Leaves changing, air cooling, and people starting to whine that it's too cold. I love this time of year.
Spent a good part of the day out in the yard jumping on my pogo stick, kicking a ball around, and generally just being 5 again. I am not a summer person, I am a fall person. I love the cooler weather, and I love the sound of my feet rustling through the leaves. It annoys me that most of the family is cold, and instead of putting on long sleeves or something, turn the heat on. But I do understand, I'm right there with them once winter actually hits.
Now that we're more than halfway through October, I really ought to get deciding what I'm carving this year. Pumpkin carving is one of the funnest things about Halloween. My favorite thing to do is carving characters that all the little trick-or-treaters recognize. It's especially cute when the really little ones make a fuss over them. Yeah, I'm a bit of a show off sometimes.
Last year I did Perry the Platypus, BUT I didn't manage to finish carving in time for trick-or-treat. And yet, I still don't know what I'm carving yet. So far I've put together a folder full of possible images - Mario characters, Phineas and Ferb characters, Kirby... I only carve things I love, which means I end up carving from a small pool. Currently I've finished a possible pattern for Kirby, one for Bowser, and am working on Norm the robot. And I still don't know what I want to do.
Ah well, I'll get there. Hopefully before this weekend when we pick out pumpkins though...lol
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Dye dye dye!
Hehe, did some more dyeing the last couple nights.
No pics because camera's on the fritz.
Firstly, I soaked about 55 yds of wool in my sun jar (yes, I have a specific pattern in mind). Then I took it outside and poured two packets of orange koolaid on one side, and a packet of cherry and a packet of black cherry on the other. Didn't manage to exhaust the yarn the first day (End of august sun is in a different place than early summer sun, and I think it was cloudy too) so left it out again. Now it's the most gorgeous shades of deep orange and red. <3
The second yarn was an experiment since I really wanted some finished yarn to play with. I've got a pattern for this stuff in mind too and it's around 26 yds. I started by using a little of the leftover green from the sun dyeing experiment a few posts ago. Yes, I've been saving the leftovers in the fridge for this long. And no, I didn't end up using it all yet.
Anyways, it turned the yarn a kind of sick green, which totally isn't my thing. So I layed it out on some plastic wrap and sprinkled a little bit of leftover grape koolaid powder (which I had to crunch up 'cause the humidity had gotten to it) onto it. Just enough to make spots. Sprinkled a little more water on it to make sure it was still damp and heated some more. Sick green with purple spots...really not my thing...lol
So out comes some Ice Blue Raspberry Lemonade. Mixed a whole packet into a bowl, but only put a little less than half of the yarn into it. The rest I put in clear water. I don't really feel like explaining the full setup, but let's just say I flooded the microwave. Fun stuff that is.
Took forever for the blue to exhaust. Since it was late and I was feeling pretty crappy by this point, my brother helped me carry the bowls of hot water to the basement and I left it down there. It was all exhausted this morning. It even dried quickly since it wasn't much yarn! :D
No pics because camera's on the fritz.
Firstly, I soaked about 55 yds of wool in my sun jar (yes, I have a specific pattern in mind). Then I took it outside and poured two packets of orange koolaid on one side, and a packet of cherry and a packet of black cherry on the other. Didn't manage to exhaust the yarn the first day (End of august sun is in a different place than early summer sun, and I think it was cloudy too) so left it out again. Now it's the most gorgeous shades of deep orange and red. <3
The second yarn was an experiment since I really wanted some finished yarn to play with. I've got a pattern for this stuff in mind too and it's around 26 yds. I started by using a little of the leftover green from the sun dyeing experiment a few posts ago. Yes, I've been saving the leftovers in the fridge for this long. And no, I didn't end up using it all yet.
Anyways, it turned the yarn a kind of sick green, which totally isn't my thing. So I layed it out on some plastic wrap and sprinkled a little bit of leftover grape koolaid powder (which I had to crunch up 'cause the humidity had gotten to it) onto it. Just enough to make spots. Sprinkled a little more water on it to make sure it was still damp and heated some more. Sick green with purple spots...really not my thing...lol
So out comes some Ice Blue Raspberry Lemonade. Mixed a whole packet into a bowl, but only put a little less than half of the yarn into it. The rest I put in clear water. I don't really feel like explaining the full setup, but let's just say I flooded the microwave. Fun stuff that is.
