On Sunday, I attended a Kool-Aid Dying Workshop hosted by the Brooklyn Krafthaus. My friend, Tomo, was the one teaching it. (In the news article, she is the 3rd person from the left, right next to me.) I had a great time learning different dying techniques. I met lots of crafty folks and came home with 2 hanks of dyed yarn and dyed hands (I forgot to put on gloves).
This yarn is 50% wool/50% silk. It's a leftover ball of Louisa Harding "Grace Silk & Wool". The original color was white. I used the dipping method on this one. I had 3 bowls filled with Kool-aid flavors: Jamaica, Berry Blue, and Lemon-Lime. And each section got dipped into it and microwaved.
I made a very concentrated solution and somehow the colors bled into each other. The green (Lemon-lime) ended up being greenish brown and the Berry Blue turned really dark in some areas. It was not what I intended, but I am happy with it now.
For this yarn, Patons "Classic Wool" in the color "Winter White", I used the pouring method. I used 3 cups and in each was: Lemon-lime, Mystery Color, and Lemonade. I used each color and poured it into different areas and mushed it together. I was going for a semi-solid and subtle gradations. In the photo, it looks just green, but in real life it does have different shades of greens.
I had bought these rovings years ago with the intention of spinning with a drop spindle. Um...I never got the hang of it or maybe I quit too early, but I have always wanted to see what they would look like spun up. The rovings are from Skeintily Clad. The colors from the left are: Aegean Fantasy, Sedona Sunset, Peacocks on Broadway.A Thing for String offered to spin the roving for me, so we set up a trade. She would spin my roving for me and I gave her some lovely Sundara Yarn.
The Aegean Fantasy and Peacocks on Broadway got spun together. 2 ply, 250 yards, 116 grams, and she renamed it "Peacock Fantasy". The Sedona Sunset was 3 ply (Navajo/chain plied),116 yards,65 grams. Isn't it pretty? She is so talented!
This lovely yarn was also spun up for me from her roving stash. I told her I wanted a deep vivid green. After she spun it, she over dyed it because I wanted a predominantly green yarn and the roving had a fair amount of white in it. I think she did a fabulous job. It's the exact green that I had imagined and wanted. Fiber: Crown Mountain Farms superwash merino, "Out of Time" (overdyed with green) 2 ply, 305 yards, 115 grams.
25 comments:
Oh my goodness! You have quite a stash of beautiful yarn there! I am totally envious. My favorite is the first one, the one you microwaved. Its colors are so rich and opulent.
Congrats to having your group featured in the newspaper. I think it's great to get together in knit-alongs with othe people. Sounds like so much fun!
What beautiful yarn! I am so envious.
Congratulations! The newspaper article is a great thing to happen. Such a cool thing. Yay to knitting groups and friends.
I love that handspun! I bought a wheel that arrived broken so I haven't jumped in to spinning like I wanted to. But that is motivation. How cool was it to be in the paper! I knew I should have made it to one of your meetings :D
Congrats on being 'published'! Koolaid dying is fun isn't it?! I've done it a few times myself, never getting the results I expected. Everything is so colourful! Love it!
That article was really neat :) It was great to see a pic of your group knitting together like that, it makes me wish I was part of a knitting group that got together once a week like that too.
Your kool-aide yarns are so pretty, and I can see some subtle changes in the greens even in the picture.
Wow, I want to steal those skeins of yarn your friend spun up for you really badly!! They are gorgeous. You are right, she is very talented :)
Congrats on getting into an article! That's really neat! Those handspun yarns are beyond gorgeous. Must be neat to have a friend who spins. I have a little bit of roving sitting around but I can't imagine when I'll add spinning to my already too long list of hobbies.
You're famous! :)
I'm so glad you're happy with the yarn! Now I need to figure out what to do with those lovely skeins I got from you.
I saw you, cools!!
i love the first green hank of yarn, DIY dye ? The other green look nice too.
Wow! Your hand-dyed yarn is stunning!
LOVE the first skein! that blue is so.... berrylicious!! Very lushly colored... much more so than my feeble attempt at Kool Aid dying.
ps. went to Yi-Ding-How (Best Little) in chinatown. Very yummy (like home cooking). Just read a review on new restaurant in Allston-Brighton that specializes in Taiwanese (Jo Jo Taipei).
They are all sooo loveleeeeee! Love the colours!
Sounds like you had fun, the yarns are lovely.
That's a really cute article about all of you -- it sounds like a great group. All of that yarn is BEAUTIFUL. I'll bet you had fun with the dying.
Thanks for sharing the article, how fun. It is funny how mainstream media always has to say it's not your grandma's knitting. I wish we could move on from that. Your group looks wonderful, talented and diverse. That must be a fun get together. What an honor to be in the paper.
I have always wanted to try the Kool-aid dying thing. It seems pretty simple. The yarn is beautiful, especially the handspun. Lovely.
Oh and I love Melody's shirt from the last post, the smart cookie one. That's the best. It is sweet how much fun you are having with her.
Great article! Thanks for sharing. It's nice to belong to a group of similar minded folks. The Kool-Aid dying looks fantastic! I love the colours - bright and vibrant! And the handspun yarn is absolutely beautiful! Your friend did a lovely job.
such beautiful yarn! I love the green.
Oh, what gorgeous skeins! I usually just buy cheapo acrylic, solid color yarn, but now I'm lusting over these beauties. I wonder of cotton would dye well?
I really like your dyed skein! I didn't realize you could get such dark intensity with Kool-Aid! Also, the spun roving looks great, do you know what you are going to do with it?
wow! I am drooling over all of this green yarn here (and the other colors too)! Your koolaid class sounds like it was a lot of fun.
And, aren't you making the publishing rounds these days :)
what pretty yarns! congrats on making it in the newspaper. miss melody didn't get in the pics?!?!
What a great article, looks like a great group! Love all the yarn, such great colors, I can't wait to see what you come up with.
Love, love, love the green yarn! And I can't wait to see what your hand dyed looks like knit up. Great colors.
So cool that your group was in the paper. Yeah for knitters!
Gorgeous yarns - I really love the green handspun!
the green is my favorite of them all!
wow you've been busy and what a great mention in the article!
Your yarns came out beautifull!
I am glad that you had a good time, and hooray to being famous :)
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