God Speed. **********************************************************
They say that a picture is worth a thousand words, so maybe I should just let the pictures do the talking ;) Mr. Mann soaking his yarn::
The empty dish is what was left of his dye that he used............................his lovely assistant wanted a glory shot too *grin*
This is the green yarn, he just got done nuking it......I was gonna show you a picture of what accidently happened to the micro-wave but King1 hasn't seen it yet and if he did, he didn't think to ask what happened....with now that I think of it, I find it rather creepy he was perfectly content to see a micro-wave that had red and green ooukie stuff staining it...................hmmmm
This is the red after it cooked before he opened up the saran wrap............looks kinda gross LOL
And THIS, is the end results..............he hung them up and dried them and this is what they looked like this morning.
Personally, I think Mr. Mann may be onto to a hot new career here *grin* He used some of my handspun from last year. It wasn't the best handspun I have ever made and had a few areas that were overspun. I wanted him to use this instead of some of my good sock yarn handspun in case he ruined it by felting it or something BUT he didn't and it turned out GREAT.The red was dyed using a heated dye-bath of roasted and crushed beet powder and dried raspberries that was then ran through the food processor and made into powder form too. He soaked the yarn in a vinegar soak before he mix the powders, it helps the natural powder adhere permanently to the yarns or fabrics. The green is Dried and powdered Kale and spinach greens dried and powdered with just a touch of lime rind for acidity purposes. This is how we dye icings and such that you would normally use ready made or you would be able to use food coloring or other store bought colorings. We can't because of medical reasons so I learned years ago how to get natural dyes. It's fun and the colors are really unpredictable but you can learn alot by doing that.
Now let's take a peek at what the contest was all about....Leah asked if ya'll could see a photo of the sweater so here ya go................. When I bought the "kit" you buy the pattern, in this case it was the Debbie Bliss Summer Essentials book, and you also but the yarn for whatever size you'll be making.
The yarn that came with it is the Debbie Bliss cotton DK. I am sooooo in love with that sweater, I think it is sooooo cute. The only thing I am thinking of changing it how high the collar is. I think I might just make it a ribbed crew neck instead, I dunno yet. I'll have plenty of time to decide since the collar is the last thing you knit. Anyways, I just think it is so feminine and pretty I HAVE to make it.
The Bolero that I was making out of the Cathay yarn a couple of weeks ago is still coming along. I kind of hit a dull spot in the routine of that pesky plain stockinette stitch that sometimes goes on FOREVER!!!! Well, I just decided last night to hunker down and just do it!! I won't start the Ella sweater for me until I finish that one. But, I did make alot of progress on it last night. I was watching the tivo'ed "Knitty Gritty" and I just started groovin' on it LOL. It really went along fast then, I stopped paying attention to how long it seems to be taking to do it and shocked myself when King1 came to bed and I showed him my progress on it. All in all, I am really happy with it. It is a fairly easy pattern and she actually explains the pattern and steps very nicely. That is what I love about her earlier books. She was always explains the directions clearly in them. In some of her new books, the patterns are a bit unclear to the novice knitter and she leaves some things up to the knitter as if they should KNOW how to do it or they should KNOW what comes next. Alot of ruined patterns are knit on assumption;)
I am working on the left front & sleeve as you can tell:)
The yarn is really turning out to be quite nice. I just really am extra cautious to not split it and all is well. I must say, I am pretty pumped to finish it up!!
Well, that's all for today. The website for the day that I think you should all take a gander at is :::::http://www.glioca.org/ Oh your gonna love this blog. She has some lovely sock knitting going on. Well, that's it for the day:)
Remember everyone............APRIL IS AUTISM AWARENESS MONTH.............PLEASE.......................... BE AWARE!!!
If you get a chance to pop onto Ebay, type in Autism and you will have ALOT to choose from, there are many many sellers who are collecting "donations". meaning you buy a magnet, key chain to what ever and they donate a portion of the proceeds to Autism research. What could be better than bidding on something you want, winning the item and then knowing that some of the monies will go to help someones family:)
Knit on my friends!!! I will make sure I answer more questions from emails on my next post. If you have a really important question you need an answer to right away, just put "urgent" in the subject line. Please send mail to debbiejusi at yahoo dot com
I am REALLY enjoying the emails and the questions ya'll ask, it has turned into alot of fun ;)
9 comments:
Seeing the wonderful pictures of your children has made my day...hold them close.
Your son did a great job dyeing the yarns! Love the debbie bliss sweater!
If you lived closer, I'd have to hire Mr. Mann to help out. He did a great job! Pretty colors!
Sandra, you have my families hugs and prayers coming your way. You must be so emotionally drained and physically exausted. I would like to share with everyone that Sandra works at one of the hospitals that the injured people from Virginia Techs tragedy were brought to. Please keep the care people and everyone involved i this horrible event in your thoughts and prayers.
By George, I do believe your child is a fiber dyeing genious!! His yarn is gorgeous- :) Love the natural dye process.
Mr. Mann did a terrific job in dying! I haven't even dared try it myself.
I love the sweaters you've got on the needles and waiting on the side-lines also.
Looks like we all need to commission Mr. Mann to dye us some yarn, he did a great job! Way to Go, Mr. Mann!
The bolero is looking lovely too!
He is hired!!!! :)
Danielle
Wonderful picture's of Mr. Mann and his lovely assistant at their new career's!! He did an awesome job, tell him so.
That Debbie Bliss sweater is really pretty. It should be wonderful for the warm summer months. I think I would do what you said and go with your gut instinct and make the neck shorter. Especially if that was your first instinct.
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