Took forever for the blue to exhaust. Since it was late and I was feeling pretty crappy by this point, my brother helped me carry the bowls of hot water to the basement and I left it down there. It was all exhausted this morning. It even dried quickly since it wasn't much yarn! :D
Monday, August 9, 2010
Spinning!
Eek! I'm making yarn.
A couple of days ago (mid week maybe) I was looking around on KnitPicks and noticed their roving. It didn't seem horribly expensive (as far as my thoroughly inexperienced guess was) and I'd always wanted to try spinning. You know, with something that wasn't K'nex and Poly-Fill. So I ordered some...and a real drop spindle! And it came rather quickly, compared with my other online orders.
I'm absolutely thrilled! Sure, the center of that ball is mostly barely twisted thick stuff, but I've gotten to the point that it's starting to look like I know what I'm doing.
I can't wait to try plying this stuff - probably back onto itself. I haven't decided if I want to ply the super thick stuff as well. Part of me also wants to just set the twist on the single to maximize my yardage... decisions decisions...
Either way I can't wait to make something from this, even if it will have to be small.
Friday, June 25, 2010
Sun Dyeing
Since it is now almost 7am, I can no longer say "tonight" and must instead say "last night". Anyways, last night after dinner I did some basic hand painting on a skein of yarn. 150 yards of some Lion Brand Fisherman's Wool. Nothing special really, but here's a picture of it draining. It's currently drying.
Of course, I'm 99.9% positive that this method works. Been there, done that. Still a load of fun to play with colors, but otherwise no adventure.
Enter dyeing yarn using the power of the sun. Unlike the previous skein, which is heated in the microwave, this method leaves the containers of yarn out in bright sunlight to cook.
Earlier in the afternoon, I picked up a large jar from the store. Plastic I think, but the important thing was that it was clear and could be closed well enough I didn't have to worry about spills. So earlier in the wee hours this morning (no, I haven't slept yet) I put the last of my white wool (which has provided me with enough yarn for three 150 yd skeins) into the bottom of the jar. I then poured my leftover dye over it. Wasn't enough yarn to actually use up all the dye, but a good amount of it.
I also had a partial skein of wool/bamboo/nylon sock yarn from my fingerless gloves. I mixed up a packet of orange koolaid into a zipper bag, then chucked the sock yarn in. The sock yarn was a white/green/dark purple-blue colorway, so no clue what orange will do. Hopefully something drastic. It wasn't my favorite colorway.
Anyways, I then took the jar and the bag out into our backyard. I left it near the end of the yard where it ought to get plenty of sunlight once the sun is fully up. This was somewhere between 5 and 6, with enough light to see by but otherwise the sun isn't actually up yet.
I just checked it a little bit ago. It looks like the orange dye has already exhausted into the sock yarn. From what I've heard, superwash wool sucks up dye quickly. However, I'm going to leave it out there with the jar so it can get some heat. Yeah, the water I used was warm. But where's the fun with taking it in now?
No pictures unfortunately. My camera chose now to start acting up and claim low battery. Which means that they're just not fully charged anymore. I'll probably go see if any of my wii remotes needs a fresh battery change.
Off to bed I go. Now let's just hope that it doesn't rain!
Of course, I'm 99.9% positive that this method works. Been there, done that. Still a load of fun to play with colors, but otherwise no adventure.
Enter dyeing yarn using the power of the sun. Unlike the previous skein, which is heated in the microwave, this method leaves the containers of yarn out in bright sunlight to cook.
Earlier in the afternoon, I picked up a large jar from the store. Plastic I think, but the important thing was that it was clear and could be closed well enough I didn't have to worry about spills. So earlier in the wee hours this morning (no, I haven't slept yet) I put the last of my white wool (which has provided me with enough yarn for three 150 yd skeins) into the bottom of the jar. I then poured my leftover dye over it. Wasn't enough yarn to actually use up all the dye, but a good amount of it.
