Category: Golightly Dyes

Blogless Sara came over on Saturday.  We had big plans to work on about 2,517 different craft projects because we’re optimists that way.  What we actually did was muse over her sweater that we still need to steek and dye some roving.  I’d like to try knitting with roving and then felting the product, so I dyed with that in mind.  I’ve been spinning the roving that my nephew and I dyed over the summer, and I like the way it looks quite a bit.  I wonder if I’ll like this stuff knitted.

I had a fortunate day on Sunday.  Of course seeing the Yarn Harlot was great, but I also won a doorprize–a scarf pattern and a skein of yarn. 

Even better, though, I was the recipient of a lovely gift from my friend Cae.  She knit a gorgeous shawl this summer and made an edging out of one of the Nicki Epstein books.  She decided to put the edging on only two sides of the shawl, and look what she did with the extra edging.

Doesn’t she do lovely work?  Aren’t I so lucky?  Thank you, Cae!

It’s a rainy gray day here.  I’m going to take a little nap before I start my Treadmill Journal writing.  I have Friday off from work, so I’m looking forward to the long weekend.  I hope to set aside some time to start my holiday crafting.  What are you making for your gift list?

My cousin and I take a few trips each summer to the beach she used to live down the block from, Blue Shutter Beach.  This yarn reminds me of the New England shore, lots of shades of blue with a little bit of sand among the rocks and sun peeking through the clouds.  I’m going to have a hard time sending it to my pal on Monday, and I hope she likes it as much as I do.  Thank you to all the Dye-o-Rama Mamas, especially Noelle (and Dye-O-Rama Papa Cody, too!) and Scout.  Scout gave me my first dyeing lesson and answered my questions as I got busy on Thursday, and I owe a big thanks to Mona, who showed me how to dye variegated yarn. 

There are lots of tutorials online about dyeing, but I’m going to put up the pictures from my experience for my reference…I didn’t take notes, so I’ll have to come back here when I want to remember what I did!

First I soaked the two skeins (370 yards total) of Gems Pearl in Pure White in warm water and a dash of white vinegar.  Then I made a peanut butter sandwich and slowly ate it.  I don’t think this is a critical step (the sandwich, not the soak), but it helped me to be patient while the yarn "wetted."

Then I decided on the order of the colors of the Landscape dye.

   

I mixed the dye with boiling water after I did some research about how many teaspoons are in a tablespoon and cups in a pint.  I do not know these things off the top of my head.  Every time I look them up, I tell myself I’ll remember, but I don’t.  Hey, wasn’t it Albert Einstein who said "Never memorize what you can look up"?

I painted on the colors.  The yarn was pretty dry, so I felt comfortable bringing the colors close to each other.  In a few of the white spaces I dabbed the lightest blue, which seems to have worked well. 

Then I wrapped the yarn really well with Reynolds Wrap.  I adore the person who invented the EZ Slide Cutter.  Pre-EZSC, I had too many plastic wrap disasters to count.  Really.  Now I’m a plastic wrap guru.  Scout advised the extra good wrapping since I was going to use a small microwave and wouldn’t be able to spread the yarn out in a big dish. 

I nuked the yarn for about 12 minutes and painted the second skein.  There was some cooling off time, removal of the plastic wrap, a warm rinse, a rinse in my favorite Aveda conditioner.

Then began the looong drying process.  First I hung the skeins in the shower.  When they were fairly dry, I hung them off the light fixture in the dining room.  This morning I was able to re-skein them in order to see how the variegation looked.  I’ll make a label tomorrow, add a few goodies to the mix, then I’ll send the package off.  Really I will.  I promise.

KSKS sign ups start tomorrow at 8 a.m. EST.  I hope you’ll join us for the fun!

"Wound Too Tight" is the name of this bright and black yarn.  Scout showed me how to use the warp board, then set me to it.  I apparently have tension issues (her Superboy can tell you about ISSUES–trust me!) even when winding a warp board–one of the screw thingies popped out from my winding so tight!  I went a little nutty with color; next time I want to try a more monochrome colorway.

I’m calling this one "Institution" because it reminds me of the colorways I’ve seen in schools and hospitals.  Maybe not complimentary, but hey, a girl has to get a laugh somehow, right?

My favorite TN LYS owner Sheila had a raucous good time with Kay and Ann at the Mason Dixon book signing last night.  Be sure to look at the pictures–looks like there is some Euroflax in Threaded Bliss’s future!  And as if I didn’t already adore Sheila enough, she’s won my heart even more; she’s sending me a leftover Whoopie pie.  Ok, let’s see who else adores whoopie pies: Cari?  Liz?  I assume they’re a regional food, the way Fluff (which, by the way, is amazing as a hot chocolate topper) is, hard to find outside of New England…kind of how it’s going to be impossible for me to find green chile once I leave NM. Ok.  I just got sad. 

I’ll finish with a happy note.  Neal, while walking to his car in Hartford, ran into Hilton Armstrong (isn’t he adorable?).  He reports that Hilton has a good grip (they shook hands), that Hilton’s hands are calloused, that he’s REALLY tall and his head looks just as tiny as it does on tv, and that Hilton remarked "Cool, man" when Neal told him that his girlfriend (me!) was from Peekskill.  Now, if I could manage to meet Charlie…