prescription for sanity...

truth be told, while i was inclined to take a break from this whole post-a-week thing, i would like to think myself capable of seeing one thing through to the end. here goes...

it has been one of those weeks, when life seems full of sleeplessness and the growing realization of one's sanity receding at a steady pace. i have taken appropriate steps using the only type of prescription my brand of doctorhood allows: chocolate, ice cream, and yarn... to be administered as needed.

i have just about run out of stuff to dye, so i took a mad hunt through the stash for anything that could benefit from a bit of over-dyeing. many moons ago, i purchased a large lot of alpaca yarn, enough to make a sweater (or two), or many smaller accessories. there was only one problem... well, two problems. the fiber is put up at roughly 430 yards per 50 gram ball, which puts it smack-dab in the middle of the generally-accepted parameters for a laceweight yarn. [why the fiber industry insists on mixing metric and imperial measuring terms is a rant for another day].

"just how thin is a laceweight yarn", you ask? "stupid thin", i reply.

my fantasy at the time of purchase involved up-spinning (or plying) it into something significantly thicker, so that i could produce a garment without resorting to gnawing off my own fingers. that is still a possibility, but i stole a few balls for emergency sanity dyeing. yes, it is grey (which is the other problem), so i had to go bold and bright with my color choice. i grabbed one of my très-posh niddy-noddies, made from PVC...

 and turned the balls of yarn into skeins (which makes for even dye penetration).

everything looks pretty in a skein, which is why hand-dyed yarn is usually presented in this format.

i opted to go with a combination of Caribbean Blue and Peacock Blue. i vow, time and again, to stop using blues (as they are notorious for bleeding like mad), but i am hopelessly addicted. i saved the paper towel that was used to wipe up some splashes for context in the before-and-after image.

the end product looks navy, but it is more like sapphire with a healthy splash of teal. it is a rich tone, befitting a precious gem.

all the other domestic details are as usual, apart from waking up today to discover that my zucchini and potato plants have been vandalized. there are no solid leads thus far, but i am questioning the usual suspects.