Ahh the Post Christmas Lull or "What's with all the Purple?"

I can always remember the joy of those few days after exams had finished. You went from being flat stick all day every day to nothing. If you were anything like me you left a fair amount of the studying to the last minute (or at least SWOT vac) and so you were either sitting an exam or studying for the next one. In my case, subjects like Psychology had 3 or so exams per unit so there were a lot of exams. As was the custom, once that last exam was finished it was straight to the pub for a few destressing ales. The next day, once the hangover was under control, was just bliss. There was NOTHING to do! No study, no exams, no nothing and I used to just sit around and luxuriate in the nothingness. Of course all to soon there was packing to do to move out for the holidays and other things (like Christmas) to occupy the days but there were always a brief period of nothing. Christmas is very much like this as well.

So I have been in the nothingness for the last two days. There has been little to do past basic chores and the spat of Christmasness has passed. There have been many BBQs here in the new garden and hash runs from here so really the Christmas ruch has only just finished.

So what have I done in the nothingness? Well there has been some coffee and a little shopping (not much though, I try to avoid the post Christmas retail meltdown) and finally some 'me' knitting.

Bevan bought me a lovely purple t-shirt top for Christmas. It is not necessarily the shade I would immediately jump to myself but it is quite lovely and seems to suit me, but I fear it has started a purple haze....

I spent a little time with my Ravelry stash page and was looking for a project to get me going. I decided on the Amaizing that has been sitting in my stash for sometime as a nice summer-weight yarn. It has been sitting, I confess, because when I bought it it had a very obvious and quite disturbing mothballs smell to it. I thought about returning it but didn't want to be a bother so it has been sitting in a container with bicarb hopefully desmelling. It isn't entirely desmelt although interestingly, the vast majority of the stink seems to be in the ball band and cardboard tube it is wrapped around. Once reballed and knit the smell is nearly gone. I am hoping like hell that a wash or two and it will be gone entirely.

Anyway, what colour is it? Purple! I am doing Leaf T-shirt by Melissa LaBarre which is coming along quite nicely. I have put the sleeve stitches onto scrap yarn rather than casting them off as I think I will do a rib cuff to them. I am not sure I want the roll that is in the original pattern. I think I will also do a ribbed waist.

Given that this was a larger project I figured I needed a pair of socks on the go for travel knitting (travel of course being a generic term that might mean to the shops or might mean to the moon). Again, back to the stash page and I chose the Happy Spider self-striping that has also been there awhile. What colours you might ask? yellow, pink and PURPLE!

Me thinks I have a purple problem. Even the dishcloth I did quickly the other night (owing to the next ball of Amaizing being under the bed that Jason was sleeping in) was mauve! Help me, I am in a purple haze and I think I like it!