There have been updates and changes to the blog as necessary to help deter comment spam.  This should all be transparent to you.  That is, you shouldn’t notice anything unusual or untoward.  However, javascript must be enabled on your computer in order for you to be able to write a comment.  This shouldn’t be troublesome as javascript is enabled by default on most systems anyway.  If you have a problem, this is the first thing to check.  If you still have a problem, please let me know.

Thanks for your patience.  The comment spam was getting to the seriously annoying point and I’m trying to avoid requiring you to enter a stupid password any time you want to say something, so I’m exploring other options.

Over and out :)

There’s a new post at The Dye Pot.  The new yarn is called Ibis…

...and is a hot pink/tangerine mélange of bright, warm color.  I have also posted a link to the crock pot dyeing tutorial on The Dye Pot - it’s under Links on the sidebar.

It was a real quiet weekend here.  In fact I spent most of yesterday reading - trying to finish - the last of Robin Hobbs’ The Tawny Man trilogy, Fool’s Fate.  Bron - does this one seem to go on and on and on?  I have really liked this series and have, more or less, read it straight through but this last book seems to fall a little short by actually being a lot too long.

I have finished the first sleeve of autumn Seeds and the second is under way :)

I think this is may be a hair long - but just a hair and I’m fine with that.  I’m noticing the stockinette on either side of the seed stitch panel shows a distressing tendency to curl over the seed stitch.  I am hoping that washing and drying will help to curb that.





Otherwise, I’m very happy with things and looking forward to having this completed and wearable.  I am trying very hard not to torture myself with the thought that if I’d planned this out a little better, I’d have done the neck in seed stitch too for a more pulled together appearance.  The plain fact is I am not going to rip this entire sweater out to replace a perfectly presentable collar with something that’s trying to convince me it would be a better option.  I refuse to be haunted or guilted :) And I absolutely refuse to rip!  Well, rip again anyway…

Another washcloth done (yawn)…

...in the same stitch pattern but a different yarn.  Both yarns were Peaches ‘n Crème but the solid blue wasn’t nearly as heavy as this variegated pink.  I used size 7 US (4.5 mm) needles on the blue one but had to go up to size 8 US (5 mm) needles for the pink.  It doesn’t matter in the slightest - it’s just interesting to note that while both are the same brand and type of yarn (utility cotton worsted weight), there’s considerable variance in their thicknesses.

Then I went rummaging through the stash for that splendid red yarn I mentioned in last Wednesday’s post?  The one I’d like to use to make Myria something for Valentine’s day :) The problem is that the word stash sounds like a single, consolidated thing when the reality is that there are quantities of stash in three different places in the apartment.

These cabinets are in the hallway between the living room and the kitchen.  There are six of them built into the wall and they’re about 2 x 2 x 1 feet.  I use three of them for yarn roughly divided (very roughly!) into wools and wool blends, cotton and cotton blends and acrylics.  There is also this:





...which live under the coffee table.  Almost anything can be in these bags but usually they consist of half done projects, things that need to be frogged and experiment yarn (anything I can grab quickly to test out a technique or a stitch pattern) - usually acrylic.  In addition to all that, there are also two or three large bags in my clothes closet.  Often this is newer stuff that hasn’t been allocated to another storage space yet but there is also a bag of mohair in various colors and a partial bag of Caron Simply Soft - seriously depleted (and that’s a good thing) in the making of the Crocheted Jacket (scroll down a bit).

Of course I could find the yarn I had purchased at the same time as the red - in fact the current dye project is part of that acquisition.  But do you think I could find this?  I must have gone through things three times before I finally discovered it lurking at the bottom of one of the bags under the coffee table.

Do I know what I’m going to do with it yet?  Not a clue :)

Dyeing in a crock pot is a simple procedure.  It does take more time than either dyeing on the stove-top or in the microwave, but you don’t have to stand over it either and can go and do something else while waiting.  I like the gradual heating the crock provides and I like being able to interrupt or prolong the process without doing any damage to the yarn.

Of course, none of this is carved in stone.  I basically experimented until I arrived at a series of steps that would yield a good result.  I encourage you to do likewise and see what works for you.

You will need the following things:

A crock pot
Yarn to dye
Dye
White vinegar (or citric acid)
A stainless steel or wooden spoon
A couple of good sized glass bowls
Plastic or rubber gloves (not always necessary - but if you have to stick your hands into, say a blue dye bath, you’re going to want them covered!)

Your yarn has to be a protein fiber - that is it must have come from an animal originally.  Wool, alpaca, cashmere. mohair - all of those will dye beautifully using this method.  Cottons or linens (plant fibers) require different treatment and different dyes. 

The first step is to weigh your yarn.  This is a French yarn with the label “Chabotté”.  I had never heard of it before and couldn’t track it down on the web but it was inexpensive, wool and the light cream color made it a good candidate for the dye pot.  It’s a sport/DK weight yarn and is washable.  All together there are about 400 yards (385 meters).

