A TIME TO DYE

Kool-Aid-dyed sock yarn

You might remember me mentioning my artist friend, Relene, who had given me Kool-Aid-dyed yarn that I'd recently knit into socks. Well, she'd also given me undyed sock-weight yarn, with the offer of showing me how to dye it.
Yesterday was the day and she arrived stocked with squeeze bottles and packets of unsweetened grape, ice blue raspberry, tropical punch, and lemonade. We let our yarn soak in warm water that had just a touch of dish washing liquid in it for 10 minutes. Carefully washed it in clear water and squeezed excess liquid out.

Meanwhile, we'd dumped 10 packets of each color into separate plastic cups, added water, and put them into the squeeze bottles with a bit more water. We put each skein into a container and began applying color, working the color into the fibers.

When we were satisfied with the look, we put the skein into a container, microwaved it for a minute, tested it with a paper towel to make sure no color came off, then set the color by immersing the skein in cold water.

Then we gently squeezed each skein and hung them outside to dry. For two skeins, I combined several colors, and then decided to stay with one color for two other skeins.

Apparently the vitamin C in the Kool-Aid makes it so the color adheres to the yarn. Personally I find it somewhat alarming that Kool-Aid is such a good dyeing material and am very happy not to drink it!
Our only error was not using rubber gloves, but Borax soap cleaned us up very well, followed by liberal applications of hand lotion. I prefer the Bee Bar by Honey House.

This was really fun to do. If you want to try it just make sure you get lots of Kool-Aid and don't water it down too much.

cheers,

Reah Janise

 

No Noodling or Nodding, Just ‘Nittin’

String Theory Loopy Socks

Close up, Loopy Socks

From the looks of it, you might just think I’ve been nodding off at the needles since it's been so long since my last post. But that would be incorrect.


First off, a pair of socks knit (Loopy Socks) with String Theory (great yarn!) came off the needles. I’d started these while traveling for Easter because socks are easier to knit on planes and don’t take up as much room in your bag as does a sweater.

Next, I finished my “Wee Bit ‘O Scotland” cable cardigan, made with one of the Great Scottish Yarn Expedition yarns.  The yarn comes from Shilasdair Shop on the Isle of Skye, Waternish peninsula, and is handspun with natural dyes. I had a lot of fun designing the pattern and really like the finished product. Buttons are always a bit of a challenge, but found some that were varigated like the yarn. Thanks to the clerk at G Street Fabrics with the great eye!


Loopsy Artsy Socks

Have begun writing up the pattern and will post it when completed. For this one, I will also attempt to include sizes. (Fingers crossed!)
Meanwhile, on a visit to my mother, who is now in long term care in Pennsylvania, I started another pair of Loopy Socks only with yarn my artist friend, Relene, had Kool-Aid dyed. I'm calling them Loopsy Artsy Socks because of their lively color! Am close to finishing these, but meanwhile, also started a crescent shawlette.

Creamed Crescent Shawl




Wee Bit 'O Scotland Cardigan

Thursday night saw the completion of the shawl. I'd purchased the yarn on a visit to my mother about ten years ago when she lived in North Carolina. (It’s called yarn stashing, not hoarding.) I improvised the Annis Shawl pattern, adding a few extra lace rows because I wanted a somewhat deeper crescent shawl. Unlike the first time I knit this shawl, I worked the nupps, but left out one row because they … take … so … long.  

 In the midst of all of this, last weekend began the Metro Yarn Crawl, a nine-day journey threading through the yarn stores of the DC metro area. Two friends participated in this journey with me on separate days. What a delight to visit new shops and get a feel for the creative knitting community. Each shop has its unique personality and selection of yummy yarns.

Now, needles ready ... NEXT!

Reah Janise
 

Close up of pattern

BLUE CABLE MITTS

Blue Cable Mitts

Well, there I was knitting the sweater I mentioned in my last blog with my pink Shilasdair yarn when I realized that I needed to have a gift for friends we'll be seeing at Easter.

Hmm. As Winnie the Pooh would say, "Think. Think. Think."

So I thought about what I might be able to knit in a week. Might I be able to make fingerless mitts? So I dug into my yarn stash and found some soft washable yarn: Lion Brand Micro Spun.
One of the cable patterns I'm using for the sweater is a 4-stitch cable. It looked like it would make a nice pattern for the back of the hand.


And here are the mitts--with thumbs. And they are soft and warm. I think I'm going to have to make another pair--for me!

