Splodgy Scarf

This is another of the yarns that I dyed on the Dyeing Workshop. I was disappointed by the splodginess but really pleased with what I managed to make :-)

The scarf is a Sue Morgan design, available from Get Knitted - you might need to scroll down on the link. It's a very simple knit, it's a two row pattern, one of which is GS and I like the finished result very much. I used #9 Aero needles.

And the splodges have disappeared into the pattern :-)

I am going to give this to a friend for Christmas - they are "her" colours. I'm not going to say who, I don't THINK she reads my blog but you never know. She's a good friend though, and I'm pleased I've made her something I know she'll like :-)

Hand Dyed Monkey Socks

Thank you all for your supportive comments on my previous post.

Do you remember this superwash merino yarn that I dyed on the Dyeing Workshop back in August?

Well here it is, knitted up into a pair of Monkey socks :-)

Not perhaps the most aesthetically pleasing of socks, but I have derived no end of satisfaction from knitting with a yarn that I dyed myself. I used the usual 2.5mm needles.

The yarn was dyed using acid dyes, and I am pleased to report that none came off on my hands while knitting ( which isn't always the case with some bought yarns ) and that it was also colourfast on blocking too.

I don't think I'll ever put anyone out of business, but for someone like me who is not in the least bit artistic the workshop was great fun and I'd recommend it to anyone.

New Words

I haven't been here for a while. And apologies to all of you whose blogs I haven't visited recently.

We've had a lot to think about in chez Aknita in the last few weeks. There's been a lot of worry and uncertainty, waiting, and new words to learn.

The first new words we had to learn were brain tumour. Then there was genetic. The best word was noncancerous.

Then there was the surgery to remove the tumour, then the histology to wait for and another new word - medulloblastoma - and life has changed for ever.

My nephew has 12 months of chemotherapy and radiotherapy to go through. I'm obviously being somewhat reticent here in blogland and don't want to go into too much personal detail, other than that we are all being encouraged to think of a positive result, so there's light at the end of this dark tunnel. It is very rare for this type of cancer to affect adults.

I am in turn angry, confused and just plain mad that this can happen to such a lovely young man.

I think my ventures into blogland are going to haphazard for a while. Please bear with me if I'm not reading your blogs as often as I used to, and keep us all in your thoughts.