As promised - Kool Aid Dyeing!

I think it's safe to blame the thrummed mittens for my sudden and fleeting obsession with kool aid dyeing. 
Here are a few things I did over the last week.

The process is extremely fast and easy. I used the Knitty.com instructions found here: http://knitty.com/ISSUEfall02/FEATdyedwool.html

The instructions also include a very handy color guide to help you determine what flavor of kool aid will produce what color.

Temporarily Obsessed with Kool-Aid Dyeing

Full story at 11.

Day Dreaming of Thrummed Mittens

I'm not sure what came over me yesterday, but from about 3PM onward, all I could think about was making myself a pair of thrummed mittens! I'm fairly confident that I've already got enough worsted wool to last me a lifetime choose from for the body, so my main task at hand is to procure some rainbow dyed roving. 

I started checking out some listings on Etsy and saw some really beautiful things when I remembered that a dear old friend of mine dyes fiber as a hobby. So, I hit her up on Facebook and she'll be beginning on my order today. I've requested either traditional ROYGBIV colors, or rainbow neon colors, whichever is easier.

The Yarn Harlot wrote up a very simple thrummed mitten pattern years ago that I've got book marked. You can find the instructions on or about here (it kind of spans a few posts.)

Ultimately, my finished mittens should look something like this:

Photos borrowed from the Yarn Harlot's blog.

This will be my first try at thrumming anything, but I'm really excited to give it a try!

Finished: Leaf Yoke Top

It's finished! And I'm wearing it to work tomorrow!

This pattern was so super easy. The only reason it took me so long to officially complete is that I absolutely am terribly at creating the hem. I just couldn't get it even and perfect so I elected to allow the edge to roll. I think it makes the top look a little more casual.

Un-knitting

Otherwise known as "tinking."

This morning I had to take our car to Discount Tire to get a nail taken out and make sure one of the tires is still good to go.

Here's how my morning looked:

I was all like "YAY! Morning knitting with coffee in the nice 75F weather!" Everything was going great and I was smiling and knitting, knitting and smiling. 

And then, I finished my pattern repeat and thought it best to stop and measure the sleeve opening to make sure I was on track. Lo-and-freaking-behold, I knit too much :-( 

The arrows indicate the correct measurement. So, rather than making some good progress on this sweater this morning, I had to un-knit about 1.5". Now, I'm always terrible and terrified of taking out the needles and ripping out stitches. I'd much rather go backwards, stitch by stitch, and un-knit my knitting. Oh well.

Caring for Knitwear

It occurs to me that the future recipients of my hand knits may not be sure how to care for their new items. Although I always include a care instructions card with my gifts, I know they can be easy to lose. Here are some tips that I wrote for another article that can help you keep your hand knits looking new for a lifetime.

Wools (fiber from sheep and other animals)

Wools are a particularly dangerous yarn to give to non-knitters as it has a tendency to felt when washed. Felting is the process by which agitation and/or heat cause the tiny fibers in the wool to latch onto each other tightly. This causes the fabric to shrink and become denser and stiff. Fortunately, washing wools is as simple as soaking the garment in lukewarm water with a small amount of detergent. It is OK to swish the item around a bit, but do not rub the fabric against each other. 

After you are satisfied that the garment is clean enough, drain the water and fill the sink back up with cool water. Repeat this until you no longer see suds. Next, gently wring the water out as best you can and then lay the item flat out on a towel to dry. Once it is dry, inspect the item to see if it has "grown" at all. If it seems a bit stretched out, put it into the dryer on low heat and run it through part of a fluff cycle. Check it every few minutes to make sure there is no evidence of felting or shrinkage. 

There is one type of wool that can be machine washed with no worry. It is called "superwash wool" and is God's gift to knitters. The term "superwash" refers to a treatment that the wool is subjected to that prevents the tiny fibers from latching onto each other. The best way to care for superwash wool garments is to wash the item in the washer on the gentle cycle. Then lay it out flat to dry. 

Cottons

Cotton is a wonderful fiber to use for hand knits. It's breathable, natural, comes in tons of colors, and is quite durable. Many cotton hand knits can be machine washed on the gentle cycle inside a lingerie bag. Be sure to use cool water as cotton does have the propensity to shrink. As such, the best method for drying the garment is to lay it out flat on a towel. Similar to wools, if the garment feels stretched out after washing, it is alright to put it in the dryer for 15 minutes on low heat to fluff it up. 

Synthetics

Yarns are made in a huge variety of fiber content and design, and as such, there is no one-size-fits-all method for laundering. The best way to safely launder synthetics is to use the hand wash and lay flat to dry method as directed for wools. If you feel the fiber and garment are sturdy enough to be put in the washer, do so, but take care to wash it on gentle cycle with a mild detergent. As always, lay the garment out flat to dry. 

Other Tips and Tricks for Preserving Your Hand Knits
- Don't ever hang a hand knit sweater on a hanger as it will cause it to stretch
- Keep wool away from cats. Many cats are attracted to the wool and may try to eat it.
- If you are worried that your detergent is too harsh, consider giving Eucalan a try.

- Do not use bleach - EVER!

Making steady progress!

Last Thursday, my Future DH let me pick him up late so I could go to the yarn shop to pick out some new yarn for a Christmas sweater I have been planning. It's the Pole pattern that I linked a while back. After debating with myself whether to use Malabrigo as suggested in the pattern, or to look for another heavier worsted weight yarn. Ultimately, due to dye lot and stock restrictions, I settled on 5 skeins of Berroco Ultra Alpaca in a dark charcoally grey mix. 

To the first touch, the yarn isn't quite as soft as I would prefer, but I know that after being knit up on size 10 needles and then given a good wash, it will fluff up and feel just heavenly! 

Now, at first I was a little confused about the construction of the pattern, so I did my usual pre-knit process of reading through the entire thing and then checking Ravelry for any questions that might help me along the way. I'm very glad I did because one knitter suggested not binding off part of the back piece so it would be easier to pick up and knit the stitches later with the bottom part of the sweater. This is something that would have come to me after I started the sweater and I would spend the rest of that section cursing myself for not planning ahead.

Here's a picture of the sweater.....though it looks more just like a big blackish grey lump right now! However, I think these nice 60F nights lately will provide me some more inspiration to finish this sweater up so I can make one for myself!