So I obviously have never worked with Rowan 4-ply before... a couple of posts ago I lamented that I was going to run out of yarn before I got to the end of the pattern because the ball was getting incredibly small and I was only about 4.5 inches in. I knitted more... and some more... and measured it at work yesterday at lunchtime.

I was at 8 inches.

Now I don't know how I jumped from 4.5 to 8 inches that fast, but that's moot. The major point is that I will have enough for the pattern as long as I am careful.

Orangina thus far...




I also mentioned that I decided to work on Branching Out again... it will be nice to get it off my shelf!






My most exciting knitting related project this weekend, though, was my first foray into dyeing my own yarn. Way back when orange and yellow were the Project Spectrum colors, I bought sock yarn and Kool Aid to dye my own socks a nifty stripey orange/ yellow combo. Being the ADD project person I am, I got distracted by something else and never did it. Since it is raining today, and I needed a break from cleaning my house, I grabbed all the stuff to do it. It wasn't the easiest project... not because of the dyeing itself but because Sebastian thought it would be entertaining to be standing over the containers of dye while I was trying to use them. Since I wanted to have patches of white in the socks I made sure to leave sections of white. I am so happy with the finished product and cannot wait to dye some of my wool2dye4 yarn.

Happy Friday folks!

When I was at Kate's I was talking to Jessica about how as of late my time had been spent trying to raise sponsors towards a missionary/ humanitarian aid trip to NYC in September, and how money just wasn't appearing. She mentioned that I should put something on my knitting blog about it to see if that would generate some support.

To be honest, I flipflopped back and forth about whether to do it... not because knitters aren't the generous sort, but because I was wary of what consequences trying to drum up money for me would hold.

Finally I decided to do it. If you want to help, I would greatly appreciate it. If you don't, I won't be mad or upset. I understand that you might not agree with the trip, or don't have the money, or whatever.

The Trip...

The trip is from September 11-17 in NYC. It costs $900 to go. We will be spending our week working on the Relief Bus which goes out and distributes food and clothing to the homeless. Past trips (this organization does this trip twice a year) have seen so many people with no hope at all leave with some kind of hope for their future simply because they have gotten food, clothes and have had someone sit and talk to them.

Donations don't have to be large... any little bit helps. And donations are tax deductible as well. If you do want to sponsor me, you can send a payment directly to the address below- please don't put my name on the check, but put it on a sticky note on top of the check so they can make sure it goes towards my trip (full name is Sara Barron-Nichols). Any monies raised in excess of $900 goes toward other humanitarian aid trips.

To send donations:
4-H.I.M
2410 W. Memorial Road, Suite C., #133
Oklahoma City, OK. 73134

Payments can be made out to 4-HIM. If you don't have way to donate by check/ money order, but still want to donate, let me know because I am waiting on instructions on how to also allow credit card/ debit card donations.

And please feel free to post this around if you are interested in doing so... as I said, any little bit helps.

There is nothing like spending some time with some other knitters to renew your love for fiber. And after cataloging part of my stash the other day I came to the conclusion that... *drum roll*

I need to get my ass in gear and knit some of the projects I've had sitting around.

I discovered that I have enough sock yarn alone for 6 pairs of socks... and that is not counting the full pound of dye your own sock yarn I bought from wool2dye4.com. Some of it is especially delicious, like my nubby sock yarn from Greenwood Fiberworks.

I also picked back up on Branching Out... that has been sitting on my shelf since last fall. It's amazing how much faster it is moving along this time around!

While on work lunches I am working steadily (although slowly) on Orangina. My fear now is that I am going to run out of yarn before I finish the pattern. I figure I am about 4.5 inches in and almost done with this skein. Since I have to knit this section for 16 inches before joining it to the band around the base (which is another 5 inches), and I have only 6 balls total, I am anticipating running out of yarn right before I have to start the base ribbing (in other words, approx. 5 inches/skein for both front and back). Although I know that I have no real chance of getting a ball from the same dyelot, I am hoping it won't matter in this case to knit the ribbing in a slightly different shade. I guess I will have to see how close in color I can get.

I read on Kate's blog that after Jessica and I left, the gals (and guys) played around with spinning a bit. I admit I am jealous... especially since my hope of purchasing a wheel went out the window about the time our oven stopped working. Maybe there is still hope for next year!

Is it crazy that I am already looking forward to my next knitblogger meet-up? Kate, I cannot thank you enough!

The weekend at Kate's...

As I mentioned in my last rather boring post, I was heading to the fabulous Kate's for part of the weekend. This was my first official knitbloggers meeting, and what an awesome time it was!

It took me about 2 hours to drive from Augusta to Bridgton, although I probably could have done the trip faster if the traffic hadn't been so heavy in places. Kate had warned me that the tiny town of Harrison was having a parade and would be closing down the main street for about an hour, so my goal was to make it through Harrison before that happened. And despite it being hotter than blue blazes (it would figure that me driving in a car for two hours with no A/C means 90 degree sucks nuts weather), I made it!

When I got there, Jackie was already there, so Kate, Jackie and I hung out for a bit before heading to the beach. Kate's fabulous Jason was willing to play boat chauffer for us (what a sport!), and Jackie and I decided to risk our lives and go tubbing for the first time ever! Stable Mable effing rocks!

The rest of the group got there shortly after, and we all piled onto the boat and lounged around in the middle of Long Lake drinking beer and talking. Can I just say how cool these gals (and their significant others) are? I only wish I didn't live so damn far away so I could actually hang out with them again! We had Jackie, (freckle girl) Jess and her husband Casey (who is a whiz with mixing drinks!), Jessica, Maya and her boyfriend Steve (who tried to teach us how to play a nifty Mexican dice game, but unfortunately the sun had affected my brain and I didn't get it), Kate and Jason. We floated around the lake for quite a while before heading back to shore. Once back at the Academy, we sat around and talked, discussed knitting, and drank some good stuff before Jason cooked for us on the grill (burgers, chicken, grilled zucchini, salad, pasta salad... it was awesome!).

The huge downside to the day was my own friggen stupidity... I had neglected to put on sunscreen, and being the idiot I am, I didn't notice I was getting pink until it was way too late. And since it hurt like a bitch, I ended up not staying the night with the rest of the group (and from reading Kate's mini blog post it seems like I missed some flashing? What? All this stuff happened AFTER I left? Damn it!).

Here are a few pictures I popped out... although, Maya... I have to apologize... I got a picture of you knitting your sweater wrap and when I uploaded the picture to my computer it was all wonky looking. It now looks like I didn't get any shots of just you. Sorry!!

Us lounging around and knitting (of course!):





Frecklegirl Jess:




Jackie:




Kate:


Jessica:


and a picture that Seth took of my stupid shithead moment sunburn:

Note to self: don't be a dumbass.

But I had such a great time... I really can't say enough good things about these knitters! And Kate, thank you so so much for allowing us to invade your space for the weekend! You were an amazing host!

I've been horribly bad about blogging... but then again, I've been horribly bad about knitting. To be honest, I've been really wrapped up in some other stuff- like a missionary/ humanitarian aid trip to NYC that I am trying to raise money for for September. I've got less than 2 months to get approximately $900 in pledges. Needless to say that isn't easy.

But I am going to the fabulous Kate's Maine Fiber weekend shindig tomorrow... and am sure to take a gazillion pictures as long as my camera battery doesn't crap out on me.

Does it also help to know that I spent an entire evening cataloging most of my yarn? No?

I hope everyone is having a fabulous summer so far... and I love to see what you are all creating even if my creating has hit a slight roadblock.