I’ve been trucking along on Piece #2 of the gift.  So much so that my hands are a bit sore.  I think I’m not going to have enough yarn so I ordered more today. 

A while back I knitted the Here and There cables from the Pam Allen book.  Well, that is a gift.  I never soaked it or blocked it so today it got a nice bath and it is currently lounging in the guest room.  Although I didn’t knit it as long as it said to (due to a yarn shortage), it did stretch a lot in the bath and now is only 1/2 an inch shorter than the finished length listed on the pattern.  Still looks good. I think I checked my stitch gauge but may not have checked my rows to closely.

I soaked it for a bit in the Eucalan wool wash and the knitpicks merino in the color Hollyberry is not colorfast.  I had some pink water before it was over.  The Eucalan is supposed to be lavendar scented, etc.  Well, the scent is a bit strong and it does not remind me of lavendar.  The smell seemed so familiar and I felt like it was something from my childhood.  Then it hit me.  That stuff smells just like Toni home permanent kits.  Yep… I survived many  a home permanent and the smell of that stuff is embedded in my brain.  I hope the fragrance fades as the thing dries because I don’t want it to smell like that.

We shall see.