Using things up.

Classic procrastinator me avoided the sewing room.  Procrastination is my super power.  Instead, I did this.

And, if you are wondering, the brown is short because that is the brown is almost used up.  Only this remains.

There was quite a bit more of one yarn strand than all the others, but I used it till the first strand was finished.  

When I started this brown stripe, I thought I would get 3 rows completed but I got four rows in, short 9 stitches before the browns gave out.  Decent mileage really.  I decided to just get on with the work and started the last purple row right there.  I wanted to use up the yarn to the bitter end.  Mission accomplished.  The purple will go a bit further and will, I hope, make this chair pad, long enough that I do not have to add another colour.

If 8 balls does indeed make a good size felted chair pad, then it's time to pick out the next batch of colours from the bin of Pallette. 

This next pad will be greens and rosy pinks. The greens are pretty accurate in colour here, but the deeper rosy tones look brown.  

The more I work on these chair pads, the more I can't wait to put them into service.  It's a really nice use of yarn I had no plans for and it uses up a significant amount of it.  For the first time ever, this bin of yarn closes easily.  

Looking ahead? Sure. Why not.

I got to work with the new hook as soon as I posted yesterday.  You know what?  It was awful.

I know!  Not what you expect from a brand new tool.  There was a ridge of rough plastic at the centerline of the hook.  Under the hook and over the tip were the worst.  It was catching on everything.  Luckily Keith had some very fine sandpaper and I could deal with the ridge.  It is about the same as if I had bought the wood hook.  Oh well.  It is what it is and the hook works well enough.  

I spent the afternoon baking.  It's high cherry season and I made a really nice cherry cobbler using an Allrecpies page recipe.  Very tasty and just perfect for these cherries.  I did not pit the cherries, just used them stone in.  They are small this year but plentiful.  It was not worth the hassle of dealing with pits.  When I was a kid, my mom canned the cherries stone in and they weren't a problem.  The cobbler was a winner.

More knitting and crocheting today to be sure, but I really want to get to the sewing room too.  It's time to get that in order so winter projects can begin. Failing that, it could be a good day for a stash dive.  It's chilly today and it makes me think of all the wonderful yarns I could work with for the fall and winter.  

Woe

Quelle disaster.

 

It just snapped.  I wasn't putting pressure on it.  It just snapped.  I stared at it for a few seconds longer than most people would have.  It was so unbelievable that the tool let me down.  It was inconceivable.  

I think I bought these in the 90s when I started making sweaters for myself.  So they are at least 30 years old.  Maybe more.  And old plastic does get brittle.  But I had only this one hook in this size.

Keith stopped at the giant big box in Vegreville to see what they had for replacement.  I am not a fan of hooks with a too thick shift.  My favourites are hooks that are slender and then get thicker.  I also don't like wood hooks.  No slip and I don't like things feeling as if the hook is grabby.  

  

I went with the green 6.5 mm hook and a blue 7 mm hook.   The one that broke was a 6.5 but I had wished for one just a bit larger when I started chair pads.  Next pad will be done with a 7.  The new hooks will be okay.  They feel oddly light in comparison but they are otherwise the shape I prefer.  

I knit most of the day on the Kauni sweater so today I need to get in some good time on the chair pad.  Let's see if I can run out of yarn and need a third colour.