Gooey Ceilings & Mordant Tests

Another Monday has taken its toll on what remains of my sanity.

Contributing to the mayhem, my oldest was home with a slight fever and a headache. She wasn't sick enough to stay in bed, but the school rules state that children must be fever-free for 24 hours prior to attending school. We took advantage of her "at home" time to test mordants for her science fair experiment. So far we've determined that the white vinegar strikes or sets the dye faster but that the alum has a more even color (probably due to the slower absorption). The experiment must be repeated 3 times and the results observed. Once all 6 skeins of yarn are dyed then I will knit small test swatches for her to wash. Hopefully she'll have variations in fading to report back. This is the most excited I've ever been about a homework assignment!

On the home front, I was able to get rid of some stuff from the garage, put sealant on six pieces of molding for the kitchen and I started scraping the nasty popcorn/accoustic blown crap off of our ceiling. For those who haven't had the pleasure, it involves spraying water onto the fluffy, dusty ceiling and then scraping it with a trowel or wide spatula. It's gooey, messy and nasty. I've wanted to do this since we moved in, but haven't made the time. Now someone else will get to enjoy a ceiling free of stains and little silver sparkles.

A hot bath is calling so I must run.