...and best-laid plans (continue to) run amok.

 
Originally, I was going to knit all one-skein projects with the yarn I dyed for Project Spectrum and I sort of even planned the whole thing out. I knew I wouldn't do it to the end if I boxed myself in too much, though, so beyond some basic guidelines and scribbles on paper, it was all very fluid... playful and fun, yay!

RED: The first month was pretty normal, though I definitely caught the fever because I was throwing all sorts of extra-curricular skeins and hanks into the pot!

GREEN: The second month took a vibrant and much more colorful route -- a woolly and literal interpretation of "playful and fun."

BLUE: The third month was all about experimentation, so much so that the final "project" yarn doesn't even look blue to the untrained eye. Heh. It's blue to me and always will be! (I had a big red stuff dog once, very much like Clifford, and I named him Blue.)

 
PINK! Pink is... well, pink ain't so easy folks! It can easily be so hot it sears the eye, or a little too Pepto, or too... I dunno, it's just tricky.

Here's my first attempt, using what I thought was a weak solution of red and burgundy. Heehee! It's very happy and definitely not Pepto, though it doesn't always play well with other colors and sometimes makes you want to squint a little (it depends on the light).

The second attempt, using half the strength of the first and with just a DROP of black, is still a pretty strong pink!

The third solution was half again the strength and with a half-drop of chartreuse in the mix. That resulted in a rather soft, pretty, girly pink.

Well, then Stephen West came along with his WestKnits Mystery Shawl KAL. It's been ages since I did a KAL (okay, fine, not counting the Through the Loops Cerasifera shawl I just finished). I've never done a mystery KAL, though, and I found myself completely enchanted... and then thinking about stash yarn possibilities and which color combinations might work and... hey! maybe I could dye yarn to match!

 
There are a few skeins of fingering-weight yarn from each of the first three batches of pink that were overdyed to sort of "dirty" them up a bit -- some are easier than others to pick out in the photos above -- with varying degrees of success (and also pastel green!). I came close to what I wanted, but no banana... I was short on time (this being a last-minute decision) and it just wasn't working to rush (i.e., NOT FUN!), so I found some yarn in Iowa to use for the mystery shawl (MUCH MORE FUN!) and will do something else with my PS pink yarn.

 
I may or may not be thinking about my next Stripe Study Shawl.

* * * * *

Have a great weekend. I'll be making my way to W'loo in order to participate in the Fit City Triathlon (relay) with my sisters on Sunday morning! The event benefits the swim club there. I sure wish it had been a nicer summer up 'til now, I hardly feel as though I've ridden except for events... probably because I've hardly ridden except for events.  ; )  Oh well. I'm just thankful that my very competitive Type A sister/teammates are aware of their ages and limitations! Wish us luck!