Green Sun Tea

Today's post is much more sunny than last week's. Even though this summer hasn't been the sunniest or hottest Kansas has ever seen. In fact, we've been having rain pretty much every day for the past 2 weeks. Some towns are even getting flooded. I personally wish it would just stop - it's getting really muggy and gross out.

Despite the lack of heat, I have still managed to pull off a new obsession of mine: Sun dying. Although not as quick as kettle dying or using a microwave, I think it's more fun to watch the slow process and my results seem so much more rewarding!

You may remember my last post about the hats I had been knitting. I started with this lovely blue yarn that I was just sick of looking at and decided to experiment. One skein got added to a jar of grape kool-aid and another got added to a jar of black-cherry. The end results were much more pleasing than more blue!

With my feather and fan babydoll done (I will share that another time), I decided it was time for more socks and also decided I needed to dye this yarn. And thus my sun dye experiment began.

There are only so many colors you can do with Kool-aid and liquid food coloring (my Wilton's dyes are in Manhattan), but after this project I am starting to prefer these two to the gel.

The first phase of my experiment started with a complete dye. I skeined up and soaked my yarn (80% superwash wool, 20% nylon). Adding lemonade and vinegar to the bath I then let it sit out on my deck until the water became clear (although it didn't get completely clear because lemonade isn't a clear powder...it still rinsed clear though). 

I wanted the yarn to be primarily green, but they don't make/sell lemon-lime kool-aid around here... So I improvised. One packet of blue raspberry lemonade (once again, not 'clear') plus several drops of green liquid food coloring led to the above color. In order to preserve some of the lighter shades of yellow, I used basic acrylic and tied off sections, like tye dye. Into the bath it went and sat for the majority of a second day. 

Finally, I wanted some areas of dark and decided on a blue-green. Adding three packets of the blue-raspberry lemonade plus some more green and blue foodcoloring led to this shade, which I really liked. I tied off even more sections, leaving only a few spots here and there and let it soak. I got a bit impatient towards the end and that whole not-transparent blue thing made me mad so I think I took it out a bit early (it didn't rinse completely clear). I still got my desired effect though. 

The dark green didn't soak through every layer of yarn (maybe because I didn't let it soak long enough?) but I still achieved my desired effects. The end result? Two lovely skeins of hand dyed sock yarn, wound and ready for knitting!

I hope you enjoyed my adventures in dying, I really hope I get to do more of this in the future. Have a great week everyone!

~Lisa

How I feel about the rain vs the sun right now. 

What I'm Doing...

Blogging seems almost like a chore lately, and I am not really sure why. I love to tell the world what I'm doing but sometimes I just can't do it.  Today is one of those days, this post almost feels forced a bit.

I've been participating in My Sister's Knitter KAL over on Ravelry and that's definitely helped with my motivation. I forgot how fun it is to see what others are working on and talk about projects, life, etc. I do encourage everyone to join a KAL sometime in their knitting career, especially if they lack motivation sometimes!

So what have I been up to? Well my lacey babydoll tee is pretty much on a standstill at this point, it's seems like a chore just to do a row... that's what I get for lace and lots of stitches.

However, I have been knitting away. I finished two hats since my last post about my beret spurt! 

Grace Lace was finished this past week. I made it with some turquoise yarn in my stash that I overdyed with grape kool aid. The blue shows through a bit in spots due to the fact that I dyed it in the sun and tied it off pretty tight. But I love it! This photo does no justice, but I needed a speedy photo and it's dark outside.

Reverie is also done! I did this a few weeks ago with my Corny Goodness Yarn (100% corn). I was saving this yarn for socks but decided that it's lack of nylon wouldn't make good socks, and I was right. The more I knit with it the softer it gets. I love this hat! It's gorgeous :) 

And I had half a skein of corn left, so now on my needles is a matching drop stitch scarf. I have never knitted a drop stitch scarf, but man I LOVE it. I can't believe I have never done this before. It's addicting. This will be done by the end of the week for sure :)

As an added bonus, I will share my most recent read with you. I picked up a copy of "The Memory Keeper's Daughter" at my used book store on a whim and am falling in love. The story is a very complex one and the writing is done so well. The author really makes you think about who the 'bad guy' really is and gives every character a nice flaw. I highly recommend it!

I hope everyone has a good weekend! I plan on relaxing quite a bit if I can :)

~Lisa 

PS: Life Keeps on Going...

