More kool-aid yarn dyeing-- Soy silk & Alpaca-silk blend

I should be working on Lucky, but I keep getting distracted!

After having some troubles getting the soy silk to hold the dye, I got some help on craftster. The trick was either the vinegar/warm water soak beforehand, or heating it longer (or both).
The soy silk is South West Trading Co's Phoenix in "white", which is really an off-white. Dyed with kool-aid flavors:
Blue Raspberry Lemonade (Light Blue)
Berry Blue (darker blue-- I also added a pinch of Sharkleberry Fin to some of it to make it less neon)
Arctic Green Apple (light green)
Lemon-Lime (Darker green. Some of it mixed with a little Berry Blue to tone it down)



This one is Blue Sky Alapaca's 50% Silk 50% Alpaca in white (also slightly off-white). It is currently being used to make my second attempt at Broadstreet Mittens. I'm not sure how I feel about the color combo, but I'm sticking to it and completing the mittens this time.
Colors are --same blues and greens as above (this time the lemon-lime was also mixed with a pinch of Sharkleberry fin for a less bright green). The red is lots of Sharkleberry fin + one packet of Cherry + one packet of Grape Illusion.

Update 5 of 5--More dyed yarn and projects I'm currently working on

So I ordered some kool aid from Gristedes, since they seem to have all the cool colors that are missing from grocery stores around here. Apparently, I'm not the only one who has noticed this--nearly all the items on their main page are different kool-aid flavors. My one complaint is that they sent me Cherry instead of Cherry Magic Twists--so I got more red, which I didn't really want, instead of more blue.

Merino wool definitely takes color better than anything else I've tried so far! From left to right: Blue Sky Alpaca sportweight, Filatura di Crosa Zara, and KarabellaAurora Bulky. I have no clue what to make with the first and last yarns. For the Alpaca, I'm thinking gloves or socks, but I don't have enough of it!! Maybe I'll combine it with some Koigu...As for the middle yarn, I've already started a dog sweater.......


.....a very bright dog sweater. The color combo reminds me of Rainbow Brite. The blue trim is Zara 1499, leftover from my crochet afghan.
The flavors I used to dye the white Zara were:
Grape Illusion Magic Twists Drink Mix (red)
Twist Blue Mountain Berry Drink Mix (darker blue)
Island Twists Blue Raspberry Lemonade (lighter blue)
Ice Cool: Artic Green Apple (green)
Mango Drink Mix (orange)


The other project I'm working on is the Lucky Clover Lace Wrap from Stitch 'n Bitch Nation. I'm using allhemp3 in Sapphire Blue. The sash will be in Deep Sea. This project combines two things I dislike: small needles and lace. Unfortunately, I like this wrap too much not to knit it. Hopefully it will fit. If you look closely, you'll see that I messed up the first clover lace row. I was about halfway done with it when I noticed that the clovers didn't look right. So I checked the back of the book--I had been doing my yarn overs the wrong way! Since I'm stubborn and refuse to rip anything unless I can't make it work or fix it, it's staying as is. It will become a feature, rather than a flaw...The entire bottom of this wrap will have that same messed up row. Oh and also on the first repitition I skipped row 7, since it's mentioned in the first line of the pattern, but not in the middle where I could see it! Grrr... luckily I caught it immediately after, so again, it will become a first-row feature.

Update 4: Hats! Finished! All in Noro Yarn

Why yes, I am addicted to Noro. As of this very moment, I am resisting the urge to order some of that new Silk Garden lite. I have to remind myself that I already have 20 something skeins of Cash Iroha just sitting around without purpose.

So hey, here are some hats I've made:

1) Based on the the Hot Head pattern from Stitch 'n Bitch, except knit in the round--a hat for my sister, in Noro Iro shade 56:


2)
a)A hat for me in Noro Transitions (maybe Shade 8, but I'm not sure--I didn't save the tag) (left). This one is also, loosely based on Hot Head, except done in the round, with 3x2 rib, and some easy lace pattern I made up. I made myself another transitions hat, but I can't find it.....
b) The hat on the right was my attempt at Coronet. The cabled part, which you can't clearly see in the photo, was done in black Noro Cash Iroha, and the top part was done in Noro Aurora (I think shade #1). I do not like how this hat turned out...


