This is one of four books that arrived from Amazon yesterday and I think I am madly in love with it. If you have trouble reading tiny type it is The Yarn Lover's Guide to Hand Dyeing by Linda La Belle and I have no link because it's available from everybody. Not only does it show all the techniques to get all those wonderful colours you covet when looking at hand-dyed yarns, not only does it take you step by step through (I think) 9 different dyes from Kool-Aid to Kiton, not only does she use many different fibres so it's a good cross section of materials, but there are interviews and behind-the-scenes photos of some of the best hand dyers we all know from Treenway Silks to Koigu. I happen to have 3 4 oz skeins of white wool sitting on my kitchen table: hand-spun BFL, handspun one ply merino one ply mohair, and commercially spun wool and cashmere. I think to the stash and think of all the white wool waiting to be dyed. And lets not forget overdyeing while we're talking about dyeing, because Sally Melville's Styles opened my eyes to the possibilities of changing the yarn into something completely different. One of the techniques I liked in this book is the dyeing of a already knitted hat. It's an idea I've toyed with when thinking about knitting socks and then dyeing them. I have so many ideas coming out of merely paging through this book. It inspired me to think about retiring our tired microwave to solely dying purposes and my MIL told me she has a single burner hot plate I could have which would move the dyeing out of the kitchen. When the door is installed as my work space, there will be lots of room to spread things out. Weaving with hand-dyed yarn! Where will this end? How will I ever have time to blog?

My excuse this week is I got a cold a week ago and spent several days feeling like sludge so I went easy for several days. I was lying in bed actually sleeping while my bathroom was being demolished and rebuilt. It's close to being finished, needing installation of the vanity and toilet (out of the dining room after more than a year!) and some minor electrical work completed. And painting. Why does my world revolve around painting? I hope to go back at the guest bedroom this weekend. This morning I worked in the garden; another skirmish in the war against couch.

For those who know what I refer to, be glad that my financial dramas are almost over. The cliche that people go feral when money is at stake is all so very true and you cannot trust anybody.

Rounds 1-3: I have not watched any but snippets of the Swans this season but they have lost one and won two and the few times I managed to be in the room when they were actually playing and not having a commercial break, they looked good. Mick seems to be in good form as does Bazza. I so rarely have time to sit down and watch during the day on weekends and I didn't grow up to listening to footy on the radio so I have a hard time visualizing the match simply from play by play commentary. And of course, I always want to share with The Bear and he's not here.

I've added another charity link to my page. Plant a Billion Trees is an initiative of the Nature Conservancy to reforest parts of the Brazilian rainforest. I've been a member of the NC for many years and the Australian Bush Heritage folks do similar work to what the NC does. Buy up land and try and rehabilitate it. Bush Heritage is on a plan to buy up land to form a wildlife corridor from the mountains to the coast. In case you haven't caught on, I really care a lot about the environment and people less fortunate than I and I try to donate regularly if not in large chunks. I try to live as green as I am physically able, have a 99% organic garden, use water wisely, and consumer moderately (except for fibre and books). I find it frustrating when somebody publishes something about tips for saving energy or water or whatever and I've already been doing all of them for years. Re-use, repair, recycle.