Isn't it amazing . . .

what one can do with a little grape Koolaid and vinegar? Remember that issue of pooling with my Handmaiden yarn? I knew that there was really no way to fix it as the entire skein was just too blue--other than frogging the entire sweater and alternating that skein every few rows through out the piece. No could do! So I knit a swatch, mixed up a small batch of grape Koolaid with vinegar and put it in a fine tipped squirty bottle! Then I did some dye painting on the blue patches. It made a huge difference! So now I can present my first knit finished object since my hand surgery.


This is Fete! C'est magnifique, no?
Here are the details:
Pattern: Fete by Amy Polcyn
Yarn: Handmaiden Double Sea in Periwinkle (3 skeins), Handmaiden Sea Silk in Ebony (small part of one skein)
Needles: Addi tubos, size 5, 32 inch
Ribbon: Artemis silk satin hand dyed ribbon, 1 inch wide in French Roast
Modifications: The smallest size was size 36 so I had to do major math to modify the pattern to measure 32 inches at the bust. It fits well, but I didn't make the length shorter so the armholes are a little too deep. I may just steek the shoulders and sew a shoulder seam to bring them up. I haven't decided yet.

Tomorrow will spent sewing. I took a little sewing diversion yesterday and made this little 8 inch pillow:

I needed something for Little Miss Dolly Girl to sit on. This is one of the antique reproduction dolls that I made many years ago. She is a reproduction of a French AT doll. The head mold was made off an original and I had to clean the porcelain greenware, fire it, then do the china painting on the face. After it is fired again, glass eyes are set in then the skull cap is applied followed by the wig. The hardest thing is painting the face to match the original doll. I'm not so sure my hand is steady enough these days to do that. I made quite a few dolls back in the day. I've packed them away for now. I made two that looked like my kids in their Easter clothes one year. Ems was about 4 and Bird was almost 2. Those are particularly special. This little dolly is sitting around in her undies. One of these days I will make a fancy French frock out of silk, but since it is summer, she can sit around in her slip!



Tomorrow I will make some project bags and work on Ems' project for the fashion show. I did start working on Labyrinth and I also want to start Sea Urchin. My yarn came from Webs today. Talk about quick! I just ordered it on Friday! I got a new yarn by Bristol Yarn Gallery called Lyndon Hill. It is fingering weight 85% pima cotton , 15% silk. It is quite lovely. This is for Sea Urchin which is pictured right below the yarn!



I also got 3 skeins of cotton fleece for the Ribs and Lace tank from the Sprink 07 IK which is my favorite issue of all time!

Ems and KC are in Rhode Island for his orientation and she's been spending the day looking for apartments. I went to their apartment to give Cosmo some love. He's very needy and hates to be left alone so he was very happy to see me. Other than that, I spent most of the day making phone calls. That is the one drawback to my job. When I am in school, I cannot make certain types of phone calls because of being placed on hold for long periods of time. I have even had to take a day off every now and then just for that purpose!

Here is another favorite summer recipe.

Ramen Noodle Salad

Ingredients:

1 pkg. Broccoli Slaw (usually 12 oz.)
3 green onions, sliced
2 pkg. Oriental Flavor Ramen noodles
2 Tbl. toasted Sesame seeds
1 - 1 1/4 cup toasted slivered almonds
1/2 c. canola oil
1/4 c. white wine vinegar
1/2 c. sugar

Rinse and drain the broccoli slaw. Combine slaw, onion, almonds and sesame seeds in a bowl. Break up the noodles and add to slaw mixture. For dressing, combine oil, vinegar, sugar and two spice packets from ramen noodles in a jar or container and shake to blend. Pour dressing over slaw and mix well. Refrigerate until serving time. Stir before serving as dressing sinks to bottom.

This is really good stuff! I suppose one could add chicken to it. I have a great recipe for Oriental Chicken Salad which is almost identical to the one at Cheesecake Factory. Maybe I'll share that some time!

Bushism of the day:
"You work three jobs? Uniquely American, isn't it? I mean, that is fantastic that you're doing that." --George W. Bush, to a divorced mother of three, Omaha, Nebraska, Feb. 4, 2005

Kitty cam: Mike and Samantha veg out on the dining room table most of the day.