Saturday, September 09, 2006

Spiders, Oysters and the blood bath.

So, I got up the guts decided to meet with the Spiders at their favorite haunt the Point and I have to say that it was absolutely lovely to finally meet the girls behind the blogs I've been stalking reading over the past months. I am not so great at names (make that terrible) so I can't remember the names of everyone who was there. I'm not going to embarrass myself by trying to name all the Spiders that I met, I'll only end up missing people out or (worse still) making people up. But everyone seemed really great and I want to say a big hello and thank you to all of you that were were there yesterday, it was a pleasure to meet you all, and you made my first time knitting with a group most enjoyable. I do have to say a big thank you to Michelle, who originally invited me when I met her on the way to the Suss sale in July (I also briefly met Carrie) and thanks also to Veronique, who actually persuaded me to be there yesterday.

As I promised... the bloodbath story. It's the story of my Soliel and the shitty yarn Cotton Patine. I was hand washing it and had actually forgotten about the purple fingers I got when I was knitting it. Not for long though, I look and it bleeds the moment it touches the water - I figured they might have put too much dye in it, so continued to wash it. Oh my God!! I couldn't believe how quickly the water turned the richest deepest purple - more purple than my Soleil. So I rushed to the kitchen cupboard (don't worry, it wasn't that far away), grabbed the vinegar and added it to the water to stop the bleeding. It worked, but my top had a more distinctive odor and was about 10 shades lighter (one step away from frigging lilac). Don't believe me? Look, see:

See? Believe it or not, this is the same yarn.

Needless to say, I'm totally disappointed with this yarn, to anyone who plans to use and wash this yarn, I have one word to say to you.....vinegar.


On a lighter note, I will be heading off to the Riverside Park Oyster Festival later on this afternoon. Some music as well as Oysters and Guinness galore - I like neither oysters, nor Guinness, but it's a fabulous excuse to get out into that beautiful September day, enjoy the sunshine and have a laugh with friends.

Hope everyone else has a wonderful weekend.