I also had a partial skein of wool/bamboo/nylon sock yarn from my fingerless gloves. I mixed up a packet of orange koolaid into a zipper bag, then chucked the sock yarn in. The sock yarn was a white/green/dark purple-blue colorway, so no clue what orange will do. Hopefully something drastic. It wasn't my favorite colorway.
Anyways, I then took the jar and the bag out into our backyard. I left it near the end of the yard where it ought to get plenty of sunlight once the sun is fully up. This was somewhere between 5 and 6, with enough light to see by but otherwise the sun isn't actually up yet.
I just checked it a little bit ago. It looks like the orange dye has already exhausted into the sock yarn. From what I've heard, superwash wool sucks up dye quickly. However, I'm going to leave it out there with the jar so it can get some heat. Yeah, the water I used was warm. But where's the fun with taking it in now?
No pictures unfortunately. My camera chose now to start acting up and claim low battery. Which means that they're just not fully charged anymore. I'll probably go see if any of my wii remotes needs a fresh battery change.
Off to bed I go. Now let's just hope that it doesn't rain!
Monday, March 22, 2010
Happy Birthday!
Not much to say really. Having chicken wings for dinner and get to open presents later. I don't really do "parties" so it'll be a quiet night. :D
Saturday, March 20, 2010
On Birthdays and Presents
I really wish people would stop asking me what I want for my birthday. Honestly, while there's plenty of things I wouldn't object to getting, there's nothing I actually want. I'd rather that, if someone wanted to get me something, they just surprise me. That's the fun of presents and the entire point of wrapping them up in pretty packaging.
Apparently, people have a hard time thinking of things to get me. That means, if I come up with anything to tell people, I'm pretty much guaranteed to get it. Which is nice I suppose, but it's totally not the point of presents. If I want something, I'll just buy it.
Apparently, people have a hard time thinking of things to get me. That means, if I come up with anything to tell people, I'm pretty much guaranteed to get it. Which is nice I suppose, but it's totally not the point of presents. If I want something, I'll just buy it.
Monday, March 8, 2010
Snow Pics and Warmer Weather
Soon is a relative term I suppose. As promised, here's some fun pics of all the snow:
First up is a nice night shot of the snow piling up around our picnic table. It's still coming down pretty hard here.
This is the same shot pretty much, except with the ordinary flash on instead of the fun "night" mode my camera has. Worthless as a picture of the picnic table, but great for showing just how much snow was coming down!
This one was taken several days later. It's probably still snowing, but not nearly as much. As you can see, the snow pretty much has buried the bench part of the picnic table. Compare this with the previous picture of the table and you can see just how much snow fell in a little more than a week. O_oThe weather has warmed up considerably since then, though the snow is still really deep for around here. The top layer has probably thawed and frozen several times since it first fell if judging by the icy crust on top is any indication. Too bad it's not strong enough to hold my weight. In fact, crunching through that crust is so impractical that no one has really gone off the shoveled paths. It's quite nice looking out the window at fresh, untouched snow.
That's not to say that I'm wanting it to stick around much longer. Today's nearly 50 degree weather felt wonderful!
I think the trees appreciate it as well. The last several days of above freezing weather has caused a few trees to start budding, especially one across the street that has lovely pink buds forming. It pretty much explains why I woke up this morning with nose and the upper back of my throat itching in a way that only allergies can do. I'm still in a fog from either the stuffiness or the allergy pills, but at least the allergy pills stop that awful burny itch.
If I'm going to be a sneezy wreck I want the snow to finish melting and spring to come. Right now, anything above freezing feels wonderfully like jacket weather. It always amazes me how 45 degree weather in the fall has people scrambling for their winter coats, but 45 degree weather in late winter/early spring gets people out in light jackets and occasionally even shorts!
Note to those on Ravelry who might actually care: I've changed my blog link to this one rather than my patterns one simply because my pattern one is boring. I'll still be using it to post patterns, but I add the patterns to Ravelry anyways so it's not like anyone will be missing anything.
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