CYBER MONDAY SALE on December 2nd!

The Purled Ewe will be having a 

CYBER MONDAY sale on December 2nd!  

10% OFF any purchase of $20.00 and up.

15% OFF any purchase over $40.00

Use coupon code CYBERMON10 for 10% off and 

CYBERMON15 for 15% off at checkout to get your discount.  

Visit The Purled Ewe by clicking HERE 

or on the mini-store on the Right Hand side of this blog.  

Up to my Elbows in Kool Aid Dyeing!

I spent most of last week at my dye pots!  I even bought 3 more pots so that I could do more batches in one day.  Glad I did because I had a lot of dyeing to do!

Here's what I created...

The first up is a hand dyed, super wash merino wool called "Hawaiian Tide Pool".  Dyed with Kool Aid.  400 yards of fingering weight squishy wonder awaits you in my Etsy shop.  CLICK HERE for more details.  

Picture found on
http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/kapoho-tide-pools-kapoho?select=QT1fr-TRP6Ks1aAlqP7sNg#QT1fr-TRP6Ks1aAlqP7sNg

This lovely is "Deep Waters".  Hand dyed, super wash, fingering weight merino yarn.  You can find it by CLICKING HERE.  This was dyed using Kool Aid.

This one is called "Water's Edge."  I dyed it with Wilton's food coloring, then over dyed it with Kool Aid.  Very pleased with how this turned out in the end!  This one is a wool/nylon blend, 450 yards.  CLICK HERE for details.  

http://bexraven.blogspot.com/2011/02/waters-edge.html

Here is "Green Olive".  Super soft, fingering weight, super wash merino yarn dyed with Kool Aid.  Though I'm not a fan of olives, this yarn makes me smile!  CLICK HERE for details.  

http://www.formaggiokitchen.com/shop/product_info.php?products_id=1740

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The Purled Ewe.  

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