Forget You, February

Sweetie❤KNIT❤Heart [Rav] designed by Jackie Loewen

I've been trying to be positive this year, but HOLY SCHMOLY February has been such a bad month for so many people I care about.

This sweater has buttons, but right now it's in an emotional time-out.  For reasons.

Baby Sophisticate [Rav] by Linden Down; knit with 2ish skeins of Knit Picks Merino Style (discontinued) in colorway Hawk

This beer bottle cozy was great for learning traveling jogless stripes:

 

Garter Coaster Beer Cozy [Rav] by Jessica Landers; knit with Red Heart Heart & Sole, self-dyed with Kool-Aid and paprika

More jogless striping on this goofy hat for Ms. Punkin Q. Pie + learning some new-to-me crochet stitches:

Troll [Rav] by Gabriela Widmer-Hanke; knit with half-skeins of Debbie Bliss Pure Cotton (discontinued) in colorways 39013 Pale Green and 39014 Spruce

And I made a tiny bunny for absolutely no reason.

Tiny Baby Bunnies [Rav] by Anna Hrachovec

More February FOs to be had... shawls and a sweater to follow...
but March, you better be good to us.

Mot-less Monday: It's Shorter than We Anticipate

Just Bone Tired

So I've reached the point in winter where everybody in the house is sick and I get to be The Caretaker because I'm the least sick the mom.  You're probably just as sick of me talking dramatically about my chronic exhaustion as I am of being sick and tired, so pictures it is!  I missed Throwback Thursday, so this has to be
Freakin Long Time Ago Friday...

WAYBACK MACHINE: 2009 
(I know, sooo long ago...  it's pre-blog, that's the best I can do right now)

Here are two experiments in felting that went horribly awry!!
Both bags, both a bit blechy...

Felt Bag #1: Failing Felting 101

(For success, see French Market Bag [Rav] by Polly Outhwaite)

I gave this as a gift to some poor person... I'm sorry, person!

Felt Bag #2: Failure, Foolish Felter

(For success, see Satchel [Rav] by Stephanie Shiman)

I only made this because I lost a bet... but joke's on him, he got this as a "prize." Not pictured: the horrible felted "pockets" I "sewed on" with felted "swatch squares."

Love to You All

I've been knitting like a crazy woman with not much (nothing finished) to show for it!

There are so many WIPs I'm chipping away on, but mostly there's the sheer exhaustion of WINTER.

This is the current state of my back porch: 18 inches of snow (with more falling as I type this) + that same amount in drifting, blown from the roof.  Thanks, February, for piles of wet ennui.  The only person I know who's at least a little big excited is my daughter; she doesn't generally like to play in the snow, but she managed to stay out long enough to get completely drenched while making a snow angel.

Chugging along:

 

 

Live and Let Dye

I've been playing with yarn dyeing with foodstuffs and I luff it so much, you guys.  Miniskeins of yarn are perfect FOR SCIENCE because time and ingredients are reduced and there's a lot less failure-guilt, if one is me (which in this case, one is). Kool-Aid dyeing is very popular, of course, but I've also been poking around my (practically empty) kitchen and experimenting with paprika and tea!

All of these tests were done using Red Heart Heart & Sole (fingering weight, 70% Wool, 30% Nylon) in original colorway 315 Ivory; each 5g miniskein maths out to about 20ish yards...
but look at me talking, when there's science to do.

OPERATION DARK SOLID with KOOL-AID

• soak miniskein in hot water 20 min
• mix 1.33 cups dye solution (3 parts water/1 part white vinegar) with 1g special secret Kool-Aid mix (3 parts tropical punch/2 parts grape) -- theoretically, twice as much Kool-Aid as I need for this amount of yarn -- and pour over yarn in 2-cup microwavable measuring cup
• nuke 7 minutes (in 2-min intervals) until water is clear (forgot to let rest between, oooooops)
• rinse in hot water, allow to dry overnight
• clean microwave, consider destroying photographic evidence of dirty microwave, decide on judicious cropping
• skein dry yarn and hug it

OPERATION FAUX-GRADIENT with KOOL-AID

• wind miniskein into loose ball; soak in hot water 20 min
• mix 3 cups dye solution (3 parts water/1 part white vinegar) with 1g special secret Kool-Aid mix (3 parts tropical punch/2 parts grape) -- again, 2x what is needed for yarn weight
• heat dye mix in saucepan until almost-boil
• simmer wet yarn ball in hot dye mix, stirring/trying not to unwind
• at 26 minutes, notice that ball is taking no more dye; remove from heat, let sit 5 minutes
• rinse in hot water, drape into skein loops without burning hands or tangling (!), allow to dry overnight
• skein dry yarn and hug it

OPERATION THATSA SPICY MINISKEIN with PAPRIKA

• soak miniskein in hot water 20 min
• mix 3 cups dye solution (3 parts water/1 part white vinegar) with 1 tablespoon paprika (why that much? why not?/go big or go home/the whole world is watching)
• heat dye mix in saucepan until almost-boil
• simmer wet yarn in hot dye mix, stirring gently very occasionally
• remove from heat after 45 minutes, let sit 5 minutes
• rinse in hot water, allow to dry
• skein dry yarn and hug it

OPERATION LONG REPEATS with BLACK TEA and KOOL-AID

• wind miniskein into looooong repeats using kitchen island; soak in hot water 30 min
• prepare Kool-Aid dye: mix 3 cups dye solution (3 parts water/1 part white vinegar) with .5g special secret Kool-Aid mix (3 parts tropical punch/2 parts grape)
• prepare tea dye: steep 3 bags of tea (I chose a peach-flavored black tea -- why 3? dunno!) in 1 cup boiling water for 15 minutes; add 1/3 cup vinegar
• pour dyes into separate microwave-safe measuring cups, place side by side in spotless microwave, and put 50% of the skein into each vessel
• nuke 9 minutes (in 2-min intervals, resting 2 min between) until water is clearish; there may be some nudging to make sure the yarn between the cups is also dyed
• rinse in hot water, allow to dry (shown with good buddy Thatsa Spicy Miniskein)
• skein dry yarn and hug it

There may be some more SCIENCE in the near future, but for now---
what should I knit with these?