Yarn dying experiment…

ok, I have long since wanted to make gradient dye jobs, but I am too lazy to do as I have seen so many time and dye it in portions. So I thought about it.. What would happen if you wound the yarn into a cake and then dyed it? I can tell you.

First I admit I used a LOT of food coloring here, I like jewel tones, and I have learned that I need to use a lot of dye for that. I use Wiltons  cake decorating gels, the ones you get at Jo-anns or Michaels, in the cake section. I used an entire jar for this experiment.

First I wound off my yarn (100% wool, Jagerspun Heather, fingering weight, to be specific.) This yarn is destined to be leg warmers for the cool mornings here. Mainly around the house wear, so it didn’t really matter how badly the dye job came out. I did wind my yarn doubled, so that they will match mostly. Later I will rewind it into individual cakes.

I took the wound cake of yarn, and soaked it in a water and vinegar solution (I never bother to measure I just pour some in. I admit this was a pretty strong vinegar solution.) I set the cake into a pitcher and added the water and vinegar to it, when the cake floated I took a mason jar and half filled it with water and set it on top of the cake, after about half an hour I removed the jar and the cake stayed submerged. 

Next, I prepared my dye bath. Same quart jar I had used earlier, I dumped the food coloring into and more vinegar, this time about half a cup, and a couple cups of water, I used my whisk to stir well, dissolving the food coloring, I poured this into the bottom of my small (4qt) Crockpot I set the yarn cake into and rinsed the jar out with the water/vinegar mixture from the pitcher until it covered the yarn cake. I set the Crockpot on Keep warm, put the lid on and walked away fro several hours.

When I came back I removed the yarn cake carefully with a slotted spoon and set it into a bowl to cool, once it was cool to the touch, I mean room temperature. I put the cake into a colander and ran room temperature water over the cake, occasionally flipping it over to rinse the other end, until the water ran clear.  I shut off the water and set the colander over the now empty bowl and let it sit there for about an hour, dripping as much of the water off as it would give. Next I very carefully wrapped the cake up in a towel and added pressure to squeeze out as much of the water as possible while disturbing the construction of the cake as little as possible.   I carefully reshaped it (from the smashed oblong it had become back into a cake) and set it in front of my fan (yes I am still using fans here.)

This is what the exterior of the cake looked like this morning, just as it came out of the dye bath, but dry.

It was a little more purple looking that the photo shows almost a grape color.  And then I rewound it, starting at the outside and working in, so that what is now  on the inside of the cake is one the outside (this was done mostly to dry it, but also cause I wanted to see it.)

This is the rewound cake.

there are spots of the darker color all through it, but the closer you get to what was the core the more of the bright Caribbean blue that there is, I totally love it so far.. right now it is sitting in front of the fan again, but once it is dry I will separate the two strands and we will see how it knits up.

Oh.. and I have to share this one, just because I love the shot.

you can see all the little hairs and the definition between the plies and the two strands that were held together in the winding.  Ahh.. the fiber, you can almost feel the yarn love.

Halloween

We had a good Halloween. My kids told me some time ago that they wanted to be a witch , a black cat and a broom, the witch and the black cat were easy, generic costume for the witch, ears and tail kit with black sweats and a little bit of face paint for the cat, but a broom.. now that was kind of tricky. I thought about it some… I could have gone to the home improvement store and gotten  the round tubing that is used for pouring cement pylons, but that was expensive, and for what I had in mind, heavy.

In my garage, I still had the box for the hot water heater that we replaced when we moved in (we switched from gas to electric) so I went out and cut out two sides from it.. brought it in and worked the long sides so that it would curl. Wrapped it around the child who would be wearing it ,and cut it so there was only about 3 inches of overlap, not 12. Once I got that cut, I wrapped it around her again, and measured so that if the edge of the cardboard were to sit at her hips, so that she can still walk, where her face would be,  and cut a hole out for her face. after that I cut hole on either side for her arms to stick out, this also means that the weight of the cardboard rests on her shoulders.

Once all the holes were cut, I wrapped it around her again, and taped it, using clear packing tape, into the tube that would be the broom handle. and then we pulled it off over her head. Just before we went trick or treating last night I helped her put the handle back on, over her head and then I took a generic faux grass hula skirt and wrapped around the cardboard at about her waist, making sure that it didn’t quite drag the ground, so she could still walk. taping it in several places around her body. on top of the grass skirt I wrapped two circles of silver ribbon, so that it looked like the wires that generally bind that style of broom. After much discussion the kids had decided that they wanted her to be a Firebolt, like one of Harry Potter’s brooms so I took a magic marker and wrote Firebolt near the top. I think it turned out cute. It won’t win any design or construction contests but it lasted the evening and all the neighbors loved it.

They were adorable, if I do say so myself.

