Random Dye Job

I can be quite random sometimes. Sometime during the day yesterday I decided I had to dye this skein of yarn that had been in my stash for quite some time. I had to do it that night and it had to be done with Kool-Aid.

I spent a couple of minutes after work looking up a recipe for the color I liked and I was off! I'll spare you the rant about how ridiculous it is that Big Y had no Kool-Aid brand items in the aisle labeled Kool-Aid... After a quick trip to the always delightful Stop and Shop I had some fruity drink packets in flavors similar to what I was looking for. I can honestly say I've never bought 20 packets before, come to think of it I don't remember the last time I had Kool-Aid. I was so ready to jump in I forgot to unpack my lunch bag or put my Cancer Society daffodils in water right away (as an aside this is a great way to donate and get some beautiful flowers).


I soaked the light blue Cashwool, a 100% wool cobweb yarn in the sink for maybe a half hour or so. I really wasn't feeling this color. I want to knit both the Fountain Pen Shawl and the Sweet Lily shawl from the most recent IK with yarn I currently own and didn't want to buy more yarn just because of the color issue.


So into the pot went 17 packets of Black Cherry and 4 of Iced Blue Raspberry lemonade. I wanted a deep color and this site suggested around 5 packets per ounce of yarn. I wanted the dark plum but they didn't have the right flavors at the store. Since I had to do it that night I subbed. This is what it looked like when I started and yes, that is my dinner cooking alongside it. Don't judge.


I simmered it for awhile and the dye did actually exhaust. It was really neat to see.


After cooling I rinsed it but there was really no bleeding of color and hung it to dry in the basement. I'm happy with the color even if it isn't as purple as I would have liked.


This was surprisingly fun and super super easy. The house smelled really nice too. I perhaps should have tied the skein better as I'm sure it is going to be a bitch to untangle but I'll burn that bridge when I come to it. The only issue now is the yarn amount. I have 1350 yards in this skein. I would like to use it doubled so figure 675. The sweet lily shawl calls for 875 on US8 needles. I want a smaller shawl and was thinking of going down a few needle sizes to maybe a 4 or 5. I'm 33% short which is a scary difference. I could not double it or I can knit a bit on the smaller needles and see how I'm doing, maybe re-adjust some numbers. Hmm, I'm stumped on this one, maybe I should make sure I can untangle it first...

FO: Andy's Vest

I'm wiped out today so I'm using that as an excuse to blog and not exercise. We finally snapped a quick photo of my husband in his vest the other day.

Yarn: Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool less than 4 skeins
Needles: US 4 and US 2

Is that not the sexiest torso you've ever seen? This was a fairly straight forward knit. My husband chose the Silky wool in a really nice green-brown color when we made our annual trip to WEBS over Thanksgiving and we decided the 3 x 1 ribbing worked the best. From there I used the Handy Book of Sweater Patterns by Ann Budd as a starting point but bound off a few more stitches for the armholes. The V-neck and armhole ribbing is 1 x 1 done with US2 needles. I worked the vest in two pieces and seamed them up at the end. Overall we are both pleased with the results. I think I may have bound off a few too many stitches for the armholes and it could be a bit longer but he thinks it works, which I guess is what really matters. The drape of the Silky wool is really nice but I'm not sure I'd use it again. Now my husband can look sharp and be warm at work. I would like to come up with another hand knit for him, he's pretty much my size so the sweater knitting would take about the same time.

For my sister

One down, one I hope finished tonight. Soon you will know the loveliness that is Rowan 4-ply soft. Big presentation tomorrow so I'm off to do yoga and knit to relax, let's hope it works!

P.S. I'll try to pick off the dog hair but you know the little lady :)

FO: Owls

Pattern: Owls by Kate Davies
Yarn: Plymouth Homestead 2.5 skeins
Needles: US9

Whoa I feel like I've lost 5lbs when I put this on (I assure you that is most definitely not the case). It is such a flattering and cute design, I'm totally smitten. I've been to three Joann Fabrics and I am still three buttons short but I wore it today anyway. I love the yarn but it does push my limits for the itch factor. I can usually wear wool next to my skin but with this I do need to have a tank on underneath. This is a worsted yarn so I basically sized up the pattern one more size than what was given to get about a 36 inch bust. This went really quickly and was a nice fun knit. If I were to do it again in the same yarn weight I would knit another round or two before the ribbing, it did stretch a bit over the course of the day. Overall I am really please with this sweater and am really glad to have finished at least one this year. Yoked sweaters are fun to knit and I feel flattering to everyone. There will be more in my future I'm sure.

Catch up

I've become a terrible blogger. I am still three lousy buttons short of finishing my Owl sweater and daylight is never around the same time my husband and I are. I do hope to get some pictures this weekend, buttons or no buttons but in the meantime I can show you some socks I started.


I do love the hearts but they require more concentration than I would like for socks. Originally I had planned on cabling both the front and back of the leg once I reached that point but honestly I stand a better chance of finishing them if the back remains plain.

I've made no secret of my love affair with the Granite state and despite the little snow left there it did not disappoint last weekend. There may have been 40mph winds and more ice than snow but we still snowshoed and had really good food. I suppose it is a good thing Owls remained at home because I would have totally ripped off my coat for a FO shoot here.




There was even a yarn stop at the Yarn and Fiber Co in Derry on the way home :) Rowan 4 ply soft for some fingerless gloves my sister requested and some Mountain Colors Winter Lace for I hope an original creation.


I hope to regain some blogging mojo but I'm working on something that if all goes to plan, will be available in the early fall :) Exciting for me but boring for the blog.

Owling right along

Last week was a blur. I had a great time at the Woolworks superbowl sale. With my discount I scored all of this.


The Plymouth homestead, an undyed yarn that is really nice and reasonably priced is already becoming an Owl sweater. I'm obsessed with this sweater so I've been completely monogamous. The body is done and right now I'm doing both sleeves at once. I'm really hoping I can finish this this week. I'm ready for spring but I would still like to finish at least one sweater this winter. I also grabbed some yarn for a pair of Clessidra kneesocks that I've been dying to knit for some time and three skeins of Plymouth baby alpaca lace to make the sweater on the cover of the Filatura di Crossa booklet. Now if only I had more knitting time.

FO: Fruit Loop

Pattern: Fruit Loop by Kristi Geraci Knitty Spring 2008
Yarn: Madelinetosh Sock in Lichen
Needles: Inox US1 29"

A sick day today has allowed me to finish my toe-up fruit loop socks. I'm really pleased with the way they came out. I used Judy's magic cast on and increased to 63 stitches. Then I reversed the chart and knit until the heel. For that I did a slip stitch heel and then knit per the pattern until the end where I did a sewn bind off. They are just the right length and fit perfectly. The only down side is the yarn is showing signs of wear already, just from being moved around in my lap. It's a shame because the color (which is much nicer in person) and the pattern are really nice. These went super fast even with other projects on the needles. My feet are happy and finishing these allow me to start another pair, some cabled heart socks I may try to finish for Valentine's Day. I'm not going to commit to knitting a pair a month but I think I will aim for that. One down!