Pattern on Ravelry and also Scribd.

XO
Reah Janise

SCOTTISH SWEATER AND BABY SWEATER PATTERNS

Shilasdair Yarn

I spent most of a Friday evening working out the pattern design for my next sweater. It was time to work up another of the Scottish yarns. For this sweater, I chose the naturally dyed pink Shilasdair yarn.

Well, part of Saturday was spent knitting a swatch to make sure the gauge I'd tested Friday night with some of the pattern was correct, realizing it wasn't balanced, ripping it out, rethinking the placement of the cables, starting over, ripping it out because I had decided to go with a seed stitch border increasing just a few stitches from the border to the main section. The problem was that unlike ribbing, which makes a border snug, thus allowing for the body of a sweater to blouse a bit, a seed stitch does not snug. After about 5 inches, I realized my mistake and ripped it out (again). If I wanted to keep the seed stitch border, I had to cast on a lot fewer stitches and increase more stitches in the last row before the body to ensure a nice flow from border to body.


Blue Hearts Baby Sweater

And that's where I am today.

In the meantime, I have drawn up the patterns for the baby sweaters discussed in the last blog. The pattern is designed for 6 month olds. See the photos for the links to the patterns. Patterns can also be found on Ravelry.

Cheers,

Reah Janise

Blue Blocks Baby Sweater

AWE ... BABY SWEATERS

One thing I find refreshingly fun to knit are baby sweaters. They are fairly simple and work up quickly ... and they are just so cute!

Primary Colors Baby Blanket

Yesterday I put the finishing touches on two sweaters that are intended for a colleague at work who is expecting twins (boy and girl). This is their first pregnancy and we are all excited for them. For another colleague who had a baby almost two years ago, I designed and knit a blanket. So I did sweaters this time. 

Blue Hearts Baby Sweater

I used KnitPicks Crayon, a DK weight, small Boucle, 100% cotton yarn that is very soft. A friend had given me a bunch of skeins, and I thought it would be perfect for these sweaters.



Blue Blocks Baby Sweater


I am finishing the patterns and will post them shortly, but meanwhile, I wanted to share the sweaters. They are sized for a child 6-9 months.

Now on to designing a sweater with the pink yarn from the Great Scottish Yarn Expedition!

Reah Janise



GLOVE-LY

Muhu mittens

Today the temperature is hovering around 30 degrees and the wind is making it colder still -- glove-ly weather!

And here I am wearing the finished Muhu mittens (yes, I know they aren't gloves, but mittenly didn't really work as a title). 

The mittens incorporate a braided cast on using two colors. There is also a twining stitch, which is similar to the braid because it uses two strands of yarn but of the same color, alternating them with each stitch, and, of course, color work.

Making the first cuff was easier than the second because, as mentioned in the previous blog, I was learning how to do it under the experienced direction of Nancy Bush who had brought this technique back from Muhu Island in Estonia, where there is a long tradition of intricate knitting with color work.


In the beginning was the cuff

The second mitten was more challenging because I had only my memory and the written instructions to follow. Consequently I made a few errors and had to start over twice. But once I had the pattern in my brain, it was a race to finish before winter was over.
And today is the perfect day to try them out.

winterized and ready to go,

Reah Janise

Finished!

p.s. For those of you who might want to try this pattern, you'll have to check with Nancy Bush, since I don't have the rights.

 

 

WOO HOO for MUHU!

Yesterday I did something I've never done: took a knitting class.

And it was so much fun! The class was taught by Nancy Bush, who has been researching and writing about Estonian knitting techniques for a number of years. After I signed up for the class, which was taught at Fibre Space in Alexandria, Virginia, I realized I had a book of hers, Knitted Lace of Estonia, which I have used for several years.

Nancy was teaching a particular style of knitting from Muhu Island, off the coast of Estonia. Our assignment was gloves. I signed up for the class because I want to get more experience with knitting with color and also knitting gloves and mittens.

Cuff knitted in Muhu tradition

 

And learning started straight off with an unusual two-color caston that ended up in a braid. Then we learned about twining, which uses two strands of the same color yarn, and an absolutely fascinating way of working with colorways while knitting in the round.

None of us completed a glove yesterday, but we all learned these fascinating stitches. I finished the cuff when I got home and made some progress on the main glove part, as you can see from the photo. 

We all had a wonderful time. My thanks to Nancy Bush, my fellow knitting students, and Fibre Space.

cheers,

Reah Janise