Sunday, June 25, 2006

Not All Whites are White

Dear Cynthia,

Remember the blue spot on the bright white sweater? I received some suggestions on how to approach this problem, and I tried all of them.

First, I soaked the blue area in hydrogen peroxide. This might have faded the stain slightly, though I'm not sure.

Second, I soaked the blue area in diluted bleach. This took the blue stuff right out. As it turns out, it also changed the "color" of the white in the elbow area, so I had a new problem.

Third, I stuck the whole sweater in a bucket with diluted bleach, stirred for a couple of minutes, and then washed the sweater in the washing machine on a delicate cycle with a slow agitation speed. To my eye, the sweater isn't as "bright" as it used to be (of course, just wearing it makes it dirty -- I remind myself -- IT'S WHITE). However, the blue is COMPLETELY gone, and I may now wear the sweater again on days other than my "stay at home cleaning" days (in which I never actually clean very much, but papers in the house are moved around a little bit).

Also, I finished my secret project and started working on the dishclothes again. The new tally is in the sidebar in my finished objects section. I only was able to knit for three hours in the van on the way **to** Wausau, because I drove all the way **home** from our weekend excursion and I haven't yet figured out how to safely knit while driving on the interstate. (I was distracted enough trying to console my three-year-old who had dropped his teddy bear in a place in the car in which nobody could reach it.) Now we're all home safe and sound, pleasantly tired, and happy to be back.

I hope that you have a great week!

Warm regards,
Laura (YarnThrower)

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