Time just slips by... I only have 2 weeks left at the job, another 3 until school starts. That time will fly by really fast...

Photographic Sundays 

A chance to share an image (or images) from the week with little to no other text or blog post. 

Salina's Relay For Life (Not as good as KSU's)

Music festival with one of my best friends!

Country Road 5

Sun dying yarn

And the blues dude at the festival with a special song!

Happy Sunday everyone!

~Lisa

Artist-in-Progress

Sometimes I wonder if this is my knitting blog or my art blog. Some days I like to talk about knitting and some days art.

Lately I've been feeling really artsy. Both in knitting and painting. Painting is taking center focus however, as I am finally starting to realize my potential as a fine artist.

It started last semester when I began turning my still lifes into landscapes with objects other than just the knitting. And then my love of cartoons came up and things really clicked.

This summer I have been working strictly on smaller works, in gouache and pastel.  Although not the same as oils, and not nearly as fun or satisfying, I am enjoying my time working on these and the potential I have for experimentation with composition and color.

Motivation has been running low lately, but now it's up to a new high.  I applied for a solo show at a local coffeeshop in Manhattan. I found out Monday that I got it! Come November 18th, all of my small summer works will be on display :) The idea of a solo show -- even if just at a coffeeshop -- is a feeling I haven't experienced until now, but it makes me feel like a real artist now! 

Also, for anyone interested, I have a facebook page now. And I also updated my art page on this blog.

I hope everyone is having a good week!

~Lisa

WIP Wednesday: Spurts

Anybody else ever feel like you knit in spurts? You know what I mean -- getting addicted to one specific type of project for a while and then switching to another and another and another.

At the beginning of the summer it was scrap yarn headbands and then it was self-designing and now it's berets and slouchy hats.

(Sorry, phone photo...currently memory card-less)

I went stash diving last weekend and came out with a couple skeins of worsted yarn that semi-matched. Thus this was born. East Falls Hat. I have been wanting to knit something from last year's Knitscene anyways.  I modified it for worsted and re-did it twice. I am still not super pleased but it will do for now.  But this one hat has me on a new addiction.

I started going through Ravelry last night and made a list of hats/berets I want to make in the near future. 

Plumeria

Autumn Leaves

Chevron Lace

Smock Sheaf

Sinple Slouchy Beret

Grace Lace

Starving Artist

Toadstool Slouch - also from Knitscene

Bungalow hat - Also from Knitscene

Everyday Beret

Reverie

Ballard Slouch Hat

For now these are all just the freebies, as my budget is too tight to support other designers right now... Which brings me to the question of where I'll actually get the yarn to knock a few of these out. My stash isn't as big as I thought. 

Still, I would love to have lots and lots of hats/berets and headbands to wear to campus this coming year. I just think it'd be fun.

~Lisa

PS: Family and Fun

I had a very busy weekend, what with American Independence Day and family in town. So I had lots of chances for photos!

Photographic Sundays 

A chance to share an image (or images) from the week with little to no other text or blog post. 

(Some photos by my little sister)

Family out to dinner at the best Mexican place in town!

Miranda's Living Room Band :) 

Waiting on the Fireworks!

Penguins!

Homemade Strawberry Ice Cream -- YUM

Happy Sunday!

~Lisa 

WIP Wednesday -- Busy Monotony

Tomorrow being American Independence Day, and having my aunt and uncle visiting until Sunday I am expecting to have a very busy weekend. Or I was. This morning I hurt my ankle pretty bad, thus leaving me secluded to the couch with a bag of ice for awhile. So although the house will be busy, I may be stuck in the monotony of knitting for a few days.

Where do I start? I guess I can say that I cast on this hat for my sister yesterday. It was finished, but too big, so it is now going for trial number 2. The yarn is just Vanna's Choice from Lion Brand, because I need to save money, especially since it's just 'joke' project. 

 This is the hat I made her friend, the one with the weirdo beard. The one I am making my sister is also a bearded hat, thus the reason it's a 'joke'. But if she likes it, whatever. They don't take that long.

Finally, I have decided what to do with my lace yarn from last year. The yarn is a bamboo blend lace and I am making it into a self designed baby doll. top.  It's very slow going, as the skirt part is 330 stitches! If I'm lucky it'll be done by next summer. 

Sorry that this is a random, crappy post. I am sitting here with my foot propped, feeling like a lazy-butt. This is not cool.

Happy Wednesday!

~Lisa