Simple Pleasures

I hope you all had as much of a joyful weekend as we did.  Around here, actual knitting took a backseat to other holiday plans, but I still enjoyed a few yarn-induced pleasures.

With the gift of free time brought on by the holiday, I was able to dabble with a bit of yarn dyeing:

I am experimenting with a new-to-me sock yarn and completed one test skein in a mushroom dye-bath, and the other in a walnut dye-bath.   I love working with natural materials and hope to include some dye plants in this year's garden.

In fact, thanks to my mother-in-law (or mother-out-law as she prefers to be called), I'll soon be learning more about natural dyes and about color knitting.  We agreed to exchange books from our wish lists.  So I sent her home with a book she's been wanting to read, The Help by Kathryn Stockett, and she gifted me with these two books:


Wild Color:  The Complete Guide to 
Making and Using Natural Dyes by Jenny Dean

 . . . and to make use of my naturally dyed yarn:

The Essential Guide to Color Knitting Techniques
by Margaret Radcliffe


Last but not least, one of our talented friends sent our felines a hand-knit cat toy.  The knit mouse is already well-loved, much to our entertainment.

First, Sister found the box and planted her face in it until she could dig the mouse out with her paws:

Soon Harpo was having his way with it:

It's amazing how much fun a little bit of brown yarn and little bit of catnip can bring to a couple of cats and their humans!

Now that the holiday weekend is over, my thoughts turn to the New Year and the yarn-induced pleasures I hope to enjoy in 2011.  I plan to start the year with a contest so check back here soon for a chance to win.