My First Koolaid Dyeing

Koolaid is so much fun! This skein is my first using Koolaid.

To achieve the colours, I soaked the sock yarn in a mixture of water and vinegar (just a glug) which really helped the wool to take up the colours of the Koolaid when I did apply the colours to the yarn. I mixed one packet each of Koolaid (cherry, strawberry, grape, ice blue & a surprise colour which turned out to be light green) with 1/4 cup of water and applied the colours to the yarn using a turkey baster. Following that, I put the yarn into a microwave-safe container and nuked it in the microwave on 2 minute intervals: 2 minutes on high, let sit for 2 minutes and then a final 2 minutes on high and let cool. Once it’s cool, I rinsed it off in warm water and was quite pleased to see that the water ran clear very quickly!

I think I may prefer Koolaid too… when you’re dyeing and “cooking” the yarn you’re greeted with a sweet fragrance in the air instead of your house smelling like a lab like it does when you use commercial dyes like Gaywool. And, of course, the yarn smells pretty following too…not so much rinsing in liquid soap to get the smell out. I don’t know about you but I really prefer yarn that smells pretty to yarn that smells like vinegar which is pretty common when you get handdyed commercial yarns. I make sure all my skeins smell pretty before I twist them into their final product.

Oh yes, why the name I chose of LIDO SUNRISE? Well, when I was on my honeymoon in Jamaica, we stayed at a resort named Grand Lido and every morning we were greeted with these lovely colours…from the icey blue of the water to the bright reds of the flowers and the sunshine…it was breathtaking!

Click on the image to see larger.

For sale in my Etsy shop. Click here.

Handpainted Sock Yarn WINTERGREEN

This dyeing thing is way too much fun! I did a skein in Koolaid colours too…just have to rewind it into a hank! This one is working with yellow and blue Gaywool dyes to see what I could come up with…it reminds me of green in winter…intermingled with some darker blues and cooler blues too. It wasn’t until I had rewound the hank that I could see the “winterish” green and here’s the funny thing…when I showed it to my DH after being dyed, he immediately said “wintergreen” when I asked him what colour for this one? I think I’ll get DH to name all my yarn!! 🙂 Click on the picture to see larger!

For sale in my Etsy shop. Click here.

Handpainted Sock Yarn RUSTIC ROSE

Here’s my second attempt at dyeing with Gaywool dyes…love how this turned out! It was a bit of an experiment… put the yarn into the canning pot and sprinkled colour all over the yarn and when it was “cooking” I was a bit worried as the water went brown… yuck I thought… then I pulled it out and rinsed it off and these lovely pinks came out… wow!

I had no idea what to name it either…showed it to my DH and he said “Rustic Rose”…love it!

Unlike the other one, this one will be variegated instead of striped.

For sale at my Etsy shop. Click here.

Handdyed Self-Striping Sock Yarn SORBET

She’s dry and all skeined up and I feel like such a proud knitter! It’s so different to actually dye yarns in the colours you prefer and to see how they come out when it’s all done. Very pleased with the outcome! I named this skein “Sorbet” because it reminds me of the colours you see in blueberry and raspberry sorbet! 🙂

The extra time it takes to make it into self-striping is so totally worth it too! As usual, you can click on the picture to see it larger!

She’s for sale in my Etsy shop if you like her. Click here.

First Dyed Skein

I did it! I dyed my very first skein of sock yarn! Here she is drying in my bathroom shower. The whole process took about 2 hours but that’s because I tangled up my skein a bit while trying to set it up for self-striping. Have you seen the wonderful tuturial yet by Eunny? Go ahead and click here. She makes it seem so simple and it was the reason why I tried it at all…

I used Gaywool dyes in Bluegum and Orchid and love the effect it created! Once it’s dry, I’ll post a photo of the skein. The Gaywool dyes are very easy too…just put a capful in the water and you’re off and running…no mordants or anything else required. However, I think I used too much dye as the water was still coloured when I was done and not to mention the water I was rinsing the skein off in after it was done had quite a bit of colour in it…it took a few rinses to get it out. The colours never ran together so they have set but it took a few rinses to get the “extra” off. I really love how it transitions too…the stripes should be fun!

Marvin the Mouse-Eared Teddy

Just another amigurumi-style crocheted toy… :)Am I obsessed or what? LOL!

Really though…they are a lot of fun to make!

He’s for sale at my Etsy shop too. Click here.

As usual, click on the picture to see him larger.

Fiona the Fuzzy Girl

She scares me a little actually but this is my latest amigurumi-style crochet doll. Does she scare you too? 😐 She’s for sale at my Etsy shop. Click here.

If you’d like to dare to see her larger, just click on the picture.

Patrick the Puppy

Another attempt at a horse and I end up with a puppy!! Too funny…that’s two tries now…maybe I should re-think doing a horse… 😐

I like that they both turned into something even if it wasn’t really what I intended originally. Lots of fun to make too!

He’s for sale at my Etsy shop and there’s more views of him there too. Click here.

Priscilla is also for sale at my Etsy shop.

Priscilla the Penguin

Hope everyone’s doing well. I haven’t posted for awhile but alas, been busy crocheting and doing some commissioned work. I did have time to slip in some more amigurumi-style crochet and here she is…Priscilla…the Penguin! She was originally going to be a horse but wow, that sure didn’t work out the way I wanted…LOL

Oh well, she turned out pretty cute anyways…

Click on the image to see her larger!

Props to my Pa

From one crafter to another, I send out serious props to my Pa who just recently finished these 3 carvings. The largest is a mother seal and the two small ones are baby seals. Since he really doesn’t carve that much anymore, when he does, I just have to brag! I would really love to see him selling these more often but as a knitter and crocheter, I totally understand his hesitance as it can quickly become a “job” instead of a “labour of love” when too many requests for your work come in. As always, click on the picture to see them larger and to see the carving details better!