Can you believe this Kool Aid Dyed?

I know it has been super quiet around here since I did my giveaway in October.  November is FLYING by and I'm doing my best to work on items for my shop and for Christmas gifts.  Such a busy season for a fiber artist!  :)

Last week, I drove down to Louisville, KY to meet up with a good friend of mine, Beth.  She's a fellow knitter and dyer and now my Kool Aid dyeing mentor!  I was in total awe of the yarns she had dyed using only Kool Aid!  

Beth and I at the dye pot!  

When some people hear that you dyed something with Kool Aid, they ask, "Will it fade or bleed with washing?"  Personally, I have found even commercial grade dyes to fade and bleed given the right circumstances, but for some reason, people think food grade dyes do not equal permanence.  Beth and I talked about this, and she told me of her experiments to prove that this idea is a misconception.

Beth took one of her Kool Aid dyed yarns and had a friend of hers hang it in direct sunlight for around 4 months.  Did the colors fade?  NOPE!  Not one bit.  The Kool Aid yarn looked just as lovely as the day it was dyed.

Her next test was to see if they would fade with washing.  She used regular, everyday laundry detergent and put the yarn through the washer a few times (since it was super wash, there was no worry of it felting...DO NOT DO THIS WITH NON-SUPERWASH YARN!).  Did the colors fade?  NOPE!  They stayed strong.

Of course, some detergents are rougher on yarn than others.  I wash mine using Ecos laundry detergent and hand wash only.  I was amazed myself to find that after washing my freshly dyed yarns, the water was clear!  I don't find that to be the case with commercial dyed yarns and fibers (many of them bleed quite a bit in the wash...and sometimes even Wilton's does a little).

Water so dark with color, you can't even see the yarn in the pot!

We dyed 3 skeins of super wash BFL fingering weight yarn (438 yards each).   Using only Kool Aid packets, we got some BEAUTIFUL color ways!

This first lovely is called "Larkspur".  It is named after the birth flower of my precious sons, Liam & Colin, who were born and passed away in July 2012.  Larkspur, also known as Delphinium, is a beautiful flower made up of purples and blues.  You can view this yarn on my Etsy shop by Clicking Here.

http://www.libriscrowe.com/non/clipartflowersdelphs.htm

The next color way is "Burgundy Wine".  We used one of Beth's formula recipes to create this, but mine turned out quite different from hers.  Hers was a lighter purple color than mine.  The reason the two came out so different, we believe, was from the yarn bases.  Mine was super wash BFL, and hers was super wash Merino.  Different fibers will take dye differently, so it's so fun experimenting to see what you are going to get in the end!  This color reminds of the deep, gorgeous Burgundy wines my husband and I use to drink when we lived in France.  You can view it on my Etsy shop by Clicking Here.

http://bigdave44.com/2011/04/28/toughie-553/

The last Kool Aid dyed yarn of the day was "Purple Sunset" on BFL fingering weight yarn.  

I named this after seeing this picture online.  The yarn just reminded me so much of this painting!

http://www.sunsetartgalleryonline.com/catalog4.1.html

I keep writing "BFL".  In case you don't know, BFL stands for Bluefaced Leicester sheep wool.  It's one of my favorite fibers to spin and knit with.  They are so cute too!  

I'm so inspired by Beth's fibers, that I'm already hitting the dye pots this week to make more!  I had kind of moved away from Kool Aid and more towards Wilton's, but now, I'm stocking up on Kool Aid and seeing what color ways I can create next!  Stay tuned for more lovely color ways to be added to my shop.  :) 

Time to Announce A Winner!

It's time to announce the winner of my First Giveaway!  

The winner is....

Dena Z. Schnupp!  

CONGRATULATIONS!!!  You have won my hand sewn project bag!  Please contact me via email at your earliest convenience.

THANKS to all who entered to win.  Your comments were so sweet!  I plan to do more giveaways in the future, so be sure to stay tuned to this blog, my Facebook page, Pinterest, and my Etsy shop.

:)

Last few days before my Giveaway!

Only a couple of days left to enter into my very first GIVEAWAY!  The contest ends in 2 days, 6 hours!  :)  

If you haven't entered yet, go to THIS BLOG POST for details.  

