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Monday, May 07, 2007

Dye Job

Well, I've had a lot of free time since Thursday, and let me tell you I have enjoyed it! I have been working on some knitting - the "Secret Socks" from the disc my Secret Pal sent, another pair of socks from a pattern my Secret Pal sent, and my ISE4 pal's scarf...all while holding back from casting on for something else, because one can never have too many projects on the go!

So, the pattern from the Secret Socks cd is coming along nicely (no pics yet, I want to get another repeat done first), though I think I might have chosen the wrong yarn. The yarn I chose has some brown and grey and blue (and I think an orangeish shade) and as I'm knitting it up, I can't help but think it would look better as a simple plain stocking stitch sock, and might even look better as something to use for a man's sock. However, I haven't gotten far into it, so I might be surprised. I'm going to keep knitting on them though. The pattern is pretty easy, though I haven't gotten it memorized. As I was listening to it, I wrote down the directions for the leg pattern so I wouldn't have to keep rewinding to listen to it. I'm still not sure how it's going to work on the 2 needles...obviously there will have to be some sewing up afterwards. I just hope the bottom of the foot doesn't have to be sewn because I wouldn't think that would be too comfortable.
The other sock I started was the Razor Shell pattern, and I'm using my Trekking yarn for that. It's also a pretty easy knit, with 2 rows repeated for the leg. I'm not too far into that one yet though, so no picture of it either.
On Saturday I decided to try dying with the Easter Egg dyes I got on sale after Easter. I couldn't find the pack that had the tablets in it, so I used the one that had liquid dye. I decided to go with blue, red, and purple. However, as you can see in the picture on the left (and the others as well), the red is not so red - it's pink. But, that's ok because I think it looks good together with the other colours anyway.
There isn't as much purple in it as there is blue and pink, but that's ok - there are two sections of purple. I should say that I've not tried dying yarn this way (I've only done it on the stove), so it was a new experience. I put the dye in the jars according to the directions, shoved the yarn in and added some water so it would cover more of the yarn. I didn't let the wait til the dye was all exhausted, but for the most part it was. I lined one of the glass baking dishes with plastic wrap so that there wouldn't be any staining - though I don't know if it would, I just wanted to be on the safe side. I heated it for a couple of minutes (on high), waited, then heated it for another minute or so. I was starting to smell something - can't describe it - and since I didn't want to take a chance on burning the yarn or something, I didn't heat it any more. I hope that it was enough time though. Also, before I put the yarn in the pan I didn't squeeze any of the liquid out. The picture on the right is after I heated it, and was letting it cool in the microwave. It looks a little washed out or something in that picture, but that is just from the light in the microwave. Once it cooled down, I removed it to a plastic hanger and hung it up to dry.
The next day, this is what I had:

The colours don't look very bright, but that's just from the picture. In real life they are very bright and vibrant. When I was winding it in a ball (I don't have a ball winder yet), there was some dye on my hands after I was finished, but it didn't last very long. I think whenever I knit it up I will have to soak it some more to get the excess out. I used Patons wool in an off white shade, and there was just a little missing from it, as I had used it on a pair of children's mitttens. There is still plenty there, and I plan on making another scarf like the Noro one I made a few months ago. Since I started work today, I wanted some mindless knitting to have with my for lunch and/or breaks, and I figured that scarf would be perfect. I'll post pics as I get more completed - right now I only have about six or seven rows completed so it doesn't look like much.

So, that's all for now. I promise to get a pic of the socks in progress very soon so you can see how they are coming along. Happy Knitting!

20 comments:

CelticCastOn said...

ohhh goody! I got that liquid easter egg dye too and wondered how well it would work. Those are going to make some nice springy socks!!!

Shelley L. MacKenzie said...

Well it's the thick wool...so I'll be making a scarf with it. But I was wishing I had some sock yarn to dye because I think those colours would look great in sock yarn...maybe I should get some of the Knit Picks dye your own sock yarn and do some up...

Anonymous said...

That looks like fun - what you did. I actually just did some dying and I'm sending you something fun soon. Your BIG BIG package will be going out the last week of May to arrive in June :) I can't wait for you to get it!

Charity said...

Love the dye job! Sounds like you're a busy knitter! :0)

Rhonda the Stitchingnut said...

Oooooo, I like the way the colors came out. Pink is nice too!

Anonymous said...

That came out realy awesome! I can't wait to see the scarf!

Anonymous said...

What dyeing fun! It came out looking great. Perhaps they'll make great Easter socks for next year? Can't wait to see the sock from the CD.
Your Sock Pal

Anonymous said...

Great colors! I haven't tried dying yet, but I like the idea of egg dye. Can't wait to see how it looks worked up.

monica said...

I love to dye yarn. I am going to have to buy a stock pot just for that since Karen bought acid dyes for me. Your yarn looks wonderful!

lexa said...

Looks like you did a great dye job! Can't wait to see the scarf progress. :)

Prayerful Knitter - Shelly said...

Shelley, I just love how your dyed yarn turned out. I love those colors!

I hope you're having a wonderful week!

Annie said...

I like your dyed yarn,too.Can't wait to see them turned out gorgeous projects.

Karen said...

Very pretty colors!

Hasbu said...

Nice job, colors look very cute!

Janice said...

I love the way the colors came out! It will be a very fun scarf! I can't wait to see it knit up. SOO glad you've had some free time.. you've been working hard on all your studies. Happy Knitting!!

Anne said...

I like the way the colors turned out!

jessica said...

What pretty colours! Easter egg dye hey?! Very cool!

susan said...

Beautiful colours, well done Shelley.

Austysmum said...

I love your dye job! Gorgeous.

If you're finding you're losing colour, try putting it back in the dish with some water and vinegar (about 50:50) and zap for a minute or two longer. I microwave mine on high for 2mins then flip it, let it cool a bit and do another two. If you hear it start "popping" then stop it straight away - I haven't found the pops damage the wool (I never let it do more than 1-2 pops) but someone else said it made their wool a bit crinkly and felted slightly. But it will pop before it burns so if you stop it at 1-2 pops it should be fine. Also, keep it covered with clingwrap so it doesn't dry out. That should lock the colour in!

Alisha said...

Love the colors!!