25 April: Felt, hat, and a star

I made the second piece of felt. Then I couldn't decide what colour to dye it. A couple of things I've made recently have had dye problems - aaargh! The orange and purple socks lost dye when they were washed, and the red/pink dye ran on a hat in white and raspberry Shetland wool, to the same pattern as this one, also in Shetland wool -

It's slightly adapted from the one in Elaine Eskesen's book Dyeing to Knit. Not quite a tam, and very easy to knit.

I cast on a scarf and knitted nearly a foot before I frogged it; decided it wasn't drapey enough.

Then today I decided that I would dye the felt green, and got the dye stuff out. There was a lovely sage green in the box, but I thought it should be a bit darker, so in went a bit of charcoal. (You'll notice the accuracy with which these chemicals are measured - in "bits") That was a little too dark, but there was no more sage left. Try a touch of jade, which is a ferociously strong and lurid shade. That looked good in the pan on the stove, so in went the felt and on went the gas.

Then I settled down to read my current book - The Ode Less Travelled, by Stephen Fry (I just couldn't pass by a book with a title like that, now could I?). Meanwhile the felt simmered away, and when I looked at it after half an hour or so, most of the dye had been absorbed, so in went a bit of vinegar to encourage it to soak up the rest, and a few minutes later it was Done. A quick spin in the washing machine, and now it's drying. Next the process of cutting and sewing - and perhaps a bit of embroidery.

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I have always known that DH is a Top Class, All Round Good Egg, excellent at his job; now it seems that his line manager has discovered this, and deemed him to be Outstanding.

Am I too cynical, or do I suspect that this is a pre-cursor to his being expected to do even more of the difficult work, with more responsibility and stress but without any extra recognition?