Marnie, speak! Good girl.

About a year ago, I bought a sweater's worth of Elsbeth Lavold Cotton Patine. It was on sale at an LYS and it was so soft and squishy, I just couldn't pass it up.

Well, despite the fact that I've had it tucked away in a dark corner, in a bag, the yarn is showing definite signs of fading from exposure to sun. It's subtle enough, that I can't seem to capture it in photos, but when I try the garment on, I see obvious bands of fading at the start of each new ball of yarn I add. The effect is one of belly cellulite. I'm quite sure that this is not a look I want to go for.

But, even though I noticed this a while ago, I didn't stop knitting it. In fact, I'm plowing along. Why? Because I have a really sweet mum. She's going to over dye my piece, when I'm done, to even out the coloring. She's been dying natural fibers, at home, and graciously agreed to throw turn my brown eyes garment, blue.

I'm sort of giddy about it. I think that the end result will look even better than if my yarn had been perfect to start with.

I didn't have a chance in my earlier post, to put up a picture of my Inspir(al)ed hat, but now that I'm back home I can show you this picture of Inspir(al)ed, having a moment with Thea and me.

It's good to have an assistant.

And finally, more tatting

I'm back to using the size 8 pearl cotton (the finer stuff). I just love how delicate it looks, next to the size 5 cotton. I'm a painfully slow tatter. That image above shows several hours worth of work. But I have these visions of trimming projects in tatted lace and I get so excited, I just can't put the project down. By the way, thanks to each of you who sent me resources and suggestions. I've been trying to take it all in and I know I'll be coming back, again and again, to revisit your comments and links.

I may have ordered myself some more tatting goodies from an online resource. I've used this site for purse handles, and now it's becoming my go-to place for tatting supplies.

It feels like I haven't done too much lately. Work has been one crazy deadline after another and by the time the day is up, not even my crafting looks appealing to me.

I have made some incremental progress on the cotton cowl.

I think you might even be able to make out some of that bleached effect, in these pictures. It's noticeable to me, but I've been staring at it for a couple weeks.

I've also purchased a few new tatting supplies.

I bought two balls of variegated thread, and three new shuttles. So far, I like the little hooks at the end of the Boye shuttles (the ones with the bobbins) but I find my original Clover plastic shuttles a little nicer to hold, because they are so light. It doesn't seem like the bobbin holds much more of the #5 pearl cotton, but I'm sure its fantastic with fine threads.

The pretty little silver shuttle is lovely to look at but with no hook or pick at the end, it requires that I always keep a fine crochet hook around for joining picots and that's just a bit of a drag.

I also got myself an inexpensive little picot guide (not shown). If I ever make anything that could be an heirloom, it'll sate my persnickety side that wants everything to be just right.

My humble little tatting collection all fits snuggly in a tea tin, right now.

I'm not sure how long that will last, but I like it for now. Since I've started working from home, I've gradually moved from being a coffee drinker to being exclusively a tea drinker, and I have many little tins and containers to prove it. Any opportunity to put them to good use fills me with a bit of glee.

Lastly, I've finished Leo's second beanie.

I've had this done for a while but black knits are a real beast to photograph and I've been dragging my feet on it.

I still want to knit him at least one more hat, in something easy to care for. The pima/silk blend is a delight to knit and wear, but he needs some real work horses to keep up with his beanie wearing schedule.

Leo has been sick...icky sick, since Wednesday night. It seems like it may finally be passing, but for a while, he was in rough shape.

Luckily, I didn't have to tend to him alone.

Panda monitored his vital signs.

And Thea...

She made sure Leo got plenty of sleep.

If you haven't already, I suggest you get one of each for yourself, in case you get sick.

When they weren't tending to the sick, they helped me get a few shots of the cowl in progress.

I actually knit about a skein's worth of cowl and hated what I did. I got a little too creative with it and it wasn't pretty. We are ripped back to this point.

Two pups napping.

A little more progress on the cowl.

This piece is so different than my normal style. Usually, I like to create something you couldn't just pop into Old Navy or Gap and buy. But sometimes it's nice to crank out something so utilitarian that you could wear it twice in a week and no one would notice.

There's not too much to say about it. The lines and construction are all quite simple. It's incredibly comfortable and should be a nice layering piece on those rare occasions I need to be in the office for work.

I think my mannequin wears it a little better than I do. She's such a show off.

Even though this piece feels a little "blah" to me, there are elements I like. I find the wide ribbing very flattering and I thought the way the collar looked, when half finished, could be modified into an interesting shawl collar on a cardigan.

For now, this piece is off to New Hampshire to get a warm dip in a dye bath.

My mom did an amazing job overdyeing my Cowl.

"I’m afraid I just blue myself"

She used two dips in a muted blue dye which allowed just a little of the warmth of the original beige to shine through. The result still looks blue to me but teeters on the edge of a sage green. It's really striking in person. Of course, pictures never do it justice.

The girls are just there to draw attention away from how much we need to prune the shrubbery.

