Sunday Charity Knitting

Don't know how much knitting I'll do today. I actually finished a pair of socks for CIC yesterday. These were started two weeks ago and also based on the Magic 28 formula. Look HERE for details on the previous pair. The difference was in the needles.

Yarn: Patons' Classic Wool in Winter White + left over sock yarn: On-Line Supersocke 100/Sierra Color #896
Needles: size 6 US dpns
Knit for: CIC

I'd used size 4 dpns for the previous pair and size 6 for this pair, but decided size 5 would probably work out best. The only problem was that I only had one set of 4 dpns in size 5 and I prefer using five dpns for socks (or 2 circs). Enter Friday's road trip and a visit to Home Ec in Iowa City. I resisted the temptation to buy more yarn - although I squeezed nearly every ball and skein in the place. I purchased a set of five size 5 [US] dpns - bamboo by Crystal Palace.

Today's Sunday Knitting for Charity goal is to wind up (by hand) the yarn I Kool Aid dyed last week. Orange & Grape. The Orange is nice (for orange) and the grape is lovely in the right light.

But it looks a bit gray in my bedroom.... ??

Strawberry Creme Socks - Photo!

I dyed the yarn earlier this year and began knitting in April. I finished the second pair for my dear friend's granddaughter in May.

Unfortunately the parcel arrived a few days after DF's birthday.

Fortunately, the socks fit!! [Thanks DG for your assistance so I could make the correct size!!]

Egads! It's almost Christmas!!

I remember my great grandmother saying [when I was about 8] that the older you get the faster time goes. I thought, "Crazy old lady." But, man, she was right! How did it get to be June? Similar question raised by Sport recently, "Grandma, how did you get to be 60?" He can count past one hundred now, so he knows that sixty is a BIG number. I told him that I kept having birthdays every year and finally got this many. ...seems the bigger the number, the faster they pile up!

Of all my plans for knitting [or crocheting] Christmas gifts, I've only got four dishcloths done [my "gag" gift for everyone this year.] Or maybe 6...if I don't have to frog the two that are in the same color/dye lot as the environmentally friendly shopping bag I'm working on. I'm thinking I'm going to need to use them. Time will tell!

I've got photos from my dear friend in the UK - DF and her granddaughter in matching Strawberry Creme socks. That will be a separate post.

Current OTN 1: Socks for me!! I'm nearly finished with the leg of the second sock.

OTN 2: I've started several practice pieces for felted slippers for CIC. But, haven't been happy with any and keep frogging. But, I think I've found a pattern that will work for me (a no brainer pattern.) I *thought* that I'd take the Kool-Aid dyed yarns along to work on while mom has surgery tomorrow. But, decided I'd better complete one pair -- including the felting process [which I've never done] before I knit additional slippers.

So, not OTN yet, but will be later today. More socks for me. Yarn from my stash [not shown on Ravelry yet] -- think I'd better go with the "camel" color since I don't know about the lighting in the waiting room, etc. Pattern? Hmmm. Maybe a cabled leg. On size 1 [US] needles. The smallest I've used so far are 1.5 [US], but I want a denser fabric.

OTHook: a shopping bag. Details later.

On the genealogy front: I've been adding info from various paper & computer files into my database. There's a national "family" reunion in Kansas City this month for people with my maiden name - and numerous spelling variations. Some share common ancesters with me, some don't. I think it would be loads of fun to go to the reunion & meet some of these distant cousins, but it's the same weekend as the state convention and just two weeks before my niece's wedding in Colorado.

So, I've been busy making print outs, copies, etc. to send to one of the reunion organizers for their display table.

Oops, the grandsons woke up and one is not a happy little fella. Took them to a baseball game last night so they were up late - probably haven't had enough sleep!

Still need to add a blog & photo of the Strawberry Creme socks on feet. Later.

PS to yesterday's OTN Update

Forgot to explain the yarn's color. The KP's Bare was...bare...until it met up with my crock pot and some Kool-aide. After the first dye go-round I was not happy with the large bits of undyed yarn. [Need a bigger crock pot!]

