February 4, 2007
Practical Mittens and Veering Off Course

	Pattern: Troubadour Mittens from Morehouse Farm Yarn: 2 skeins Morehouse Merino 3-strand Needles: 2 mitts on 2 circular US size 6 My first finished knit for Project Spectrum ....nice, grey, basic soft warm mittens with a flared cuff to keep out the snow and cold. These mittens are gently felted when finished to make an extra warm tight fabric. They will go into our mitten basket!

As soon as I finished the mittens, I started this hat. It is " Norwegian Star" from Hat's On by Charlene Schurch. This is my 2nd hat from her book and I know there will be many more in the future.

just turned up the hem	an inside look	cute little picot edge

And here is where I veer off of the grey, white, blue Project Spectrum path.... I decided that I want some "not solid" red socks and all I have in the stash is solid red sock yarn SO.....yesterday while Dave took the boys skating at the pond, I dug out my dye kit that I bought last fall from Adrian at Hello Yarn and with absolutely no experience (other than Kool Aid over dye) I went for it following her excellent directions.

I LOVE this yarn - some kind of beginner's luck because it turned out exactly as I dreamed it might be. I had 4 cups of dye (1 red, 1 red with extra water, 1 red with a bit of blue, 1 red with a bit of black). I just poured them on and squished it around and microwaved for 6 minutes!

I keep fondling it and showing it to anyone who will look.