Two pups napping.

A little more progress on the cowl.

Leo has been sick...icky sick, since Wednesday night. It seems like it may finally be passing, but for a while, he was in rough shape.

Luckily, I didn't have to tend to him alone.

Panda monitored his vital signs.

And Thea...

She made sure Leo got plenty of sleep.

If you haven't already, I suggest you get one of each for yourself, in case you get sick.

When they weren't tending to the sick, they helped me get a few shots of the cowl in progress.

I actually knit about a skein's worth of cowl and hated what I did. I got a little too creative with it and it wasn't pretty. We are ripped back to this point.

It feels like I haven't done too much lately. Work has been one crazy deadline after another and by the time the day is up, not even my crafting looks appealing to me.

I have made some incremental progress on the cotton cowl.

I think you might even be able to make out some of that bleached effect, in these pictures. It's noticeable to me, but I've been staring at it for a couple weeks.

I've also purchased a few new tatting supplies.

I bought two balls of variegated thread, and three new shuttles. So far, I like the little hooks at the end of the Boye shuttles (the ones with the bobbins) but I find my original Clover plastic shuttles a little nicer to hold, because they are so light. It doesn't seem like the bobbin holds much more of the #5 pearl cotton, but I'm sure its fantastic with fine threads.

The pretty little silver shuttle is lovely to look at but with no hook or pick at the end, it requires that I always keep a fine crochet hook around for joining picots and that's just a bit of a drag.

I also got myself an inexpensive little picot guide (not shown). If I ever make anything that could be an heirloom, it'll sate my persnickety side that wants everything to be just right.

My humble little tatting collection all fits snuggly in a tea tin, right now.

I'm not sure how long that will last, but I like it for now. Since I've started working from home, I've gradually moved from being a coffee drinker to being exclusively a tea drinker, and I have many little tins and containers to prove it. Any opportunity to put them to good use fills me with a bit of glee.

Lastly, I've finished Leo's second beanie.

I've had this done for a while but black knits are a real beast to photograph and I've been dragging my feet on it.

I still want to knit him at least one more hat, in something easy to care for. The pima/silk blend is a delight to knit and wear, but he needs some real work horses to keep up with his beanie wearing schedule.

About a year ago, I bought a sweater's worth of Elsbeth Lavold Cotton Patine. It was on sale at an LYS and it was so soft and squishy, I just couldn't pass it up.

Well, despite the fact that I've had it tucked away in a dark corner, in a bag, the yarn is showing definite signs of fading from exposure to sun. It's subtle enough, that I can't seem to capture it in photos, but when I try the garment on, I see obvious bands of fading at the start of each new ball of yarn I add. The effect is one of belly cellulite. I'm quite sure that this is not a look I want to go for.

But, even though I noticed this a while ago, I didn't stop knitting it. In fact, I'm plowing along. Why? Because I have a really sweet mum. She's going to over dye my piece, when I'm done, to even out the coloring. She's been dying natural fibers, at home, and graciously agreed to throw turn my brown eyes garment, blue.

I'm sort of giddy about it. I think that the end result will look even better than if my yarn had been perfect to start with.

I didn't have a chance in my earlier post, to put up a picture of my Inspir(al)ed hat, but now that I'm back home I can show you this picture of Inspir(al)ed, having a moment with Thea and me.

It's good to have an assistant.

And finally, more tatting

I'm back to using the size 8 pearl cotton (the finer stuff). I just love how delicate it looks, next to the size 5 cotton. I'm a painfully slow tatter. That image above shows several hours worth of work. But I have these visions of trimming projects in tatted lace and I get so excited, I just can't put the project down. By the way, thanks to each of you who sent me resources and suggestions. I've been trying to take it all in and I know I'll be coming back, again and again, to revisit your comments and links.

I may have ordered myself some more tatting goodies from an online resource. I've used this site for purse handles, and now it's becoming my go-to place for tatting supplies.

This piece is so different than my normal style. Usually, I like to create something you couldn't just pop into Old Navy or Gap and buy. But sometimes it's nice to crank out something so utilitarian that you could wear it twice in a week and no one would notice.

There's not too much to say about it. The lines and construction are all quite simple. It's incredibly comfortable and should be a nice layering piece on those rare occasions I need to be in the office for work.

I think my mannequin wears it a little better than I do. She's such a show off.

Even though this piece feels a little "blah" to me, there are elements I like. I find the wide ribbing very flattering and I thought the way the collar looked, when half finished, could be modified into an interesting shawl collar on a cardigan.

For now, this piece is off to New Hampshire to get a warm dip in a dye bath.

My mom did an amazing job overdyeing my Cowl.

"I’m afraid I just blue myself"

She used two dips in a muted blue dye which allowed just a little of the warmth of the original beige to shine through. The result still looks blue to me but teeters on the edge of a sage green. It's really striking in person. Of course, pictures never do it justice.

The girls are just there to draw attention away from how much we need to prune the shrubbery.