Playing with Kool Aid

Saturday afternoon, following a fun Yarn Swap with Vicki, Laurie, Jewel, and Donna, Vicki and I decided to make the best of some old (and slightly smelly) 100% virgin wool from a long ago stash (really, does anyone remember Lee Wards?) and here's what we did We started with this

then we "hanked it up"

After that I mixed up some Orange Flavored Kool Aid with a little warm water until dissolved. We added a quarter of water to the color. Meanwhile, the hanked-up ugly yarn rested in tepid water until it was nice and soaked. We then lowered it carefully into the glass bowl of orange Kool Aid zapped it in the microwave for 2 minutes, squished it down with the spoon; nuked it for 2 more minutes and as it cooled down the last of the color absorbed into the wool and the water became clear!

We then gave it a quick rinse in tepid water (the lovely aroma of orange Kool Aid permeated the air) and hung it up to dry:

Resulting in a totally different yarn (shown here with Tropical Fruit Punch Skein - processed the same day, with the same technique)Somehow I failed to get photos of the red, which is actually a lovely, faded sort of tomatoish red. So, now you see how cool it is to have a yarn swap, exchange for something inspiring, and when you get stuck with your own yarn turn it into something new and magnificent! What's not to love? Thank Goodness it's Tuesday and I have a yarn shop. :-)

Week One Update- Knit Along with Bella Luna Knits!

With a little more that one week down in this 8 week Knit-Along (KAL) I have made some decent progress! I am roughly halfway through my first skein of yarn and I love the way the yarn colors are turning out.



Front Side of the Clapo-Ktus

Wrong Side of the Clapo-Ktus
(you can really see the rib design on this side)

 Kim has been working on her project too:

 

 

 

Feel free to share your progress- either by email, in the comments, or on the Facebook page!

Quilt Raffle - Queen Sized Quilt

Purchase your raffle tickets to win this queen-sized quilt (all hand quilted) at $1 each or 6 for $5. All proceeds benefit Christ's Fellowship Church Building Fund CFR 778 Fort White, FL Drawing will be held on 11/30/13 at Bella Luna Knits or 12/1/13 at Christ's Fellowship Church. Winner does not have to be present to win. You will receive a phone call if your ticket is drawn. Good luck!

Cast On Day- Knit Along with Bella Luna Knits

Today is the first day of the August - September 2013 Knit Along (KAL) with Bella Luna Knits.

More information in a prior post:
http://bellalunaknits.blogspot.com/2013/07/new-late-summer-knit-long.html

I had a difficult time deciding on my yarn- I want a larger shawl, but one that is not too warm for Florida. I finally settled on three skeins of Interlacements Cabled Cotton (Bachelor Buttons colorway) from my stash. After hand winding one skein into a ball, I could begin.

 

 

CAST ON!

 

I have cast on AND added the project to Ravelry. I do have a small confession: Even though I have test knit this pattern, it STILL took four cast on attempts for me to get going so do not get discouraged!

Hint/Tip:
The even rows call for "Sl1, work all the stitches as presented". This means if my odd row is a whole row of knit stitches, my even row needs to begin with slipping my first stitch and then purling the rest of the way across. If my odd row is three knit stitches, one purl, three knit stitches, then the next even row will be a slip stitch, two purls, one knit, three purls. Once you get the hang of the pattern it is easy to see the ribbing emerge and it is easier to catch yourself before you make a mistake.

After the first twelve rows, you should have a very nice start on the KAL!

 

Right side...

Wrong side...