Monday, October 8, 2007

Dyeing

So, all the pictures on the camera were also gone. I thought I took the last few dyeing pictures after putting the pictures from the memory card on the computer and erasing them, but apparently not. Oh well.

Anyway, I wanted to dye my other skein of Bare laceweight for the Secret of the Stole. I wanted to dye it a deep burgundy and use black beads. So, I went off to find some Black Cherry Kool-Aid. Took awhile, but I finally got it. They were selling 3/$0.89, so I got three. I got back home, re-read the tutorial, and it says you need 2 packets for every 50 g of yarn, at least. I have 100 g. Crap. So I went ahead and dyed it anyway, and it was a very light pink in most places. It definitely looked kettle-dyed (variations of the red color) because I didn't stir it enough while it was cooking. I went back and got four packets of the Black Cherry along with two packets of Grape to darken the color a bit. I was stirring it religiously, then got distracted for a bit, and of course that was when the crock pot heated up enough to cook all the dye into the yarn. Crap, so it's a kettle-dyed yarn again, not what I was going for. This time, however, the lightest spots are dark enough for my tastes. So I'm going to go ahead with the Secret of the Stole and re-dye if necessary at the end. I have black beads, so they'll probably be fine if I re-dye.

Speaking of beads, I'm still not done with my Mystery Stole 3. And the beads are losing their silver finish and becoming clear. Not all of them, just randomly. I think it's the vinegar from the dyeing process. Note to self - rinse yarn dyed with vinegar VERY well when done. The beads look fine either way, it's just the two-toned beads in symmetric designs that's bugging me. Ah well, hopefully it will sort itself out in the end.

I'm also {this} close to finishing my Plum Pullover, just have 2 inches in the second sleeve, weaving in the sleeve ends, going back to the joins and making sure any inadvertent holes are closed up, blocking and adding embellishments. Then a photo shoot and it might be on its way to England. I'm also almost done with the body of my test knit pullover, the Lace Rib Raglan. Then I can go back to Blaze and make a Hemlock Ring Blanket for myself and my grandfather, along with grocery bags, more socks, a pillow for my grandfather for Christmas, and another submission in which I beg for the yarn to make the item, in addition to working through the more than eight miles of laceweight yarn I will have once my next KnitPicks order shows up. We'll see how that goes.

Pictures of stuff this evening, if I can snag the computer before Lee gets home.

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