Hot damn! Only 192 people ahead of me for Ravelry! It'll happen today, I'm sure of it. I'll be able to brag about it at my knitting class tonight.

But more importantly, I know how to dye wool now. Once I deplete my yarn supply to a reasonable level, I am going to become a dyeing fanatic.

And thank god I'm not a preteen girl anymore. After spending almost two hours with five of them, I'm amazed that they even tolerate each other.

Maybe I'll have pictures to post tonight.

I was almost going to follow a pattern...

...but I have a condition where I just don't. It's not a lack of trust or faith. It's what happens after too many years of crocheting, I figure. Rules no longer exist, decisions are made freely, and hook recommendations are considered almost obscene (for one eventually knows what hook size the yarn calls for, and yes, I believe in the K hook on sock yarn).

Anyway, last weekend, while trying not to buy every bit of yarn I thought gorgeous, I fell in love with some sock yarn by Curious Creek Fibers. And I knew the moment I saw it, hiding behind another beautiful skein that it was love at first sight and it was going to become the coolest scarf I own. So, I thought all week and finally remembered that there was a cool scarf in the Spring 2007 Interweave Crochet (the Boteh Scarf). So, I started last night. I balled up the yarn (which took forever and means that I need a swift), and jumped in. Things I didn't like about the design:

1) The F hook. I know I'm a weirdo for loving the K hook completely and believing that it is up to the task most of the time, but the F hook is just too small and results in stitches with no bounce or stretch. But I tried it, against my better judgment. And the stitches were too tight, and the half-double looked awkward, which led to the second change.

2) Instead of a chain of 17 (15 hdcs), I did a chain of 12 (10 hdcs) with my beloved K hook.

3) Instead of the funky double triple joining stitch, I used a triple, with a chain of three posing as the first one.

And the results are gorgeous. It's a crazy weird scarf, but it's so crazy and weird that it's gorgeous. And no, I didn't finish. I had to rethink my plan (as the 15 hdcs made it a bit big with the K), which I did this morning, and so far with 2.5 triangles complete, it looks awesome.

I'd show you the yarn, but the "Purple Mountains Majesty" colorway is not online, which is a shame, because I swear, it's pure love, and not your basic love, but your all-encompassing do-anything-for-another-person love, the heart-rending sort that is desperate without being sad. Photos once it's finished.

Plus, I must figure out the colors for the office afghan. Although, I am thinking freeform color decisions. Why restrict creativity? Although, I'm sure people here are afraid of a lack of rules.

the luxury of yarn

Not to be a yarn snob or anything, but Art Fibers has gone online officially and completely. And they're selling more and more by the cone. All of this means that I get to buy super fancy yarn from the comfort of my home instead of trekking over to San Francisco. Although, I do like the trekking part.

I love Art Fibers. In all the world, I've never found another yarn store that is exactly what I want a yarn store to be: original.

(And I learned how to purl correctly tonight. Although, I think my incorrect purls are nicer.)

Waffle Weave Technique

This is hardly my favorite stitch. It's stiff, thick, and counter-intuitive for the second row. None of which makes me like a crochet stitch/style. (I apologize for the pictures, the camera decided to revolt and go all blurry on me.)

1) Chain what you need plus one.

2) Single crochet in each chain starting with the second chain from the hook.

3) Chain one, turn. This is the hard part. Insert hook through the remaining loop from the foundation chain from the bottom and insert hook through front loop of the last sc row.





Pull up a loop and complete as a sc. Repeat across. (It's going to turn and go weird and you'll be confused and worried that you are doing something wrong, so keep your mind on what is the bottom and what is the top.)



4) Chain one, turn and insert hook from the bottom through the unused loop from Row 1 and the front loop of Row 2.



Yarn over and complete single crochet. Repeat across.



It gets thick and it takes more patience than I generally have.