Batch of the Blues

On the fiber front I have been immersed in blue.

I finished knitting a long, long scarf from the last of the handspun yarn leftover from the log-cabin afghan. The resulting 128" long scarf was just a little too plain blue for my taste, so I did a little experimental dye job on it. I soaked it in water (with a touch of dish soap as a wetting agent) for about 20 minutes, then squeezed it out lightly and folded it in half 3 times. I put red dye in a glass jar and set the jar inside my dye-only crock pot within a couple of inches of yellow dye. I immersed one end of the wet, folded scarf in the red and the other end in the yellow. I simmered the scarf for about 40 minutes, then took it out and rinsed it. I am very pleased with the subtle graded color I achieved, grading from purple to blue to blue-green and back. The initial variations in the original blue dye job add to the overall depth. Some may consider 128" a bit long for a scarf, but giving it about 3 loose wraps around the neck shows off the color gradation nicely.

Another blue project is the "Montana" bath set I am knitting from blue kitchen cotton. I made the initial washcloth to test out the very simple 2-row stitch pattern used in the Montana Scarf from LoopKnits. It turned out to be the best washcloth pattern I have ever tried, since it is both supple and scrubby, and its openwork (when knit on US9 needles) allows the heavy cotton to dry quickly. It is also completely reversible and naturally lays flat. Best of all, it is complete idiot knitting, making it almost perfect for knitting while walking. I say ALMOST perfect, since I am knitting off a cone that is too big to fit in my purse. Here are the 2 rows (working on a multiple of 6 ss): Row 1 - *K3, P3* repeat to end of row. Row 2 - *K1, P1* repeat to end of row. That's it. Give it a try. I am now working on a handtowel to go with my washcloth.

One more partly-blue project in progress: My Hourglass Eyelet socks from Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock yarn are past the heels and headed down the insteps. Hopefully to be finished soon.
Maybe I'll tackle something other than blue next...