My experience has been that one “unit” of dye per ounce of yarn will give me the kind of color saturation I’m looking for.  The unit, of course depends on the type of dye you’re using.  As I only use food-safe dyes, my choices are usually between Kool-aid (1 packet per ounce), Easter egg dye tablets (1 tablet per ounce) or icing dyes (1/4 tsp per ounce).  In the above photo, you can see that the scale reads 5.4 oz. for the three balls of yarn.  Since I’m using icing dye this time, that means roughly 1 1/4 tsp of dye for the lot.

A good rule of thumb is to dye no more ounces of yarn than your crock has quarts - at least that’s what I’ve found works well for me.  In other words, since I’m using a 5 quart crock, I would not want to dye much more than 5 oz. of yarn at any one time.  Yes, I am a little over this time - but only a very little :) Quantities under that weight are fine but much more than that and the yarn gets crowded and may take the dye unevenly even leaving some bare spots where the dye couldn’t reach the yarn.

Now you need to wind your yarn into a skein.  If you’re fortunate, your yarn may already be in a skein (many yarns are sold that way) but if it has been wound into a ball, you’ll have to rewind it.  You can do this on a swift (as pictured above) or you can use the backs of a couple of kitchen chairs placed in reasonable proximity - or even the hands and arms of a willing victim assistant :) Cut a several yard length of the yarn to use for tying the skein off.





The skein will need to be tied off in several places to keep the yarn from tangling in the crock.  Trust me, there’s nothing more frustrating than going through the process, getting a glorious color and then having to spend a day untangling 400 yards of yarn that wasn’t secured properly.  Very annoying!  I used to use cotton string for this until I found out that in some cases, it was actually blocking the dye from getting to the yarn.  Now I always cut a length of the yarn I’m dyeing and use that.  I do this while the yarn is still on the swift as I find it convenient to have the swift hold it for me.  Tie your yarn in 4 - 6 places - not too tightly.





In your sink (or a large bowl) run a good quantity of water as near to room temperature as you can manage and set your skeined and tied yarn in the water to soak.  Squeeze gently to get all the wool wet but don’t agitate vigorously, twist, stretch or otherwise manhandle the yarn because it could felt and that’s probably not what you’re going for right now :) This is less of a concern with washable wool - but still, it should be handled gently.  Let the yarn soak for about an hour.  Your goal here is to make sure all the yarn is thoroughly wetted so that it can easily absorb the dye.  You can wash the yarn at this point if you wish.  If the yarn is new I don’t generally bother because it will be washed after being dyed anyways.  However, if the yarn is dirty or dusty or has been frogged from another project, you may wish to clean it up a bit first.





While your yarn is soaking, prepare your dye solution.  For this batch, I used Wilton’s Icing Dye (note:  this dye contains sugars and corn syrups so be sure to wash your yarn carefully and thoroughly when the dyeing is done).  I filled the cup with boiling water and added about 3/4 tsp of pink, about 1/4 tsp orange and a few drops of brown dye to the water to dissolve.





Remove your yarn from the sink or the bowl and squeeze the excess water out of it.  You want it to be wet - but not dripping :) Pour your dye solution into another bowl and add water - around 3 to 4 quarts.  There isn’t a precise measurement here - all you want is to have enough dye bath to cover the yarn in the crock.  The amount of water you add to the dye solution has no bearing on how intense your final color will be since that is determined by how much actual dye you use. 

At this point, add your vinegar too - about 1/2 c.  The acid is what makes the dye fast so that the color doesn’t wash out.  It doesn’t have to be vinegar - the tannic acid in tea also works (though I have only done that once and it was by accident!).  I have also read that Kool-aid (if that’s what you’re using for a dye) has enough citric acid in it that the addition of vinegar is unnecessary.  I always add it though because I’m chicken :) In any case, acid is a necessary component and white (distilled) vinegar is easy to find and quite inexpensive (about $2/gallon in your local supermarket).  Make sure that everything is well mixed and dissolved and that there are no solids left in the dye bath.  If there are, either mash them with your spoon until they are dissolved or remove them.  Then pour your dye bath into the crock pot.

Place the yarn into the dye bath, stir gently to bring all of the yarn into contact with the dye, cover the crock and set it to high.

Go away for a while :) I generally let things run until the dye has exhausted - that is, until the yarn has absorbed all the color and the liquid left in the crock is clear (or, perhaps, slightly milky looking).  Depending on the yarn and the dye, this can take anywhere from one to six hours.

My crock pot is deep green and it can be difficult to see whether the dye has all been absorbed - so I keep a white plastic measuring spoon handy to test the solution with.

When you’re scooping out nothing but clear liquid (all color has been absorbed), turn the crock pot off and leave everything to come to room temperature.

After the yarn has cooled, wash it (I usually use a combination shampoo/conditioner for this) and rinse, rinse, rinse.  Make sure to handle the yarn gently and to keep the water a uniform temperature so that you’re not thermally shocking the yarn.  Agitation and/or thermal shock can result in felting.

You should rinse several times (carefully) to make sure that all the cleanser is cleared from the yarn and to make sure that any “loose” color is washed away.  Don’t run water directly on your yarn; just use your bowl.  Fill it with clean, clear water, dunk your yarn (squeezing gently) and change your water as often as you need to until it remains clear.