But, I was all out of Kool-aide, so I mixed some Tone's red food coloring with a little water and poured it over top and gently moved the yarn around. Now there's a smidgen of white left and nice shade variations of the "pink." Or whatever color that is.

Dyed Yarn and Other Updates

I finally got around to balling up the three batches of yarn that I had Kool-Aid dyed after Christmas.

I wasn't too impressed with the post-dye results - while it was drying. I actually thought they were all rather ugly- especially the Berry Blue-Lemon Lime-Yellow yarn

BUT...now that I can see the colors "together," I'm actually pleased!

I have finished the Oh-So-Simple Cardigan. I'll get a photo posted eventually. Yippee!! It's finished in time for my road trip!

Now that I have NOTHING OTNs, I'll work on DD2's scarf while I'm away. Hoping there will be enough yarn for a pair of mitt-gloves.

My next project will be to use these three balls of yarn to make felted slippers. :-)

KoolAid Fun

Learned a lot doing this. #1 lesson - I need a bigger crockpot. I'm not giving directions here. Just google yarn and KoolAid dyeing. I looked at several different directions I found online & then went to work.
I received 3# of undyed yarn several months ago, and I finally worked with some of it after Christmas. First I rolled the skein into approx. 4 oz. balls.




Then I worked with three balls. With one I tried the cold pour method and used 4 pkgs of Lemon KoolAid and 2 pkgs of Orange KoolAid.

Next I zapped the dyed wool in the microwave using 3 two minute sessions on High, with a 5-10 minute rest in between.

Then a rinse.

And an air dry.

Also tried the crock pot method. I liked this best, but a larger crock pot would work better.

I should have left well enough alone with this Berry Blue and Lemon Lime, but I thought it needed a little yellow. So I added some Tones' Yellow [from the box-of-four colors.]

Also used the crock pot method for this one:

2 pkgs. Strawberry and 2 pkgs. Pink Lemonade.



Now to find a pattern for felted kids slippers.

Best Laid Plans

I had envisioned Lots of Time to Myself after Christmas to work on my genealogy files and on knitting. Hmmm.... Haven't had much time to do anything with genealogy, but because Knitting is so Portable, I Have been making progress there.

My current project is a cardigan for myself. It's been decades since I've done that! I mentioned the yarn in a September post. It's item 3 in the stash list.

I'll confess up front - it's polyester. But, I'm OK with that. Red Heart, worsted, in the 0303 Painted Desert colorway. In the Sept. post, I said the yarn was "tweedy." Let's call it "variegated" instead.

The pattern is from Lion Brand - [for use with Wool-Ease...which I think would be lovely...but I already had enough skeins of RH - Painted Desert.] The Oh-So-Simple Cardigan is all garter-stitched in 3 pieces. Oh, OK, in 5 pieces - I forgot the pocket linings. I wish it would look on me the way it looks on the mannekin in the pattern photo- so slim & sleek. It will look more like a tea-cosy on me. But, the colors are great for me, it's a very easy pattern, and I'm at least 1/3 finished. Photo, and details, to follow when I complete the back. Stay tuned.

My other projects for the remainder of my time off work will be:

1. Try Kool-Aid dyeing -- my first time attempt with dyeing. I have some [undyed] tapestry wool donated for charity knitting. I'll start with that first. I plan to use one color as my test batch. I'll try to leave some undyed bits to give "white" flecks. Then I need to find a good [easy] pattern for felt slippers for children. I'll knit the Kool-Aid dyed yarn doubled. And then felt the finished slippers. Sounds fun!! Hope it works.

I also have a skein of undyed superwash sock yarn that I got last winter [?] I want to dye that and knit into socks -- for my next sock project.

2. Take photos of my stash. Add to Flickr. Add to Ravelry.

3. Add future projects to my Ravelry pages.

4. Review my needles & hooks = I think I found more that aren't listed in my Ravelry chart. They were with my Christmas decorations. Eh?

If I don't make it back here before January 1 -- I wish all y'all a very peaceful and healthy 2008!