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I love turquoise. And it's closely related cousin teal. This of course is neither a shock nor a surprise to anyone who knows me in the flesh, especially those who have had occasion to visit a clothes or yarn shop with me. I gravitate to dark turquoise like a moth to the flame. I don't actually have that much teal/turquoise clothing, but what I do have I wear quite frequently. I do however have more turquoise purses than the average person, even accounting for the large number of total bags in my possession. In fact I have three turquoise purses:

The one on the left is the most frequently used, and it is truly a great bag. Large enough to store a lot of stuff, plus it keeps its shape nicely and has many pockets. I got it in Vancouver last summer. In fact, my mother bought one first, and after watching her carry it around the rest of that day, I had to have one myself, and we trekked all over Robson Street until we found one at a different Aldo. I believe my mother has also been making good use of hers. In the middle is a floppy bag I got in Chicago last summer, which I haven't used much because one of the little closures came off the first time I used it and I feel awkward using a defective purse (although it's really not that obvious, and I have the brad, and should get around to fixing it). On the right is my seatbelt purse, which is one of my favorites. It's great because it stands up on its own and has metal bits on the bottom so it doesn't get dirty when you set it down. It was a Christmas gift from my cousin Alysha a couple of years ago, and it was a perfect gift because I had been wanting one for quite awhile.

So, with my love of turquoise and teal, it should come as no surprise that I dyed some turquoise yarn. In my dyeing experience, such as it is, I've found that my best results come from the turquoise, teal, and green dyes. They seem to be the most intense of the dyes I've tried so far. So, here is my lovely turquoise skein:

I haven't reskeined it yet, and I'm not sure if I will. I was actually thinking of trying to sell some of my dyed yarns, so this was actually a trial skein for that. Of course, being turquoise I really love it and I'm not sure it can be parted from me. We'll see. That is a giant skein, about 600 yards, of Kona superwash. When I first mentioned having done some recent dyeing, I alluded to the fact that there was a not-quite-successful skein, and in the interest of full disclosure here is a peek at that one.

It's actually not as bad as I initially feared, and I'm calling it Berries & Cream. It's a wool/mohair blend, quite soft and silky. I'm thinking of making some armwarmers or a hat with it (there are 110 meters), just to see how it knits up.

You may have noticed a moderately new addition to my sidebar, the "What I'm Reading Via Daily Lit" text block. First off, let me say that it was a major accomplishment for me to get anything into the sidebar. This is why I have no buttons or links on my blog - I am apparently not smart enough to figure it out. But, the Daily Lit people had good instructions, and it worked out for me just fine. Anyway, Daily Lit is a really cool (I think) idea. They take public domain books, which are off copyright, and send them to you in small (about 5 minutes or less to read) sections each day over email. Absolutely free. I was a bit worried that it would be difficult to get involved in a book reading such short sections at a time, but if so inclined you can have them email you another section as soon as you finish one. I've been doing that a fair bit, which is why I'm so much further into the Edgar Allen Poe than the Dickens, even though I started them at the same time. So far I've made it through the first short story in the Poe, which was The Unparalleled Adventures of One Hans Pfaal. It was quite an enjoyable story, and not as macabre as most of the Poe I've read previously. I do read a fair bit at home, but I also spend a lot of time in lab waiting around for things to incubate, become infected, thaw, etc, so I think Daily Lit is great. While I can't exactly whip out a book in lab (well, maybe a textbook), I can sit at my computer with impunity covertly reading Dickens. So, there you go. I'm sold.