Dear Michael’s and Joann’s stores

I regularly browse through your yarn sections, and continually end up disappointed. I do appreciate the new trend towards natural fibers, I love that paton’s classic wool comes in fifty billion colors and between the two stores, you have them all. And Wool-ease is great for a lot of things, the warmth of wool, the washablity of acrylic… Beautiful!

But can we please, Please, PLEASE get some decent sock yarns? The quality of the yarns you carry now (with the exception of the Bernat Sock, who wants plastic socks?) is not a problem.. the color selection however leaves much to be desired. I have no desire to knit socks that are mottled with hot pink and baby shit yellow, and honestly, no one I know wants to wear them either. What colors would I like to see? Hmm… Solids. Tonal variations, like kettle dye. Stripes, in none clashing colors, are ok too. White.. Black..

I really want to be able to knit socks for members of my family who are not into the whole world has gone psychedelic thing. My 80 year old grandfather has no desire to wear hand knit socks that look like a hot pink and purple cat puked on them . My husband, who is only 35, has strict limitations… No ‘Foofy’ colors… this means he will wear black, blue and white. solid only, no stripes, no variegated.

Please realize that in some places (like my backwater, wannabe city)  you two mega mart stores are the only walk-in yarn source some of us have.  We are your customers, listen to us.

Knitting quandry…

I have been working on a bag for the last week or so, it is supposed to be a carrying case for a netbook. I wanted a sleeve style, but a knitted one, and I decided I would do what is called Button hole handles.

I knew I wanted the bag felted, because felted has more strength, and less stretch/flexibility, plus, the process of felting makes the fabric more dense and pads the computer better. I did a couple swatches… and decided I liked the thicker fabric that a seed stitch makes better than the one a stockinette makes. So I started my bag. After working the bottom, and several inches up the side of the bag, I noticed that the seed stitch spirals around the bag, and my marker, marking the corner of the base, and the beginning of each round, was migrating around the side of the bag. Which made the handle placement a little more difficult.. So I asked around on Ravelry about if this is normal, how will it effect the handles when I felt it?

I was told that the spiraling is a charicteristic of seed. and to just follow the corner of the bag up and place my handles from there… So I did.. I made the bag, and when I cast off all my stitches, the handles were centered and lined up. I put the bag in the washer, set on hot to felt it. It felted beautfully, until I went to block it to dry it. I fussed, I fiddled, I pulled. This was the best line up of pictures I could get. Now I have to figure out what I need to do to fix this. I am thinking I will cut one side of each handle and sew up the extra on the other side. I am hoping this works.

And in the future, for bags, that I want to do in seed, and have buttonhole handles for? I will be knitting the bag solid, felting and then just cutting the frigging handles into it.

Christmas in July…

Kinda….

Since I would like to make a lot of my gifts, if at all possible, it has occurred to me to start early, as knitting, and other crafts, can be time consuming, as I am sure you know.

First I decided to look at what I have on hand, my Christmas list, and what each person might like.

• sock yarn, about enough for 5-6 pairs, if the pairs are short, ankle socks like I wear.
• fun fur type yarn, 5-6 balls of it, none the same.
• random skeins of acrylic yarn, in random colors, mostly pastels, and left overs from baby blankets
• wool, some really nice, some not so nice, some undyed, some hand dyed. Various amounts of each.
• Some cotton yarns, mostly in earth tones, all kitchen cotton.

People on the list, who might appreciate hand made items.

• mom, she really likes the socks I have been making, might  like a pair or two
• kids, my 3, and my niece, would love scarves made from the fun fur, if nothing else will make great dress up toys.
• hubster, says he will wear socks I make him, but not in “foofy” colors
• dad, he will wear anything I make him, any color, he likes bright colors too.
• brother, he is hard, he is 11, but they live where it gets cold, maybe he would like a hat and scarf?
• step-mom, she would appreciate a lot of things, but she is allergic to all animal fibers, so anything I make has to be non-animal, maybe hat/scarf or a set of facecloths..
• Mother in law
• father in law
• step mother in law
• grandfather, he gets cold in the winter, maybe a hat, in green, his favorite color.

I have more on my list, but I don’t think some of them would appreciate a hand made gift, and some, we have other things in mind for already.

Second, What I have done so far…

No, no pictures, at least not now. For two reasons. #1, though I don’t think any of my family reads this, lets not take chances, huh? and #2,  And really, the one most influencing the no pictures decision… Hubster has my camera in Germany.

Looking through my stash I found 3 skeins of an alpaca / acrylic blend in a bulky weight, having no clue what else to do with it, I cast on my size 15 needles, and in 2 days I had a hat, and 6 1/2 foot long scarf.  No clue who it will be for, it will go in the Christmas Bag, and that will be decided later.

