The Christmas break is over and it’s back to the grind. It’s tough going back to work when you have a retired husband who gets to stay home! Some day. It was nice to have Christmas on a weekend with the added days off. My sister came up from Seattle and the dogs really enjoyed the extra attention:

In my house we call this “Lap full o’dog”. Despite the fact that Hester looks as if she’s about to fall off, she is actually sleeping. And now that Christmas is over I can show you some surprise gift knitting. Here is Izzy’s first annual Christmas sweater (pattern from “Top Down for Toddlers” by Cabin Fever Knits:

Why, you might ask, is there not a picture of little Isobel modeling her gift from Nana? Because her parents have not yet sent one (hint, hint). We missed so much not having her and her parents here for Christmas, but we would much rather have them save the money for a potential move back here in the spring. But in the meantime, Christmas pictures would be nice (hint, hint).

By the Friday before Christmas I was organized and prepared enough that I had time to play! I had some undyed laceweight yarn from Knit Picks, so I played around with Kool-Aid. My first result (Berry Blue) was a little uneven – nice, but probably too varigated for lace knitting – maybe a feather and fan scarf:

My second attempt (Black Cherry) was more successful. It turned out a very pretty, heathery pink:

It was so pretty, in fact, that I just had to try it out. The pattern is the Snowdrop Shawl from the Yarn Harlot (free on her website). I’m doing a lace workshop for my knitting guild next week and I think this will be a nice pattern for new lace knitters. I had so much fun dyeing that I want to order some more yarn to do some experimenting and get some brighter colors. Since I don’t have a large house and need to use my kitchen, I think I’ll stay with the Kool-Aid dyes since they are non-toxic. I did this in the microwave, but want to try using the crockpot too. Any advice or hints are welcome!