DYEING SPREE

John and I went to the Plate and Porter last night for our 29th anniversary meal. As always, the food was excellent. John had a melon and Parma ham from both for his daughter, followed by a seafood Thermidor, followed by a fruit salad with sorbet. I started with a chicken and fried leeks Caesar followed by filet steak with seasonal vegetables. Then followed by a trio of chocolate mousse, white chocolate ice cream and a dark chocolate crème brûlée with dark chocolate crème brûlée was the highlight for me! So far, I appear to have got away with it as well. It's been at least 13 hours since I ate, and my gut seems to be okay.

Today's utility day at the East of England championship show, and I am not there. This show was on my doorstep, but I didn't enter and it feels rather weird. It was my choice and I stand by it.

The puppies will be nine weeks old on Tuesday and I will get them their first vaccination. At the moment only Tucker is available to buy, but I haven't found a suitable buyer for him. They are delightful characters and take very much after their father, and their older sister, Whitney. Luque certainly puts his stamp on his puppies.I am still very pleased with Mary Grace and I feel confident that she will be staying.

I have really been on a dyeing spree recently. I have been experimenting with different ways of putting the dye on the yarn. I think I have come to the conclusion that having the yarn soak in the acid solution gives me better results than having the acid in the actual dye. However, I have a lot of Landscape dyes and Gay Wool dyes and they all have acid already in them. I have a load of base colours in new dyes now. I am very pleased with them. They give very vibrant colours, with only a little amount of dye. Half a gram to 200 mls of water, gives a very strong colour. I have had a heck of a job trying to diet commission somebody. She sent me a piece of yarn from a hank that she had bought from me months ago. I thought that this would be easy to recreate that she doesn't want it in the same yarn. After many attempts to replicate the colours that she wants, I finally realise that the reason I cannot get what she wants is because of the yarn, not the dyeing. I have discovered something very important: it is not just the dye that makes a difference but also the yarn.