3) Two hats for my brother.
a)The one on the right was done in Noro Transitions shade #1 (By the way, Transistions is a great yarn for hats--it's very warm, knits up quickly, and is self striping). Again, based on the Hot Head Pattern, in the round.
b) The one on the left is Tychus from knitty, done in Noro Transitions shade #19 and several shades of blue Cash Iroha. I tried to get a graduated effect with the Cash Iroha colors, but it didn't work out how I'd hoped....

....maybe in this photo you could get a better idea of what I was aiming for:

Update 3: Things I will probably/definitely finish, eventually

Hehe, my tubeys should be here too--I still haven't weaved in the ends.

1.) A scarf in Noro Silk Garden 224, black Zara leftover from Tubey, and some sparkly mohair.
I don't know if I want to finish this--sometimes I like it and sometimes I hate it. The idea is that the black stripes will slowly get bigger, so that the other end of the scarf will be mostly black. My uncertainty stems from the Silk Garden Colorway because......


....sometimes there's colors like this blue/purple mix section (the color surrounding the black stripe here--click the pic to see a closeup) which I loooveee so much. I wish Noro made a yarn with just this color. And.....


.....then there's colors like this yellow, which I'm not too crazy about. To make matters worse, it's directly next to the lovely blue/purple.




2) Some squares I made for a Psychedelic Squares afghan, Garter stitch version, in Noro Silk Garden 228 (left) and 224 (right). The one on the right may be recycled for the scarf above. These squares are good for "on the go" knitting, so I might just do one once in a while...it'll be a long term project.


3) Some camera cases in Zara (left), blue/green dyed yarn and various other yarns(middle), and a sloppy crochet case for my sister's ipod I made in France from some cotton yarn I bought there (right)
Case 1: technially done, I guess- Maybe I need to weave the ends in a little better so it doesn't look so messy
Case 2: I wanted to felt this, but don't seem to be able to felt properly...I'm not sure what to do about this..try again, maybe. Also, it needs a button
Case 3: Is done.

Update 2: Things that need a partner---will they get one?

Again, Blogger is randomly rotating my images..and again, I can't be bothered to fix this.

1.)What was meant to be a Broadstreet Mitten, but never became one, in Koigu, assorted colors. Too many colors, actually. I got all this lovely, bright Koigu, got way too excited and tried to use them all at once. I don't think this glove will get a partner, but I might try the pattern again, with a slightly more subdued color combo. At least I now know that making a glove isn't all that hard.
The glove is currently being used as a camera case by my sister, and has starred in a series of photographs, shot at a local nightclub, with my sis's friends





2.)A sock, made from the blue/green yarn I dyed (and re-dyed, with more blue this time). This one will probably have a partner. It's warm and it makes a nice "house sock"

Ok, Update time-- 1. Items I probably won't finish

I admit it: I've been lazy. This post and the 4 above it are updates from the past few months.
First up--some items I probably won't finish:
Blogger has decided to turn my images sideways for this post, but since they're items I'm not going to finish anyway, they'll stay sideways.

1.) Dog coat using the red/pink yarn from the post below, and some stash yarn for the heart. I liked this idea at first, then I decided I hated the color, I can't seam well, and this doesn't fit my dog properly. I can't bring myself to frog anything, especially if I've spent a good amount of time on it, and I like how the heart turned out in the middle, so maybe I'll cut this up and use it somehow in the future. I've since re-dyed the rest of the yarn (with more orange). I forgot to take a photo, but it's not much to look at anyway.:


2.) Cozy from knitty in Cash Iroha. Will not be finished because I don't like doing lace, and I don't like how it's coming out. While starting Lucky (look a few posts up--actually, you can see a bit of Lucky in the background here), I realized I've been doing my yarn overs all wrong. This is probably why my Cozy is coming out badly. I might frog this and start over some day---I've got a ton of Cash Iroha, and I'm not sure what to do with it.

Kool-aid dyeing / Cash Iroha Panta

I should have posted this a few months back, but I am lazy.

Anyway, Here are the results of my first ever yarn dyeing attempt--using kool-aid and food coloring on Bartlett's Fisherman 2-ply. So far, I've made a camera case and sock with the green/blue one, and started a dog sweater with the red before I realized that I don't really like the red one. Lola had some fun playing with the yarn when I wasn't paying attention.

I like Bartlett's logo--a sheep knitting from itself. It's pretty creepy.
The last photo is a Panta made from Noro Cash Iroha. I like it even though it's a bit too loose and wide.