So last week, I ventured for the first time into hand dying. And I used, what else, but Kool-Aid! I decided that I would show you a bit about the steps of dying with Kool-Aid, complete with pictures. And dying with Kool-Aid is not that messy. The only thing beside my yarn that got dyed were my finger tips!
I followed the instructions found at Knit Picks and also consulted a tutorial on Eunny Jang's website for additional tips and tricks.
1. The first step is to purchase a plain undyed yarn. I chose Knit Picks Bare Fingering Superwash/Nylon Blend. If you prefer, you can chose Eunny's route and pick a pale color and over-dye only in certain areas. The only trick is it must be an Animal Fiber.
2. The next step is to split the yarn into thirds and mark each section with scrap yarn. This creates three different areas for various colors. If you want to get really technical and create exact strips, consult Eunny's tutorial, she tells you exactly how to accomplish this.
3. Next, wash the yarn with wool soap and lukewarm water. I particularly love Friendly Products Sweater Soap. I got mine at Slip Knot but I am sure you can find it elsewhere if you don't live near Newtown Square, PA. The lavendar scent is divine.
Rinse to get the soap out.
4. Prepare your solutions. I used Mason/Glass Jars and 2 packets of Kool-Aid for each jar mixed with plain old tap water. The next time I do this I will probably use 4 packets per jar, to get a little more color absorption to the center of the yarn. The two pick colors ended up being a little to similar, so I put a few extra orange packets into one of the pinks in the middle of dying to give it a nicer color.
5. Next, put the yarn in the jars and the jars in a large pot filled with water. Now, turn up the heat. You want the water almost boiling. Once that happened I turned off the heat and covered the pot for about 30 minutes. Make sure to stir frequently throughout the heating process. Additionally, you can avoid too much white gaps between the sections of yarn by moving intermediate sections between the two colors periodically to create a "transition". Warning: your yarn will smell delicious, please try to resist the urge to gobble it up in the middle of dying.
6. Let the yarn cool in the pot uncovered.
7. Wash your yarn again and rinse several times.
8. Hang to dry. My bathroom door provided the perfect spot.
9. Cut the temporary scrap yarn and twist into a skein. Take photos of your hand-dyed creation and scheme up a project for your yarn. Name your color creation. I call mine It's Electric.
I think a pair of Fruit Loop Socks would be perfect for this yarn. I have one more Bare skein at home, and finally found some blue and green Kool-Aid Packets at my grocery store, so look for more Kool-Aid creations in the future.
I couldn't put this book down, although it felt a bit cyclical at points. This is the story of Mary Boleyn, a mistress to Henry VIII and sister to Henry's second wife Anne Boleyn.
Many have lamented that Gregory took many liberties in telling this story, but I think those people are forgetting that this is a book of fiction, albeit based on real events. Gregory did not set out to write a history book, but rather to imagine what might have gone in the bedchambers and court of Henry VIII. She tells an intriguing story of betrayal, love and greed and gives us the thoughts of a character in history about which not much is known.
One of the themes I found most interesting was the exploration of how a woman in these times had no property, land or money of her own, and all her interests were tied to that of her husband or family's success. It almost seems that to be a poor farmers wife held more power than being a rich courtier. As a farmer, you were a partner in a family run business; as a courtier, you were whatever the men in power told you to be. Ultimately Mary successfully breaks free of this, and although Anne tries to exert her power, ultimately men decide her fate for her.
This is a quick page turner about an apparent teen suicide and its aftermath. I appreciated the nuances of the characters and the development of the close childhood friends turned lovers, and the conflict that Emily felt in dating someone who she grew up with and felt was more a brother than a lover.
Many people who recommended this book to me loved it. While I liked the novel, it does not earn my coveted 5 star rating. It was a great story and I would recommend it, but it is no Kite Runner.
I finished Running with Scissors by Augusten Burroughs today.
I realized when I started reading this book that I must have read it before. Although as a rule I don't read books more than once, with a movie recently made based on this memoir, I decided to read it again.
This is a memoir about a boy who's mother sends him to live with his psychiatrist and the unusual childhood he endured.
Written in a comedic style and yet with a hint of a child/adolescent's perspective, this memoir is unique. Burrough's writing style and content can be a bit rough and in-your-face, but totally appropriate for the content.
I was a bit perturbed at the ending, and without giving too much away, will say that I did not feel the characters got any sort of resolution at the end. The end felt rushed and incomplete. This is somewhat softened by the listing of characters in the epilogue and the paths life took them. Additionally, if you read Burroughs memoir of his adult years, Dry, you do get a bit more resolution.
I have the movie in my Netflix queue, and the previews look hilarious. I may enjoy the movie more than the book for once!
Well, I have made a little progress on the yoke of the February Lady Sweater, and I have to say, I am not a big fan of the buttonholes that were suggested. I found that an extra hole develops next to the one-row buttonhole suggested in the pattern. I used a 4 stitch button hole, and have ripped back 2x now to get each one right, even now that I know about the problem. I am unknitting right now back to the 2nd buttonhole. It is lucky that there are only 3 of them in the sweater. Otherwise, I am loving this pattern. I have never done a raglan before, and I have to say, the construction is genius!
I have been making some progress on Bell Sleeved Jacket, but was feeling the the wool sweater was not exactly ideal for summer knitting. Just when I needed a summer sweater to work on, the perfect one came along!
I am officially jumping on the bandwagon, this time while the wagon is still rolling. I am knitting the insanely popular February Lady Sweater. The pattern is free on either Ravelry or at the link above. It is based on EZs February Baby Sweater.
Last night I went to the very first knit night at the brand new store Slip Knot (sorry no website yet) in Newtown Square. There I picked up some Rowan Calmer in a soft blue to start my Lady Sweater. When I got home, I immediately started a gauge swatch, and cast on this morning on the train (sans coffee...apparently, coffee machines need a little thing called water to make coffee. The nerve!). Never have I seen a pattern and started a project so quickly!
I can't wait to see how this turns out!
In other news, an envelope arrived in the mail today containing this:
How divine! If you have even a small itch to knit this Niebling, I would purchase it now, because Laci's has it for a whopping $7. Prior to that, the only way to get it was to bid on Ebay for a back copy of Anna July 1986 for a whole lot more than $7. I was a bit shy to spend a hundred dollars or more on one pattern, so imagine my excitement when I discovered that Laci's had republished it. Get um while they're hot, ladies and gentleman, because I have no idea how they got the rights, and it very well may be a limited edition.
I probably won't knit this for awhile, but this was one pattern I wanted to be sure was in my library!
After the move to the burbs and my newfound train ride time, I thought for sure I would be whipping through knitting projects in no time!
However, with the train ride has come a renewed love of reading. In the morning, I am almost always drinking coffee and have found it nearly impossible to juggle my coffee and knit on the train. In the afternoon, the train is often crowded, and I feel when I knit, I almost invade others space on the train even with the small motion of my arms.
I have always loved to read, but the last few years have been busy, and a lot of the free time I did have was spent knitting. In the last month I have read 3 books:
The Spectator Bird by Wallace Stegner
Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert
My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult
None of them were " 5 -star" such as some of my favorites such as The Kite Runner, A Thousand Splendid Suns and Life of Pi, but they were good reads nonetheless. I particularly liked Eat, Pray, Love and My Sister's Keeper.
I am currently reading The Ladder of Years by Anne Tyler.
Not to fret though, I have managed to finish the first snowflake sock and cast on for the second. Here are a few pre-blocking photos.