Squeeze the excess water out of your yarn and place it on a clean dry towel.  Roll it up and press to extract as much moisture as possible out of the yarn.  Hang to dry.





When the yarn is dry, wind it or re-skein it.  I also like to make a swatch so that I have it to refer to when I’m considering new projects.  The swatch also shows me how the yarn looks knitted up.

Enjoy your crock pot dyeing adventure!

Drop in to our little virtual knitting group - chat and relax.  Leave your troubles and bring your knitting :)

We’ve finally had some snow!  Not much, mind you, just enough to cover rooftops and lawns but because the temperature hasn’t gotten above 20 in the last week, it’s all still there.  Of course by now it is getting a little shabby looking :)

As Monday was a chemo day spent mostly at the hospital, little simple things are the order for now :) But I did get a few of those done!

The socks are finished and I think they look exceptionally cheerful and warm.  This yarn is a little bulkier than I expected and took just over a ball to make the pair on size 5 needles.  I usually have a little left over from a 50 gram ball - but then I’m usually working DK or light worsted on size 3 or 4 needles.





There’s also this, another long-band hat, to replace the one I liberated from the Dulaan bag.  As I am now dealing with no-hair days, and I have decided to try and avoid the dratted wig if at all possible (you can’t believe what a pain in the butt that thing is!) - hats have become a necessity indoors and out.  I had a couple made and ready to go but found that I needed another so I grabbed this hat, which fits me perfectly with the promise that I would replace it with another ASAP. 

And, to add to the excitement (heheh...), I completed my first washcloth - started and finished it at the hospital on Monday :)

Nothing spectacular and not even a particularly exciting yarn, but it will serve me well and I’m planning on making a few more to have on hand.

Other things in process:  there has been some more dyeing going on but that will have to wait until Friday because this batch is the basis for a tutorial on crock-pot dyeing which I have yet to write :) I have also taken out the Autumn Seeds sweater again, ripped the darned sleeve again and am about halfway back down the length - for the third time :) I’m hoping to have something on that to show you Friday as well.  I also want to make another Pinwheel Hat and I have three balls of a gloriously red microfiber blend that I’d like to turn into something nice for Myria for Valentine’s day - I just don’t know what yet :)

Chatters is definitely on for tomorrow night!  In the mean time, stay warm and knit happy :)

After farting around a bit, I finally came up with a suitable flower for my Republic hat.  It’s the same pattern as the first one (the one in Wednesday’s post)…

...but where the first one was made with worsted weight cotton using a size G hook, this one was made on a much smaller scale :) I used a vintage (Lily SkyTone - I’d read about it but never seen it before acquiring it at a thrift shop) cotton thread in a variegated pink/cream along with a strand of very pale pink Madil Seta (kid mohair/silk) and a size 7 steel hook.  This looks much better on the hat and I haven’t entirely given up the idea of creating a couple more flowers so as to have a small bouquet kind of thing!

Actually this whole flower thing has me thinking about a purse or a bag of some sort - maybe a simple, basic shape covered with flowers!  It could be a lot of fun, I think.  Of course if you weren’t careful you might wind up with an item that looks like something your grandmother would take to the beach.  On the other hand…

I managed a little more on the second dishtowel (you’re excited, right?  You - in the back - stop snoring!), incorporating a multi-colored band.

The current plan is to do another band at the opposite end of the towel when I get there :)

I’m probably going to be doing a few new washcloths as well as I’m finding that my skin doesn’t like my scrubbie any more - you know, one of those nylon puff thingies?  I’ve always loved them but right now they are just to abrasive to be practical.  I know washcloths aren’t difficult or especially exciting, but it pleases me deeply that I both have the material and the knowledge to make them.

Speaking of materials and knowledge… I don’t think a day goes by that I don’t thank the universe for wool :) Seems silly hunh?  But I use my mohair blanket every night and even when the temperature is very low, it keeps me toasty and comfortable.  Likewise the Zen Garden Stole and my hats and fingerless gloves - particularly these which I wear indoors and out and find especially useful for driving.  And what really boggles me is that until I began knitting, all I had ever used for craft work was acrylic or cotton.  Certainly both of those things have their uses, but I hadn’t thought of wool, or if I had, didn’t believe I could afford it.  When I began realizing the real advantages of the home-grown stuff ( as opposed to the machine extruded stuff!), I determined that I would learn how to work with it and care for it properly.  I was worried about washing wool, but it turns out that it isn’t really difficult and just requires a bit of care.  And, thanks to sales bins, discontinued color lines and the profound good luck to be living in the same city as a mill, I can afford the stuff too.  Which is a good thing because I don’t know where I’d be without it!

I also started another pair of children’s socks.

The cuff is quite heavy as the yellow wool is stranded with a bit of the yarn from the Summer Garden Socks (scroll down a little).  These will be exceptionally bright, as you can see!  These puppies won’t be easy to lose :)

It’s not likely that there will be a post on Monday so I’ll see you again on Tuesday or Wednesday.

Take good care of yourselves, folks - and have a wonderful weekend!

Come and join us, invite a friend and bring your hand work.  Tell a story or a joke or just relax and enjoy the company!  See you there :)