Note to my readers: This post first appeared on May, 31, 2011, under the title “Spring Cleaning.” Additionally, the lemur mentioned in this post was a commission and was given as a wedding gift.
As the pollen begins to abate and the end of spring ushers in the beginning of hurricane season, I start to come out of my allergic malaise, and today, that manifested itself in an overwhelming urge to tackle the jumble of food and other items that had accumulated in my pantry and bring them to order.
I started with the middle shelf as it required no bending or reaching to remove items. As I pulled out item after item in an attempt to clear the shelf so I could clean it, I found packet after packet of Kool-Aid.
When I finally had the shelf cleared, I sorted like with like (just the way Hellen Buttigieg advises), and I found that I had (over time) purchased a veritable stash of Kool-Aid to be used in the dyeing of wool I had reclaimed from my ever changing “big rug” project.
Here are some of the packets that were in the pantry:

and here are some more:

In just under two hours I had my pantry cleaned out and organized, leaving me plenty of time to track down the wool that had inspired the purchase:

And while I did not get all of it wound into skeins and ready for dyeing, I did get this much done:

By early afternoon, I was ready to depart the kitchen and relax with the lemur-to-be that was waiting to be finished.
I attached the second ear, then fixed the head to the body. From there, I sewed on the tail and the four paws. Before it was time for dinner, the lemur who has (up until now) been known as “Lemur Redux” was finished:

However, now that the lemur was done, I was bothered by the lack of a name, so I searched for “famous lemurs,” and was reminded of Zoboo of Zoboomafoo fame, at one time a favorite character of my youngest son which is how this lemur got his name.
I have been thinking about dyeing with kool-aid, well with anything for that matter – since I’ve never done it. I keep reading about ambitious folks such as yourself and I’m inspired! Is it hard? Any tips for a beginner? Oh an about the pantry – I totally get starting in the middle!