How’s the weather where you are?
Someone must have been listening to me when I was complaining that 85° wasn’t acceptable for this time of year - it was cold out today! Or at least colder than it has been. It’s 45° right now (at 9:45 pm), and I swear it didn’t get any warmer than 62° during the day. Too bad it was dark and drizzly all day. Oh well - can’t win ‘em all, can you?

I think I’m dyeing.
I did some more dyeing yesterday, and it’s possibly my favorite color yet. I promise I’ll be unveiling the new colors by Monday at the latest. I was going to do more dyeing today, but I realized I’m out of paper towels. If you’ve ever hand painted yarn, you know that paper towels are necessary. You’ve got to sop up that extra water somehow before you cook the yarn to set the dye. And since I couldn’t be bothered to go to the store today to buy more, I guess the last batches of yarn will have to wait.

The rest of my time lately (aside from job hunting and watching mindless television) has been spent setting up an online storefront from which to sell the yarn. I’m using Zen Cart, and it’s rather finicky and hard to figure out sometimes. I guess that’s what I get for using free, open-source software, though. It’s not the best solution, but at least it’s a way for people to see the yarn, add it to their shopping cart, and check out via PayPal (using either their PayPal account or just a credit card). I’m still working out all the kinks, but hopefully it’ll be ready to go when the yarn is. Stay tuned.

RYC Cashsoft; image “borrowed” from here

In Which She Writes About Her Favorite Yarn:
My Secret Pal 10 host, Robin, has posted a new contest, where we’re supposed to write about our favorite and least favorite yarns. The winner gets a $20 Elann.com gift certificate, and I’m all about winning free stuff, so I figured I would throw my name into the pot.

There are all sorts of luxury yarns out there. Yarns made of silk, yarns made of angora, yarns made of cashmere. Beaded yarns, bobbled yarn, and yarn that glitters like gold. I haven’t worked with most of these yarns because, well… I’m poor. The yarn that I most covet, though, is Rowan Cashsoft. 4-Ply, DK, Aran, whatever. It’s the softness of it that I love. And it’s affordable. I’ve used the 4-ply for toes and heels of socks, and they are they comfiest thing ever. The scarf I’m working on (or not working on, as the case may be as of late) uses the DK weight, and it feels soooo nice against my neck. One day I will make a sweater out of the stuff. I’ve got some stash to work through first, though.

As far as least favorite yarns go… I’m not sure I’ve encountered one yet that I absolutely hate. That, or I hated it so much that I’ve blocked it from memory. My hands don’t particulalry like working with cotton, but I’m not sure that counts. Maybe I’m just inexperienced enough that I’ve not encountered any yarn that I hated. Or maybe it’s because I grew up in a yarn store (I’m not even sure if I’m talking about Yarn Expressions here or just mom’s huge stash at the house) that I’ve never been exposed to truly crappy yarn. Who knows. But I’ve at least liked, if not absolutely adored, everything I’ve ever worked with. I guess I’m just lucky like that.

Ok, now it’s off to work on Sgt. DayGlo sock #2. Tata, people.