or The Mutated Nantucket Jacket That Wouldn't Die!

Basically, Norah Gaughan's Nantucket Jacket from IWK Winter 2006. I added 3" to the waist, made the sleeves full-length, and changed the cables to be more cable-y, which resulted in some odd sleeve seams - sort of like the composition of a mad scientist's first monster. I have more pictures of the whole crazy thing on Ravelry.

I've only done a little dying (with Paas easter egg dye, no less) but want to do it for real. Anybody dye their yarn? What do you use? Where the heck do you get it? I've seen some kits on-line but they seem kinda pricey and I'm wondering if it's worth it or is there something at the craft store that works just as well? Do we really like Kool-Aid? 'Cause I've no problem with yarn that smells like lime ricky and I bet you can blend the colors to get earthy muddy stuff, just like finger paints. Does it fade?

I figure if I get up at 5 and stay up until midnight and don't shower and only eat once a day, I'll have all the Christmas presents done in time.
Anyone else still convinced they can totally fold time?

I was out X-mas shopping today when I saw in the window of a trendy clothing chain the worst "handknit" sweater ever. It was lumpy. It was itchy. It was heavy. It was ugly. It was $200!!!!
Why is it that when knitting was unfashionable, stores like this had sweaters that looked as far from homemade as humanly possible, and now that knitting is "in" and knitters have better yarn and designs available to them than ever before, they sell sweaters that are supposed to look handmade but only the most demented of knitters would make?
My brain hurts.

OK so I know some angora comes from goats and some angora comes from rabbits, an that yarn is made from both. Is there any way to tell which is which? Some stuff, like Lush, tells you up front it's bunny, but what about stuff that doesn't? I know people who are allergic to rats, mice and rabbits, but would like the goat kind. And what the heck is "French Angora" anyway?

Yesterday I saw a girl with the most envy inspiring hand knit hat ever! It looked like it was slightly gathered at the sides, smooth across the top, with a band around the bottom and flowers at each side, over the gather. I can almost figure out how it was made, but I'd love to find a pattern. She said it came from a Japanese knitting book, but that's all I've got to go on. I've scoured Google, but I can't find anything that comes close. Does this sound vaguely familiar to anyone?

My Mum taught me to knit socks, in the long long ago, the before time. Until I was 30, I thought you called the Kitchener stitch "the way you do the toe". So my question, in an effort to elevate myself above grunting and gesturing wildly with my sock needles, is : when you do a heel flap on a sock, and you slip 1, K1 repeated across on one side and slip 1, purl all on the other, making that nifty cushioned fake rib thing - just what the heck is it really called?

OK I am in total agreement with the previous topic, and working at a LYS I hear some of the most obnoxious stuff from others knitters, too. But sometimes people say the awesomest things.
Both of these were while I was knitting on the bus :
Socks (on dpns) : a guy leaned over just before getting off and said "I call what you do genius!"
A gift for a friend (also on dpns) : a punk rock teenager behind me leaned over and said "You're knitting gloves! That is so hardcore!"

I just had to share - I though this was really cool and inspiring.
Over the weekend, I was working on my anatomically correct heart pillow (X-mas present for a blood tech) in my favorite coffee shop, when an older gentleman asked me what I was making. "An aorta", I replied (I'd been getting weird looks all afternoon). He laughed, and drew from his jacket - a small anatomically correct heart. It seems he had taken up knitting when recovering from open heart surgery, and this was his first project. Now he always has it with him, as a sort of good luck charm. It even has rubber tubing and stuff inside, so you can feel the ventricles!

 I'm making felted mukluks for a friend for Christmas. I don't know if anyone is familiar with the Pick Up Sticks pattern for Big Snugs, but that's the one I'm using, except that I'm doing them in fair isle instead of plain (the friend they are for is from a Pacific Coast tribe and I designed a raven pattern based on traditional artwork, black and red on a kind of chamois background). The thing is, I've done some intarsia before but this is really my first fair isle project. The  work is done on bigger than recommended needles. The first few rows I knit stockinette (it has a knit lining sewn in, so rolling should be taken care of), then started a border pattern.  The part with the color work is tighter than the stockinette rows. This is normal, right? Fair isle is a little tighter than regular knitting? Will it still felt OK and/or uniformly? Should I go back (argh argh argh) and cast on fewer stitches or knit those first four rows on a smaller needle? Any suggestions from more seasoned fair isle-ists (I am sooo jealous) and felters would be very appreciated!