Dying!

I've been anxious to try my hand at dying for a while now.  I'm interested in the natural dyes primarily, but the vivid and fun colors coming from Kool-Aid were too good to pass up.  I decided to try beets and Kool-Aid - one of each - for my first time. 

I read through several sources for instructions on dying.  I looked here for guidance on Kool-Aid formulas.  A few weeks ago, I picked up Craft of the Dyer by Karen Leigh Casselman at the local library book sale.  It's got lots of great information!

I chose two yarns from my stash to dye.  First, I had a skein of Jojoland Harmony I got in a grab bag.  It was a REALLY light, pastel rainbow and I wasn't a fan.  I decided to overdye it with the beets.  The second yarn was a white mystery yarn.  I'd say it's a DK weight and I was pretty sure it was animal fiber of some sort.  Because I was questioning the content, I chose Kool-Aid for this one.

First, I soaked both skeins in a fixative.  I used about 6 cups white vinegar and 12 cups water.  This ended up being far more liquid than I needed.  I heated the mixture on the stove in a big soup pot and dunked the yarn in.  For about an hour, the yarn stayed in on low heat.  According to several dying instructions, a fixative for Kool-Aid isn't necessary.  Since I was already doing it for the beets, I decided to throw both in, anyway.
 

 

While the yarn was soaking, I prepared my dye baths.  I peeled and chopped 6 beets.  I cut them into about 1/2 inch cubes and dumped them into enough water to cover the yarn. I brought it all to a boil, reduced heat and let it simmer, covered, for about an hour.  I used a mesh strainer to strain the beets out. 

For the Kool-Aid, I used enough water to cover the yarn plus some to allow for evaporation.  I used three packets of Lemon-Lime and one of Lemonade.  I mixed in the packets and let it sit. 

 

Kool-Aid                                                 Beets

When the yarn was done in the fixative, I used tongs to remove the yarn.  I let as much water run off as I could.  I used a wooden spoon to squeegee more water out.  A skein each went into the dye bath!  I mixed immediately, getting the dye around the skein evenly.  

The Kool-Aid went fast.  I mixed until the water was clear.  It was very cool to watch!  When the water was clear, I rinsed with cold water, gently squeezed out water and hung to dry.  The beet dye bath took longer.  There's evidence of mixed results using beets.  Some say they can get red, other say the best they can do is brown.  I pulled the yarn out of the dye bath a couple times to check color, but ultimately left it to simmer for about 45 minutes.  I rinsed, squeezed and hung that to dry! 

I have to say, I'm pretty pleased with the results.  There's some white left in the Kool-Aid yarn, though that doesn't bother me.  The beets turned out better than I expected.  It's a tad more "rusty" in person, though.  This picture gives it a tad more credit than it deserves. :)

Shifting Focus

I've been thinking a lot about blogging about my own fiber adventures.  I knit, crochet and recently tested the waters of both dying and spinning (not to mention all my other crafty hobbies).  Rather than start a completely new blog, I've decided only to shift focus on this blog.  It's been nearly a year since I've posted here anyway.

As sort of a transition, though, I want to talk about all the knitted items I've been seeing in stores!  I've often wondered which comes first - independent designers creating the knitting patterns, or designers creating for mass production?  Back in this post, I mentioned this.  I'm sure they influence each other.  It's been interesting to watch the trends on Ravelry, for example, show up in stores. 

I ventured into three stores today (Target, Kohl's and The Gap) to replenish my winter wear and saw massive amounts of sweaters!  I don't recall ever seeing them in such numbers!  It's been a different experience seeing sweaters in stores after learning to knit.  I find myself wanting to replicate rather than buy.  I have to share some pics with you!

Target finds: 

LOTS of bright colors.  Some even neon (LOVE!).  I saw several two-toned, too.  That definitely seems to be trending.  

Lot's of shawl collars and toggle buttons, too.

Several sweaters had studs and beads in them.  This one I thought was pretty cool. 

 Plenty of cables!  I'm a big fan of the one on the right.

 

 There were a few that seemed like throw-backs. 

