time you have to knit it clash completely and you have to either not knit it, lose sleep, or pick a different pattern.

I'm currently trying to finish one shawl (Woodland Shawl) to wear that matches my bridesmaids dress for my sister's wedding (May 9). I'm also secret knitting a giftie for her and her husband (due May 9). I also wanted to knit a shawl to wear with my rehearsal dinner dress (May 8), b/c it matches the shoes and it would really pull the outfit together. I also have to finish secret giftie for my best friend for her first baby. I want to get it done by the baby shower (May 30), and I have to get it done before I move to Europe (June 16). Just for added difficulty, I'm also working on my thesis and I have midterms and papers to complete for 4th term classes. I've got a LOT to finish by my birthday (May 10).

Right now the baby giftie is started, but on hold. I'm currently dividing my time between the Woodland shawl and wedding gifite. I have not started the rehearsal dinner shawl. But I've realized that the shuttle ride to and home from school is time that could be spent knitting. Unfortunalty, all current projects are just far too big to lug around. But the rehersal dinner shawl.... that could be popped in a bag for shuttle ride knitting.

Originally, I had my heart set on knitting Clapotis with my Briar Rose Sea Pearl yarn for the rehearsal dinner. Except the Clapotis calls for ~800 yards and my skein is only ~500 yds. I could use a bigger needle size, or adjust the patten, but those both take time. I dont have time. I've come to the realization that I just do not have the time to knit the Clapotis with this yarn for this project. So I started looking for something similar and simpler on Ravelry. I found the Sunday Market Shawl - another drop stitch design. And since this pattern is written in a way that you can stop knitting when you get close to the end of your yarn, it's a much more logical project. Also, it's knit on large needles so it should go quite fast.

So, Sunday Market Shawl it is. Cross your fingers that all projects are completed on time!

Here is the Sea Pearl hand wound into the most perfect spaceship looking center pull ball. Hooray for another Rhinebeck 2007 yarn CO!

Procrastination

Since I'm having trouble concentrating on Anything today (I'm currently watching TV, reading, blogging, and I've got knitting sitting next to me) I thought, why not post about a few of my favorite things in Europe. I've been thinking about Europe "in my spare time" haha considering the Big Move is ~10 weeks away.
These are a few of my favorite things (in Europe):



Really old things randomly interspersed through the cities.
Brick from where the canal used to be, the water has now moved several feet and there's a path where it used to be.
Utrecht, Netherlands










Art. Lots of it.

One of Monet's waterlilies at the Musee de l'Orangerie in Paris, France









Faces on buildings. Everywhere! I could write a whole post on faces, maybe I will.....
This one is on some historic building in Bruges, Belgium










Chocolate!! Believe it or not, this is the Only picture of Chocolate I have. I ate the rest too fast. Maybe I have this b/c it's the only piece of "special" chocolate I bought. The rest was good stuff from grocery stores. This was from a specialty shop in Gent, Belgium.








Alcohol!! Specifically beer, beer, and more beer, and some jenever. Both are in this picture from Gent, Belgium. No surprise that plenty of my favorite things are from Belgium as Gent and Bruges were my favorite cities.

Bummer

A couple months ago I signed up for free magazine subscriptions using some airline miles that were going to expire (seriously, expire? that's b*llsh*t. they shouldnt expire. but i digress). One of the magazines was Prevention. There was an article with a recipe for a "Smart cookie," a healthy chocolate chip cookie. Well, I'm always game for new chocolate chip cookies. I've been dying to bake this (well, bake anything) for a couple of weeks but I've been busy with my thesis. I'll give you the recipe and then let you know what I thought.

1 1/2 Cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup canola oil
2/3 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup brown sugar (as i type this i realize i missed this ingredient)
2 lg egg whites
1 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips or chunks


Combine flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon. In another large bowl whisk oil, and sugar. Whisk in eggs and vanilla until smooth. Stir in dry ingrediants. Fold in oats then chocolate chips. Chill dough at least 15 mins. Heat oven to 375F. Bake 7-10 mins.

Ok, so yes, I didnt see the brown sugar but I dont think that would have made a difference. First, there is a bit of user error on my part. I didnt realize that "Steel cut Irish Style Oatmeal" meant that it was chopped up in little pieces.... I'm not sure if this is what I was supposed to use or not. I'm used to the standard rolled oats. I guess I wasnt paying attention when I bought these.





They look better in the picture than they tasted.
The recipe called for oil instead of butter (its supposedly healthier) it didnt cook the same and the cookies were greasy. Also, the oats didnt absorb any of the oil and were still chewy. So yeah, greasy oaty chewy cookie. And the oats got stuck in my teeth.

In terms of taste they were ok. I def think that the taste of butter is far superior to the taste of canola oil. So, maybe my cookies are healthier, but they are not as satisfying.


In conclusion, this recipe gets a hands down from me.
Bummer.

In knitting news I've re-started the Woodland Shawl on larger needles. I like it bettern ow, but seriously, what's the point of a swatch if it doesnt do you any good in the end? Wasted time.... Wouldnt be such a big deal if I wasnt on a deadline for this shawl.