I also wanted to show you a few more bags that I listed in my shop today.  

The first project bag is called "Upcycled."  It was created by my mother-in-law, Carolyn.  It is created from men's dress pants and dress shirt!  I added the cute birdie buttons for embellishment.  She's so creative to have come up with this design!  

The next bag is called "Fall Blossoms."  I thought it would be fun to mix three different fabrics to create this unique bag.  Super cute way to carry your things this Fall.

For more details on these bags, just click through my Etsy Shop on the right hand side of this post.  

Happy Fall!  

Fall is my favorite time of year.  I love the cooler weather, the changing leaves, pumpkin everything, and my favorite flower is in bloom...mums.  In honor of the season, I have added a few Fall inspired items to my Etsy Shop, The Purled Ewe.

Feast your eyes on "Raspberry Tangerine Sorbet"

2 ply Hand spun, hand dyed yarn.  Merino & Silk blend which makes it OH SO SOFT!

325 yards

To view it on my shop, CLICK HERE

This would make a lovely cowl or hat for the Fall season.

  

My latest project bag creation, "Trick or Treat."  (Shown Above) Perfect for your on the go crafting or use it as a wristlet instead of carrying a purse for the day.  Outside has happy Jack O Lanterns on it, inside fabric has candy corns.  Small pocket within.  

To view on my Etsy store, CLICK HERE.  

This item (shown above and below) was added to my shop last week.  "Pumpkin Patch" project bag.  

Pumpkins adorn the outside, while pumpkin leaves fill the inside.  

I just love pumpkins and this bag is a tribute to that love.  

To view in my shop, CLICK HERE

There's still time to enter into my October Giveaway for one of my project bags!  

Details can be found on THIS blog post. 

Deadline for entering is October 24th.   

My First Giveaway!

I feel now is the right time to do my very first GIVEAWAY!  The Purled Ewe will be offering this project bag as the lovely prize to one lucky winner (yarn not included).  

"Blue Fall" Project Bag

This bag is great for your carry along knitting, crochet or other projects!  The pocket inside has 6 slots for DPN's or small crochet hooks.  The circular bottom makes it perfect for cakes of yarn.  Measurements are 15" from longest handle top to the bottom.  7 1/2" across.  4 1/2" diameter bottom.  **Cat friendly, smoke free home**

Drawing will be on October 24th.  

How to Gain Entries to the Drawing

*Gain one entry for visiting my Etsy shop, The Purled Ewe, come back here, and post a comment on one item you would love to have from my shop.  

*Gain one entry for liking my Facebook page.
*Gain one entry for following me on Pinterest  

*Gain TWO entries for making a purchase from my store during the time of the drawing.  
**IF you have already liked me on Facebook and started following me on Pinterest, then you can still gain points for those actions.  Just follow the instructions in the raffle box on how to gain entries for those.  

USA entries only please.  

To Enter...

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Wooly Happenings

I'm a bit behind on blog posts over the last few months.  Been busy working on my Etsy store and so my blog was neglected.  Here is an overview of some of the Wooly Happenings that have taken place over the last few months.

Stitch-n-Pitch at the Dayton Dragon's Game

The Miami Valley Knitting Guild had it's annual Stitch-n-Pitch game night at the Dayton Dragon's baseball game a few months ago.   Knowing how much my father-in-law loves baseball, we invited my in-laws over to go to the game with us.   It was the first time any of us had been to a Dayton Dragons game.  I'm not a sports fan, but when combined with knitting, I am a happy camper.  :)  Before the game, we had dinner at Olive an Urban Dive in downtown Dayton.  Olive is located in an old Wympee restaurant building.  The website for Olive gives some of the history of the building, which I find very interesting.  From the outside, it just looks like a burger dive, but the inside has been tastefully redone and decorated, and though it does serve grass fed local burgers, the menu has more exciting entrees and local fare.

Knitting at the game.  Working on a gift for my sister-in-law.  

Totally not paying attention to the game though.  Every time the crowd would go wild, I'd have to ask someone what had happened.  :)

We had a great time out at the game.  The Dragons won and I enjoyed chatting with my knitting friends.  I would do this event again.  