 

And a few fun ones. :)

  

There were several sweaters like this.  Very interesting.  It's showing, what a knitter would call, the "wrong side!"  The inside is the usual fair isle pattern.  The outside lets us see the strand.  Kinda cool!

Kohl's finds:

Look!  More of that wrong side fair isle! 

 There were a lot of animals.  Several birds and foxes.

Another thing I noticed was "mock" knitting and fair aisle patterns.  Both of these were printed patterns on a fuzzy, pajama material.  

Several Aztec inspired patterns. 

The Gap finds:

Another shawl collar!

And another one with color blocking!  And neon!  

It's great to see so many sweaters.  I'll tell you, though, being a knitter makes it much harder to buy!  I want the experience of MAKING the sweater!  Also, I want to take them ALL off their hangers.  Makes me cringe.  :)

Leggings!

Iowa was spoiled with temperatures in the 40s for the last few days.  Today, we're back down into the 20s.  The chill made me think of these leggings I found a while back.

Elizabeth Zimmerman has a pattern she calls Nether Garments.  In the images for the pattern, you see several variations of the same basic pattern.  The pattern can be found in several books listed on the Ravelry page.  

There are two free alternatives I found as well.  They are Tights by DROPS designs and the cabled, Mermaid tights also by DROPS designs.

For the Men!

Another post for the men!  I found the following sweater at Express.  Unfortunately, it's no longer available.  Pinterest held onto the image, though!

Pretty handsome, right? I found a couple close matches.  First up is Smokin' by Jared Flood, who consistently churns out some seriously awesome patterns.  This pattern of his is from Son of a Stitch 'n Bitch by Debbie Stroller, which has been on my wish list for some time.  This pattern does have some notable differences.  It has a rounded shawl collar and features normal buttons as opposed to toggles.  Skip the button holes and attach the toggle style and it's close! 

Second up is Saturday Morning Hoodie available on Lion Brand's website for free.   This one DOES have the toggle buttons, but it also has a hoodie instead of a collar.  

Mukluks

Hope you all had a happy holiday!  We had a wicked winter storm in Iowa the Wednesday before Christmas.  It made traveling a little more difficult and forced me to crank up the heat!  So, today I'll be showing you some mukluks!  I found these and decided I must find a pattern!

I had a pair (not these exact ones) and just loved them.  Unfortunately, I've lost one in the pair. :(  I did find some pattern matches, though!  

Mukluk Slipper Boots by Maia Greer-Heffernana are almost an exact match!  

In my search, I came across Skull Mukluks by Maggie Pace.  They were just too darn awesome to not include, though they aren't exactly a "match." 

Which Came First?

Sometimes, I swear that clothing designers are watching the knitting community!  I'm not 100% sure which came first, but I'm pretty confident that the knitting patterns is the chicken - er, the egg.  I found this hat on Anthropologie's website.  Minus the flower, I immediately thought of an extremely popular pattern I've seen repeatedly on Ravelry.

It's the Wurm!  This is a free pattern by Katharina Nopp.  The pattern page has a few cool variations, too. 

Like the flower, too?  I found a couple options.  Aster by Ohmay Designs or Daisy found in the book Knitted Flowers by Susie Johns.

 

Holes

This will be another texture focused post.  I found this sweater on Target's website.  It's got a few interesting things going for it.  First, and most obvious are the large holes in the pattern.  I dig it.  If you zoom in on the website, you see that it's actually a cable pattern.  Second, it's got leather (okay, probably vinyl) cuffs.  I dig that, too.  Must figure out how to do this!  It also has Dolman sleeves. Dolman sleeves are fantastic for providing ample room for my annoyingly difficult to hide bust.

Of course, there's enough going on here that it makes it nearly impossible to find an exact match.  But, if you like the holey look, check these out!

First up is Aurelie by Jones and Vandermeer.  It's a cross between a cardigan and a shrug - not sure what to call it.  The back, in particular, has a similar hole pattern.

                   

My personal favorite is Rosemary by Penny Hill, which was in "Let's Knit It" Magazine 35, April 2012.  

For good measure, I'll throw in a third.  This isn't a sweater, but it's been pretty popular among knitters on the web.  This one is Summit by Mandie Harrington and is available for free!  It has a super cool wave to it!