I finished this yarn the other day. It's destined to become a lacy stole/shawl of some kind, not sure what yet.... I ended up with 419 metres of DK (8 ply)
And I found this great little pattern for a knitted flower and immediately had to make one ( or was that 5?). 
Great way to use up scraps of yarn. This one is a brooch, but they would be great as hair clips or as embellishments for bags, sandals, hats etc.
Darn flat batteries! I don't cope when my camera isn't working. I guess after 2 1/2 years of daily use even a rechargeable battery will kick the bucket. I rang the place I bought it from, $69.95 AUD for a new battery! As my camera is out of warranty I decided to go the generic route, and bought 2 for $30 AUD on eBay. Should be here tomorrow so I'll be back in business. The elephant finally has all it's appendages, just needs stitching and stuffing (my least favourite part). I got some safety eyes for it so it's nearly done. Meanwhile I knitted up my very first homespun and felted a case for my camera, will add pics ASAP. I just received my copy of "2 At-a-time Socks: The Secret of Knitting Any Two Socks at Once, on Just One Circular Needle!" by Melissa Morgan-Oakes from The Book Depository. The Book Depository is FANTASTIC - ultra quick and cheap, and free shipping worldwide from the UK! I have been busting to try out this technique and had to cast on last night after everyone else went to bed. To use this technique you need a 40" (100 cm) circular needle. I'll show you how to make your own really easily and cheaply from needles with shorter cables as soon as my camera battery arrives.
I have a confession. The elephant is still ear-less, tusk-less and totally unstuffed. You see I had to make another pair of the Ribby Slipper Socks. The last pair was too small and I really wanted a pair so I just had to make them. Someone with smaller feet than I will be receiving the first pair real soon. 
As with the earlier pair, mine were made from thrifted yarn. I used a speckly homespun which seems to have some mohair, wool and maybe even a touch of alpaca in it, and an acrylic/mohair blend. Please excuse the lily-white legs, not a huge fan of chemical or natural tanning! These fit me soooooo much better and are lovely and cosy. I tend to have chilly feet even when the rest of me is roasting so these will get a lot of wear. I promise I have the wool selected for the elephant tusks and they are absolutely the next thing on my list!
Since the knitting bug bit me I have purchased a few different mags. There is a fantastic Aussie one called Yarn, which has a variety of knitting and crochet patterns and lots of info about where to get supplies in Australia. I gave myself a subscription to it for Christmas. Here's the link to their website, they have some great free patterns .
I also got a subscription to Interweave Knits, but not through their website. I had heard that many people in Australia have had trouble with their subscriptions direct from the US, with copies being damaged or going missing. So I have ordered mine through Colonial Lake Books in South Australia. The Interweave Knits site has some great free patterns too.
One of the projects in the Fall 2008 issue of Interweave Knits is the "Ribby Slipper Socks". As a bit of a break from the elephant I'm knitting for Muppet I thought I'd have a go at these. Only problem was that they require a set of 8mm DPNs, and not having any I rang all the local shops with no luck. My brilliant DH came up with the suggestion of making some for me. A quick trip to the hardware store later and we had a 1.8 metre length of 8mm dowel. Enough for 2 sets of 5 DPNs and for only a couple of dollars! DH cut the dowel into lengths, I sharpened the ends with a pencil sharpener and then we sanded them. I added a coat of beeswax and buffed them and we were done. Ok so with the sanding they were slightly smaller than 8mm but not enough to be too concerned. 
Two evenings of leisurely knitting and here's the result. Modelled by DS13 they are slightly stretched, but they turned out pretty good! 
I used op-shop yarn of indeterminate fibre content, two strands together, so they probably cost me a dollar to make. The reason for my interest in this pattern? My SIL had mentioned that she loved slipper socks when we were visiting her for my BIL's funeral. Now I've made the test pair I'll find some nice yarn to whip her up a set. Tassie gets very cool in the winter months and she'll need all the comfort she can get.
Posts
I separated them into two lots after dyeing. I ended up with some gorgeous colours 
and lots of reddish locks because I had to move the pot to change the hotplate and the colours mixed. 
I'm not sure how I'm going to spin it yet, I might do the rainbow colours as one single, trying to keep the colours separate, and then ply them with the reddish locks. The beauty of using this method of dyeing fleece is that there is no fibre preparation first - just bung the dirty fleece in the pot and the dirt washes out when you rinse out the dye!
Very gently simmer for 45 mins with the lid on, don't stir at all, then cool and rinse. 
Drool over your beautiful fibre and fantasise about what you are going to make from it!
From 100grams I got approximately 175 metres. It came in at 10WPI, which makes it about a worsted to DK weight. Still a bit thick and thin, but I achieved my goal of making a finer yarn than before and increasing the twist.
The colours aren't as bright as in the pics, more softly muted. 
I still have another 100 grams to spin up, then I'll decide what to make with it.