I-75 Yarn Crawl

Caitlin was working on a rainbow scarf that
matched the drink machine perfectly!

In August, my friend Caitlin and I did the I-75 Yarn Crawl here in Ohio.  It was the first year for this event.  I ordered my passport as soon as they went on sale.  Caitlin and I started at 9am in the morning, driving all the way to KY to the furthest store South, Knitwits.  Very cute store and the owners were super friendly and helpful.  We made our way North, hitting every crawl store on the way.  At each store, we would hand over our passports for stamps.  Later, at the final store of the day, we handed in our passport stamped page and hoped that the stamps might win us some items that were donated from the shops.  (Neither of us won anything in the end, but we were OK with that).  

We saw a lot of the Cincinnati area driving from shop to shop, and it was a gorgeous day for a drive.  We ended our trip back in Beavercreek at Fiberworks.  We didn't make it back to my place until 9pm!  An entire day of yarn shopping!  Both of us scored some nice deals and it was so much fun exploring the different stores.  If we are still in OH next year, I'd like to do this yarn crawl again and hit the stores North of Beavercreek.  We just didn't have time to hit them all this year. 

Catilin and her GIGANTIC cake of yarn she found at Knitwits.
Winding it at Fiberworks.

Wool Gathering

This weekend in Yellow Springs is the annual Wool Gathering fiber festival.  I attended this event last year and really enjoyed it.  This year, though, Chris and I just dropped in long enough to look around quickly and pick up my roving from Ohio Valley Natural Fibers mill (I had taken fleece down there a few months back to be processed).  

 The above sheep were in line for the shearing demonstrations.  They didn't look very happy about it.  

Cute Pygora Goats! 

Border Leicester sheep

Are you looking at me?

The Wool Gathering is held at Young's Jersey Dairy, just 2 miles from Yellow Springs, OH. There are 3 large circus like tents set up, with smaller tents and booths outside as well.  Compared to the other fiber events I've attended, I have to say, the set up is not ideal at all. The tents are colored, which makes it near impossible to distinguish the colors of the fibers and yarns.  You have to take things to the natural light before buying if you really want to know the true colors.  The tents are also very packed with the booths and the shoppers.  It rained here the entire night prior to the event, making the ground sopping wet and muddy. The vendors at this event are great, but the location is not ideal.  The other fiber events I've attended have been at fairgrounds, in buildings.  I have to say, I much prefer a fairground building to the colorful tents at the Wool Gathering.  

Adorable Alpacas

I picked up the roving I had processed, and was glad Chris was with me to help me carry my 3 bags full back to the car!  I'm very pleased with the job Ohio Valley Natural Fibers did with my fleeces.  

Remember what my fleeces looked like prior to processing?  If not, here's the blog post I wrote about taking my fleeces to the fiber mill. 

And here they are!  My beautiful, washed and processed fleeces turned into roving!  :)

My alpaca!  It's so soft and squishy!  I can't wait to spin some of this and dye it too!

 The pic above and the one below look similar, but they are different.  The one above is my Lincoln wool, and the one below is my BFL.  

Happily surrounded by wool!

The roving is pin-drafted, which is very different from other rovings I've worked with in the past.  It will make for very easy spinning, and should take dye easily too.  I'm looking forward to playing with it and putting some of it in my shop to sell.  Tomorrow, I'm hitting the dye pots!  

Sew it goes...

Labor Day weekend was spent sewing project bags for The Purled Ewe with my mother-in-law.  Two sewing machines, lots of lovely fabric, and 3 days later, we had 10 bags made!  Making your own items from scratch really gives you appreciation for how people made items prior to machines and factories.  

My husband had a post-surgery complication this week, so I just got around to posting the new bags to my shop.  Here's a look at a few of the lovelies we made...

The above bag has a new feature, a ring on the outside that can hold locking stitch markers.  Makes grabbing stitch markers so much easier as you knit or crochet!  

In the above pic, if you look closely, you'll notice an adorable llama peering through the window!  I just love this organic fabric!

More bags are in the works, and we are also brainstorming on other sizes.  I've already been asked by a few people to make sweater sized bags...so we'll see about that.  :)