Not your usual baby colors!

Normally, I would say that the camera doesn't always represent the colors well... but in this case, they really are that bright.

They make me smile when I see them- I'm so glad I stepped outside my box to make these for Project Spectrum. I don't think I've ever made anything orange/pink together.

I broke down and did it.

I ordered a ball winder from Joanns, courtesy of a 50% coupon advertised in the margins of the forums at craftster.org I believe it's good for April.

I was doing fine handwinding small amounts of yarn, but this latest batch of orangy goodness is just crying out for a ballwinder. Not to mention some of the Nature Wool I have which is great yarn, but terrible to wind. And is it bad that I don't knit socks (yet), but bought sock yarn from Knitpicks that I'm impatiently waiting for? (small voice) I just wanted to take advantage of the sale... that, and they had the One Skein book for less than I had seen anywhere else.

I'm going to have to say no more yarn until I can either learn how to make socks or knit a little faster! Luckily, I have signed up for both Secret Pal 8 and One Skein Secret Pals, so I can focus on splurging for my secret pals instead. That's the plan, anyway.

I have three sets of wool booties and I'm hoping to try out a newborn hat this weekend. I'm hoping to have at least 5 sets of booties and a hat, maybe (crossing fingers) two hats to send off to afghans for Afghans before the 23rd of April. The color is just as bright as the picture promised- wow- no one will lose these babies!! But it definitely is a happy color.

I did finish "Knitting Rules" and I was sad to discover it was the end of the book, already! I highly recommend it.

Bootimania!

I'm finishing my fourth bootie- they are so easy to do and it's such a little thrill when I finish them instead of just plugging away on my shawl with no end in sight. I like the shawl, too but right now, I'm going to put it aside. I'm thrilled that that little oddball scrap of yarn ended up being 2 sets of booties and they will have a purpose other than taking up space in my stash.

This morning, I was walking out the door to run some errands when I saw that my Project Spectrum yarn arrived! It definitely is vibrant and soft- it should make for some cute booties and hats. I purchased it from etsy.com

I also signed up for the One Skein Secret Pal- I'm very much looking forward to it.

I started a new book the other day: Knitting Rules! : The Yarn Harlot's Bag of Knitting Tricks by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee. Still as funny as ever but this one has some practical information I can't wait to try out. A very good read- I'll be a little sad when I finish the last page.

It's all about the booty!

I'm so proud! It's my first item that isn't a scarf or shawl or dishcloth- and made out of my own special Kool-aid dyed yarn!

I highly recommend this pattern for beginners. I was so excited about dyeing my own yarn for my Project spectrum/afghans for Afghans newborns projects this month (whew- what a mouthful), but I looked at my schedule and had to be realistic. So I've ordered some orange wool and will just focus on knitting what I can in the time I can spare, and I'll have to play with colors when I have more time.

Making progress!

I finally figured out my April project for Project Spectrum. There's a call for donations at afghans for Afghans They are requesting "bright happy colored" wool hats and booties for newborns and their deadline is April 28- perfect timing for this April project! They are small enough projects that I can finish even with my insane schedule, and I like the idea of making something someone needs and appreciates. And of course, I'd never done hats or booties before so this is a good way to spread my knitting wings.

My first thought, of course, was to immediately go out and buy some yellow and orange wool (April colors for Project Spectrum). But then I decided to make a practice pair first out of my "first attempt at koolaid dyeing" wool since I only have a small amount of it and booties are, well... tiny, and to be sure that booties are within my ability. And my Koolaid dyed yarn is certainly bright and happy!

The bootie is lovely- pictures to follow when I finish its mate. I can't recommend the pattern enough for beginners- it's simple to follow and a very quick knit- and has a very nice texture. And then, as I was about to head out to shop for yellow and orange wool, it dawned on me that I have 3 cones of merino wool ready for dyeing and could surely do a small batch of orange and yellow- so I'll be dyeing and celebrating the colors, and charity knitting as well! There's my game plan!

I'm still working bit by bit on my alpaca knitalong shawl. I don't know if its the lighter weight of the yarn or the smaller than usual needles, but it is taking it's time. I can see how people get bored with longer projects and move onto something else. However, I'm happy to say that I am learning as I go- I've not had a project yet where I made a mistake and repaired it (usually it gets frogged because my 'repairs' screw it up even more!).

But this time, I met with success!!! Part of it (I am sure!) was due to the fact that frogging this shawl after all this effort would make me lose my mind!

I attempted to knit a row past the mistake, hoping it would be so small no one would notice. But it was an eyesore, and so with the help of knittinghelp.com, I finally figured out what I am doing and it looks so much better! In fact, I'm committing myself to learn how to do lifelines next!