Kool Aid Dying, Part II, and Single Cable Hat

Okay I have a few posts to catch up on. I've been having some technical difficulties (dead laptop). So now that I've gotten a new laptop (after braving Black Friday this morning for some savings), I can catch up on some posts.

E was here a couple of weeks ago and left me with another skein of dyeable yarn to play with. Although I had plenty of red kool aid flavors left, I thought I would branch out and try some blue yarn instead. So If I remember my Kool Aid flavors, there were 2 berry blue, 1 blue raspberry lemonad and 1 grape to lessen the flourescence of the colors. And as E will tell you, I have issues with knots in my yarn, both knitting and winding. And this was no different. So here are my end results.

Saturday of last week I was told that I would be tailgating and going to a football game, with an expected high of something like 30 degrees, I knew my cold weather gear would come in handy. Unfortunately I also realized that I don't actually have a hat that covered my ears, so Saturday night began the finding of the perfect pattern for the yarn that I already had (as there is no local yarn shop). After trying about 4-5 patterns and not getting anywhere near what I wanted, I decided on Monday afternoon I decided I would have to develop my own pattern to be both warm and cute. I have to say that I was completely inspired by the following hat.

http://anabundanceoflisa.typepad.com/lisainnewyork/2006/10/red_hat_on_a_wi.html

So I set about making my own in black Chunky Cashmerino. But the hat needed to be extremely warm, so instead of knitting on the recommended size needles (10.5), I knit it on size 6. Which also meant that I was just hoping that the size I was knitting was the appropriate size for the hat, as at that point I didn't have much else that I could do other than hope and if I didn't finish, go buy a hat...but luckily the results were very cute and warm. The one that I have of me wearing it didn't look quite so cute after spending 5 hours outside.

S

New Yarn and the Harvest Cowl

I finished another cowl this weekend. I made some modifications to the Pashmina Cowl from Last Minute Knitted Gifts, and I really like how it turned out. It stands up a bit better, so wearing it under a heavy coat will be great for the recipient. I basically alternated 10 rows of stockinette with 5 rows of 1 x 1 ribbing.

In addition to finishing the cowl, I received my latest STR Rockin' Sock Club shipment. The color is far and away my favorite, but still not enough to keep me around for next year's club. I will be spending my 10% coupon this week to order a couple more skeins of this colorway, Muddy Autumn Rainbow, and one or two others, and then I'll be trying to find some other clubs to join for next year.

I have a ton of STR and want to branch out a bit. I've been looking at some fiber clubs to get spinning and The Plucky Knitter just to be able to actually grab some of her yarn. It sells out on Etsy faster than anything I have seen. I'm starting another Calorimetry by request from a friend. We are trading a finished headband for some cookies, so I think I'm being well compensated (she's a great baker!). Also, I ordered stitch markers today, since I realized I needed way more than I had for the Clapotis that I keep meaning to start. I found these, these and these over on Etsy and can't wait for them to arrive. On to the next holiday knitting project!

-B

Kool-Aid Dying Process Complete

E and I, as in S, had a great weekend this weekend. Between outlets, Ikea, and yarn dying, it was a lot of fun...although I could live without the cold I seem to have picked up over the weekend. So Sundaykool-aid dying took place and while yes, the previous picture makes the yarn look a bit like raw ground meat, the final product looks significantly un-meatlike. First pic is the yarn drying out in the sink, second shows the skein reskeined. Not the prettiest reskeining job, but I'm realizing that two swifts would have been helpful. E it'll be the weekend before it wings its way to NYC, and I may just wait until I have time to play with the second skein to play with. But not bad for a first attempt at dying. And I believe the tropical punch/black cherry aroma has finally dissipated from the house.

S

Koo-Aid Dyeing

I visited S this weekend between business trips and brough my dyeable yarn from knitpicks that I bought a while ago. We picked up several packs of kool-aid, but the were mostly versions of red colors. This morning we mixed 2 packets of balck cherry and 2 packets of tropical punch. When I left, we had microwaved, but it was still setting in the sink. If S finds her camera, maybe she'll take a picture before she sends it back to me. I left the second skein with her, so she can do another one if she wanted.

I'm attaching the pciture I took, it looks like ground meat. hehe.

- E

Finished Cowl

Well, I have to say that this was one of the faster knits that I have done and I enjoyed every second of it. This is my first cowl and it will be gifted this holiday season. I will have to wash it first as the dark dyes rub off when I'm knitting, so I don't want them to rub off when someone is wearing it. The pattern is the Pashmina Cowl from Last Minute Knitted Gifts. I am currently modifying that pattern for another cowl, which should be done by week's end. I love the Tlingit colorway, from Socks that Rock, that I used and think that I will use my discount coupon code to grab another skein before the end of the year. DH was kind enough to take the pictures today as we finally had sun in our neck of the woods. I'll have some in progress pics of the other cowl later this week. We finally finished Felicity on DVD and have now moved into Scrubs. We decided that we needed a laugh out loud show after the last one languished. But, Gilmore Girls and Doctor Who have been added to the Netflix list for future viewing.

-B

Two Bibs and a Headband

Putting buttons on these bibs and my sister's Calorimetry was finally completed on election night. It's been super rainy and I've been working late, so I had to wait until today to get a decent picture. The bibs will be on their way to the Big Apple today. One of our friends had a baby boy in September, so these are the gift from us to them. The Calorimetry was made for my sister so she can keep her head warm when we run in the cold. I'm doing my first 5K on the 15th, so we've been out in the elements as of late and I figured that this would come in handy.

I'm 90% done with the first holiday cowl, and have the design for the next played out in my head. After visiting with another friend with a new baby boy (they are everywhere these days!), I'll map out the design on some graph paper and wrap up the first cowl. I've got my Knit Night tomorrow at my LYS, but am not sure what to take to work on. I think the crowd will be low because of Stitches East, so maybe working on my design is a valid project to bring. We'll see.

-B

Cowl Update

I hit my knitting groove yesterday as I sat down to start the Pashmina Cowl from Last Minute Knitted Gifts. I rented the first James Bond movie, Dr. No, from On Demand and settled in for two hours. Before I knew it, I was three inches into this cowl. I know that Ms. Hoverson has gotten some flack for her estimated times on how long these gifts really do take, but she may be accurate on this one. I am loving it and am especially thrilled with how the colors in this yarn are playing out. I am using Tlingit from STR in Mediumweight and am thinking about ordering another skein in order to make myself some standard socks to see how these colors play out again. The subtleties of the purples, greys, greens and blacks and beautiful to see. Even DH commented on how cool they were. I'm about half way done this project and will be working on it some more this evening. I should have holiday gift #2 under my belt by mid-week. Then, it's on to trying my hand at designing my own cowl pattern. -B