It’s been a productive week, and I’m dying for some down time.
Yesterday, I was scheduled back to back from 9 am to 9 pm. And I’m not even kidding. But, we got some Christmas shopping done, and that’s good. I’m close to finished.
Over the weekend, I dyed some silk for a hat that’s so pretty, it makes me want to cry. It’s a honey blonde color. I desperately want to spin it, but haven’t had the chance.
I now have a plan for Clark’s stocking. We’re going to do stars. I’ve picked the colors, and knit 4 whole rounds on it so far.
I have laundry to do, gifts to wrap, Christmas boxes to put back in the garage, etc. I don’t know if I’ll get time for anything fun today, but I’m going to try.
Oh yeah, now that I’m mostly healed up from a biopsy, I need to start exercising again, too.
So, Nate cleaned out the “cupboard under the stairs” over the weekend, and uncovered a box that NEVER should have been there in the first place.
A box I’ve spent hours looking for since we moved into the house 3.5 years ago.
A box full of yarn. And needles. And lots of other stuff. It was the “throw everything lying around the living room into a box because I’m pregnant, and sick, and tired of packing” box.
That one.
It’s the box that had Hayden’s Harry Potter Sweater yarn in it. She gave me her sweater for Liv, and I promised her my yarn, when I found it.
The bad news… it reeks. The cupboard under the stairs gets no air circulation at all. Everything that was in it (which was supposed to be empty boxes and wrapping paper) smells musty, and it’s gross.
Abby tried to wash a pair of knee high boots that she now nearly fits into. It didn’t work. I’ve thrown away the shoes and over half the yarn. I think the needles will air out eventually. But the nice yarn… Silky Tweed, Lopi, Brown Sheep’s Cotton Fleece, and something wildly colorful, tho’ I don’t know what it is… I can’t bring myself to toss. So it’s been sitting in my hall for a few days.
Any ideas?
I think the felted bags are ok. I washed them with my towels in hot water, heavy soil setting. They shrunk more, but that’s not a problem. Is there some safe way to wash my yarn that’ll get that gawsh awful smell out? The lopi, being a softly spun single is the least likely to survive, I think.
Max is crying, gotta go.
December 16th, 2009 at 11:06 am
Soak it like handspun! You can take each skein and re-hank them by winding them on your niddy noddy… Tie them at the ends with figure-8s and then soak them the same way you would your handspun with a little wool wash (and a tad of vinegar to help with the smell or any color bleeding that may occur.) When they are in a hank like that, they are less likely to felt or get tangled and they will dry faster too. Good luck!
December 16th, 2009 at 4:42 pm
I hope you can save the yarn. Can you use vinegar or something with eucalyptus in it to get rid of the smell. Pity you threw the boots away, you could have popped some bicarb soda in the bottom of them and it soaks up all the horrible smells.
December 16th, 2009 at 8:25 pm
The only thing that has worked for me without destroying the wool is to set the yarn and books out on a very warm sunny day to kill it and naturally de-stink.
Mildew hates the sun (and bleach but wool and bleach do not go well together). The bummer part is waiting for Pacific Northwest weather to cooperate. Depending on how bad the mildew is clinging, it may take several days of sunny airing.
I’ve been able to rescue many cones of estate sale machine knitting yarn with the sun treatment.
December 17th, 2009 at 6:18 am
I quickly read through the previous suggestions and was going to add that I agree with setting them out in the sun. I inherited a Hudson Bay blanket that reeeeaaked of smoke and was musty. I figured it couldn’t hurt to just give it a try. I hung it outside every day for days to let it air out. IT WORKED!
December 17th, 2009 at 5:50 pm
Try sealing it in a plastic bag with dryer sheets for a few days. I was able to get the mildew odor out of a few books by slipping dryer sheets between the pages…so perhaps it will help the wool