A Crafty Weekend

Last Thursday, I went to our local yarn store, Loopville, for some single point knitting needles.  I came out with 2 skeins of yarn and two sets of single point needles.  Oh, and a blue-bird button.  A would like it sewn onto his scarf, which I need to knit before Christmas.  He picked a merino wool blend in a rainbow of colors.  It is gorgeous.  My kid has style!  When I got home, I found a box waiting for me with my chunky yarn and size 15 needles I've been waiting for to try making a poncho/shawl for myself.........

The other skein of yarn I bought is a secret, because the recipient of the finished product reads this blog and I want it to be a surprise.  After Christmas, I will show it off though..........  Eventually, I am hoping to move beyond knitting scarves and into fingerless mittens and hats and blankets.  One day at a time...........

I also bought a book called One-Yard Wonders, which has 101 sewing projects and they all use 1 yard of fabric or less.  (The books includes patterns for most of the projects.)  I immediately dug into the pile of fabric upstairs and pulled out some prints that I can't wait to try creating with.

I also went into my closet and pulled out a blue spangly half-circle skirt I made a year or two ago that is now too big for me.  I also have the left-over scraps, so between the skirt and the scraps, I have enough to make a blue spangly bag!  (And probably a headband too!)

What it was:

 

What it will (hopefully) be:

Let me state, right here, that I am not an accomplished sewer of things.  The skirt was made with a lot of help from my Mom, who is an accomplished sewer of things.  My goal is to become as good as she is at it.  So, please don't tell yourself that you can't do it, because if I can, you can.

As a result of all this craftiness, I have had to organize my things.  I had embroidery floss and beads upstairs, wool felt on top of the kitchen pantry, yarn and needles in the living room, and all the scissors are hidden where little hands can't get them.  So, I went to Lowe's and purchased a large clear plastic bin and found a set of three smaller plastic clear bins that fit inside.  Luckily, a bin I already had fit inside too!  I now am the proud owner of a craft bin, with containers for knitting needles and smaller skeins of yarn, embroidery floss and thread, beads and buttons, and paints and brushes, as well as room left over to keep large skeins of yarn, wool felt, scissors, and some fabric.  It's already full..........hmmmmm.........

We also finished the TreeHouse this weekend!!  JT did most of the heavy lifting, but I helped where I could, especially in tight spaces, while he built the stairs.  I also made the sign, which reads, at the bottom:  NO CRITTERS!!  BIRDS ALLOWED.  A loves birds. 

Right now, my main crafting focus is on finishing up Christmas presents.  After that, I have a list of things I would like to try, including the knitting I mentioned above, attempting my spangly purse, and doing a couple of the other projects in the book, as well as patterns I have seen on Ravelry.  (You can friend me- irishTNgirl).  I am trying very hard not to get ahead of myself in all areas of my life.  I have a habit of looking way ahead and forgetting about the present, which has its pros, but also has a lot of cons.  Having a "5 year plan" is one thing; trying to live 5 years ahead of today is another.............

Irish
 



Kool-Aid Scarves

I've been poking around, looking at crafty ideas at various blogs and websites.  I've stumbled across this idea at a number of sites and I finally tried it and am very happy with the results.  I have wanted to buy A some silk scarves to play with, but they are 8 or 9 dollars each.  Instead, I made a bunch for about $30!

Get some plain white silk scarves.  I recommend the 30x30 habotai scarves at Dharma Trading Company. 

Buy Kool-Aid.  I used 4 packs for each color as follows:
Fruit Punch= Red
Grape= Purple
Orange= Orange
Lemon Lime= Green  (I added some food coloring for a little extra Pop of color)
Lemonade= Yellow (Food color for extra Pop!)
Ice Blue Lemonade= Blue (Food color for Electric blue)
(Be warned- the Ice Blue Lemonade and Fruit Punch both have blue packets and look VERY similar)

You will also need some plain vinegar and some stainless steel pots or aluminum roasting pans or both.  The color washes right out of them.

In a big bowl or clean bucket, soak the silk scarves in some hot, hot water and vinegar.  Try 4 cups hot hot water and 1-2 cups of vinegar.  (It doesn't have to be exact.)

In the meantime, mix up your colors.  Two cups of hot hot water mixed in with 4 packs of Kool Aid (plus food color) did it for me.  Mix thoroughly.

Then squeeze out the scarves and toss them into the colors, making sure the whole scarf gets soaked with color.

Leave them in there for about 15 minutes, stirring them and flipping them around every once in a while.   (The color in the pan gets a little cloudy as it is absorbed into the scarf.)  You can also tie-dye them!

Then, rinse it out in cold water until it comes clear.  (I couldn’t get mine to come completely clear and I’m not terribly worried about it, but maybe you will have better luck.)  The best way to do it is to rinse out one of the pans and use your hand to agitate the scarf in the running water like a washing machine.

Here they are, ready to be hung up and dried.

When you unbunch them and hang them up to dry, you may have a marbled effect, which I think adds to the coolness of the scarf.  However, if you prefer to skip out on the marbled effect, then I recommend putting the Kool Aid dye into deep trays or pans where you can dye the scarf folded and flat.  I can't promise it will work though, as I haven't tried it.


Once you are all done, here is what you get for your efforts!

I have to say that the Purple is probably my favorite because it is such a deep color, but I also love the vibrancy of the yellow, green, red, and blue.  I was disappointed with the orange, which came out almost peach, but I imagine a little food color would help the next time.

Oh yes, there will be a next time.  You see, we are currently working on a tree-house and I think an extra large tye-dyed scarf would look pretty awesome up there.  Am I right? 

Irish