On the same needles (after the hat and scarf were done, and off of them) I made several (I think I have 4 so far) fun fur scarves. Very simple, garder stitch scarves, from a single skein each. I made 3 in just a couple hours, very fast, but that stuff is a pain in the ass to work with. The kids will love them. Dropped them in the  Christmas Bag too.

Knowing my father (really, I have know him all of my 31 years…) I opted for a washable wool product, and I decided I wanted to make him hunting socks, so they need to be thicker… best washable worsted weight wool I can get around here? Wool-ease, yeah, it isn’t the best thing available for socks, but it should last better than the $30 pair of wool socks he bought last year, and wore a hole in the first day. I picked up 3 skeins, cast on a week ago, and I am about 3/4 done with the pair, and let me tell you, a mens size 12? These things look like you could fit aircraft carriers in them. When they are done? You guessed it, into the Christmas Bag.

I also had on hand 2 skeins of Knit Picks Risata, in biscuit (off white), which is enough to make real socks, that you know, go up the leg a little bit, not just the hide in your shoe style I wear.  So I will make these for Hubster. Off-white counts as non-foofy, right? Anyway, they are about 1/4 done, when they are done, they too will go in the Christmas Bag.

Hopefully I can finish these two projects, and maybe another fun fur scarf or two before hubby gets home, and have moved on to more.. We all have dreams.

Water bottle cozy

being monsoon season here, glasses sweat, and make a huge mess on tables and desks. So I have been making water bottle cozies out of left over yarns I have around the house. Actually my first one the bottom yarn was a small ball of yarn I recieved at my retreat last weekend, it knitted up cute, and if I was in to socks I might use it, except I am not so fond of the price… lol. here is my first one. The top yarn is some left over Lorna’s Laces I had around the house, it is also the bottom of my next one, already on the needles.

it’s here… it’s here… mwahahaha

my order… from knit picks… it is here. *said in best Igor (from Frankenstein) voice*

Ok, I admit it, I have a serious knitting/yarn problem, and you know, admitting it is the first step! Unfortunately, the second step is wanting to change, and I just haven’t gotten there yet. I am enjoying my addiction, um, hobby.

I got 4 cables, and 5 sets of needle tips, just in time too, cause I managed to borrow A Gathering of Lace this morning, so that I can make the Rainbow Ripple shawl out of it… and I was just waiting on my new needles to get here to get started. I won’t be making mine rainbow colors though, and I think I will dye it after I am done.

Now I need to go through my knitting tool box and see what needles I can get rid of (was planning on these knit picks options needles replacing a lot of what I have on hand.) Also between the Rainbow Ripple shawl, and my mystery shawl KAL starting in a couple weeks, I should be full up on projects for a while. and I can also revert back to dishcloths for short, quickly finished items when I feel that need. Current count on  dish cloths, after the 2 I finished at SnB this morning… 41.

oops, I did it again.

I went by Jo-Ann’s to get some more cotton yarn for dishcloths, because I was down to just one  ball left. I get inside and discover that Sugar and Cream is on sale, so I end up getting more than I had intended when I walked in.

I have discovered that I can get 5 cloths out of 2 balls of yarn, so every colorway that I bought I bought in pairs of skeins. I got 5 sets, hopefully these will last me longer than the last 10 skeins I bought…

Hey! at least Christmas gifts will be ready early this year!

A short story…

Once upon a time ok, last week there was a pile of yarn.

ok, the pile was 3 times this size, but dingy me , I forgot to take pics. Anyway, as I was reading I began to knit… knit like the wind. LOL and as the pages turned, and the stories on the screen (yeah, i read on the computer, sue me)  progressed, from one book to another in the series. the balls of yarn began to disappear.

At the same time, another pile began to grow, and grow, and grow. As the pile of completed stories got taller, so did the pile of completed items.

I still have 3 balls of yarn to go through, but that is ok, I still have 3 books left to read before the newest one, which is released in only 5 days. This has worked out really well, I can read to my heart’s content, and knit at the same time, while still being productive. I am seriously considering Christmas presents here, maybe with some pot holders or handmade soap.

Don’t tell hubby…

but I bought 9 (yes, nine!) balls of dishcloth cotton yarn today… 8 from Jo-anns, 3oz balls in 4 color ways. and one 2oz ball from wal-mart, all peaches / sugar and cream. I can justify it by saying I plan on making dishcloths for Christmas. Really, I can.. lol

Actually, I am turning dishcloths out at a strangely fast rate. I am half way through my 13th one now. I am also planning a dishcloth swap with one of the groups I am in on Ravelry. That will require a few too.

ah, well… back to reading and knitting. (working on the Anita Blake series, by Laurell Hamilton… are you aware the newest book comes out in only 11 days?)