over-dyeing yarn

the orange/brown wool

I bought some nice merino wool on special a few...um maybe about 10 years ago.  Love everything about it except the color, and the color I really hate.  I have never liked orange and brown together.  I have to assume that this was just too good of a deal to pass up, such a good deal that it has been in a box for 10 years...

the over-dyed wool

Anyway I  decided to give it a face lift and over-dye it with some Kool-aid (how-to here).  For each 50 gram skein I used 2 packs of fruit punch to get a dark red (with a bit of brown) color.  Hopefully it is now improved enough that I will actually use it.

one row lace scarf

Today I finished up a simple knit scarf - a one row lace scarf.  I like the soothing meditative nature of  this pattern.

eco duo shawlette

unblocked

Finished up this shawlette today - the pattern is Ka'ana Shawlette by Jennifer Weissman and I knit it out of Cascade Eco Duo.  I went with this yarn because I had it and I'm in a stash busting mode, however I'm not sure if I like this yarn for this pattern.  It is a bit too thick and heavy for a shawl.  It still needs to be blocked so hopefully that will help open it up a bit.

the blocked shawl

ETA:  the shawl is now blocked and it did open up slightly.

green headband

green Elisbeth headband

I decided I needed just 1 more headband....   

Elisbeth headband

Um, yes it is another headband, an Elisbeth headband (pattern designed by Bonne Marie Burns).  I really like how this one turned out.  It ended up being an especially good combination of pattern & yarn.

feather & fan scarf

I finished up the lacy scarf that I've been working on.  It is a feather & fan pattern knit with Kid Mohair Merino 2 ply by Touch Yarns.

blueberry cabled headband

And yet another headband....

calorimetry

Another knitting project for today.  Not a hat this time...nope... it is a headband   :)

kool Aid dyed recycled wool hat

 I decided to dye the remaining wool from my unraveled sweater pink using Kool Aid.  See how to dye with Kool Aid in my previous post.

Being on a bit of a hat binge I knit the pink dyed yarn up into a  bulky reverse ribbed hat.

bulky recycled wool hat

A quick knit hat out of some of the wool that I unraveled from a thrift store sweater last year.

over-dying

before dyeing

Looking through my sock drawer the other day I realized that I had to pairs of socks knit in almost identical yarns.  I decided to try to remedy that by over dying one pair.  I used Kool-Aid as my dye because it is non-toxic, super easy to use, cheap and readily available where I live.  The color is also surprisingly very durable.  To get a moderately intense green I used 3 packages of Lemon Lime.  Now I have a sweet "new" pair of Spartan green socks :)

after dyeing

How to dye with Kool-Aid

The Basic Recipe:

One package of unsweetened Kool-Aid per  1 cup water (about 4 pkgs per 50 grams for fairly intense color)

How to Dye Your Fiber using a Microwave

1. Soak fiber in warm  water  with 2 ounces of vinegar per 1 cup water
2. While it is soaking, make your Kool-Aid solution(s). For each package of Kool-Aid use 3 parts water to one part vinegar.
3. Remove your fiber from the hot water soak. Squeeze out excess water.

4.       Place in the pyrex container.  Pour dye over fiber slowly, being sure that you cover as much of the fiber as possible.

5.       Place container (with fiber) in the microwave and microwave for 2 minutes

6. Let rest for two minutes. If necessary, during this period, you may squish the liquid around again to ensure adequate dye coverage.
7. Check to see if the solution is colorless.
8. If the solution is not colorless, repeat steps 5 & 6 until the solution is colorless.
9. Rinse the fiber thoroughly in water the same temperature as the dye bath. At this point you may want to wash the fiber with liquid dishwashing detergent and rinse thoroughly using the procedure that you normally use for washing yarn.
10. Hang the fiber and let it air dry.

feather & fan scarf

Made some progress on my latest knitting project - a feather & fan scarf made out of lace weight wool.

pretty thing cowl

Finished up my Pretty Thing cowl today.  I knit this out of 100% Merino Sock yarn by Knitsch Yarns following the pattern by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee (the yarn harlot).  I originally bought this pattern about 2 years ago and have been meaning to make it ever since but it just kept getting bumped down by other projects.  However, it may be added right back into the queue.  I like it so much I think I need another one.

gloves

Finished up my gloves, they may not be pretty but they are very warm and cozy.

handspun gloves

Started a new knitting project today - gloves out of some of my handspun yarn.

Reverse Rice Stitch Cowl

Made a cowl/neck warmer today.  I followed the pattern by by Angela Baldi from Pumpkin Pie Baby blog.  I like how this pattern stitch looks in the yarn I used - Kentucky Blue Fiber Company's 2ply sport weight Alpaca/ Merino.

hurricane hat no 2

Today I tried another version of the hurricane hat.  For this one I used some handspun yarn that I purchased from  Wonder Why Alpaca Farm, LLC last year at Sandhill Crane Vineyards’ Winter Wine & Wool Festival.  For this one I went with a k3 p1 ribbing which I like better than the k2p2 on my first hurricane hat.

handspun hurricane hat

Knit my first project using my own handspun yarn - a hurricane hat following the instructions at http://lovehestia.wordpress.com/2012/07/19/hurricane-hat-pattern/.  I like how it looks with the handspun yarn although I think a rolled edge would have looked better with this yarn instead of the ribbing.

recycled cashmere

Today I wound together strands of cashmere that I unraveled from some old sweaters into plying balls.  Not sure if I like the color - I might over-dye these with some Kool-aid after I've plied them on my wheel.

snazzy argyles Christmas stocking

Finished up my stocking today.  I like how it turned out. I have to say it is bigger than I had envisioned, I may end up felting it down a bit.