Lizard Socks in Vegas

On a recent trip to Vegas, I opted to pack less because 1) I was flying, and 2) I just read an article about how men travel more lightly (in which underwear recycling was implied...).  It was more difficult packing my knitting.  For a  past trip abroad, I brought as much yarn as I could in my travel tote, thinking that I would have countless hours at the airport, on the plane, and in transit to knit.  Well, I did have time, just not that much time.  I returned home with plenty of untouched yarn and even more souvenir yarn.  So I only took a sock project, with simple stitchwork.

Good thing, because I left with this... 

kept at it for another week... 

and look at that!

The yarn did all the work.

The socks kind of reminded me of the lizards in the desert.

What do you think?



Hope my sister enjoys these birthday lizard socks!

Yarn Detox

It's been several rinses and the 8 skeins of  vintage Pauline Denham Knitting Worsted in Bay Leaf still looks like this:

I'm sorry if you were eating. 

However, if you don't succeed at first....

try, try, try rinsing again. 

Did I mention that this is Night 3 of this yarn soaking in the tub?

This is certainly not good for a relaxing soak in the tub,

unless you're green yarn.

Giving Some Old Yarn Some New Life

Recently, my dear Grandma left behind a great stash of fabric and yarn that my aunt generously suggested that I rummage through in case I found something to keep.  What a stash!  I probably returned home with a carload of fiber, and that just a bite of the apple!  The yarn may be 20-30 years old, a tad musty, but it is 100% wool, in colors I would wear, and handy for sweaters.  How nice would it be to make a keepsake out of Grandma's yarn?!  I couldn't believe that each skein was marked about a dollar each!  There's no way I could buy eight skeins of wool yarn for less than ten dollars these days.  While the yarn smells a bit stale, I'm set on saving this yarn. After felting a few in the washer, I found some suggestions online that recommended rewinding the skeins into hanks and soaking them.

So, I flipped a chair over and wound the yarn around and around...

Secured the hanks with yarn...

Added some Eucalan wool rinse from the LYS...

and now the yarn is soaking in the tub overnight...

Hopefully, it smells better in the morning!