Stitching My Story

Leftover Easter Egg Dye.....

After the two younger Units got done dying Easter Eggs last week (yes, I made them color eggs AND do an egg hunt *grin*), I just couldn't throw away the dye.

So... off I ran to the studio for some wool to color.

Here's what I did:

1. Submerged the wool in the leftover dye.
2. Microwaved it in the liquid for two minutes on high in covered dishes.
3. Let the wool and dye rest for a few minutes... then microwaved it a minute more on high.
4. Left the wool overnight in the covered dye bath.
5. In the morning I rinsed the wool and hung it to dry.

Today I chose three colors to use together, and fluffed them up a bit.....

Then spun them up...

Then plied them into happy wool yarn.

It's super soft merino.
Maybe I will take it to the hospital when Oliver is being born.
Maybe I can find a nice rocking chair to sit in and knit while I wait.
*happy sigh*

Felted Pin Cushions Mini Tutorial...

"I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn't say any other way-- things I had no words for."

~Georgia O'Keeffe

Roll up a soft fluffy ball of wool roving.
Wrap another color of wool around the first.
Wrap another color around that.
Keep wrapping colors (the wool shrinks a fair bit when in felts).
Tuck the wool ball inside of the foot of an old pair of nylons.
Push it down good and tight and tie it off right above the wool.
Throw it in the washer and dryer with a load of laundry on hot wash, cold rinse.
Open up the nylon and remove the felted ball.
Dampen the ball a bit (it makes cutting easier for some reason).
Cut the ball in half with a sharp knife.
TA DA! It's two pin-cushions!

P.S.
(if the ball is untidy or has little folds, needle felt a nice even layer of wool around the outside of it).

Grandbaby Braxton's Hat Pattern...

Supplies:
Less than a skein of worsted weight Lamb's Pride yarn
5- DP size eight needles
yarn needle
felt ball

Notes:
Use two strands of yarn thru-out.
4 sts to the inch
This will fit a one to small three year old (depending on the size of your toddler's noggin')

Instructions:
Cast on 72 sts and divide over 4 double pointed needles (18 stitches on each)
Knit one row, purl one row.... twice (four rows total)
Knit 15 rows *work a pattern here if you like*
Knit one row, Purl one row.... twice

Decrease as follows:
On next row knit seven, knit two together; repeat for entire row (16 sts on each needle)
Purl one row
Knit six, knit two together; repeat for entire row (14 sts on each needle)
Purl one row
Knit five, knit two together; repeat for entire row (12 sts on each needle)
Purl one row
Knit four, knit two together; repeat for entire row(10 sts on each needle)
Knit one row
Knit three, knit two together; repeat for entire row (eight sts on each needle)
Knit one row
Knit two, knit two together; repeat for entire row (six sts on each needle)
Knit one row
Knit one, knit two together; repeat for entire row (four sts on each needle)
Knit one row
Knit two together around entire row (two sts on each needle)
Knit six rows

Finishing:
Break yarn about 10 " from last stitch. Thread this tail onto a yarn needle and pull the threaded needle thru each stitch. Insert the needle into the center top of the hat and pull snug. Secure all tails.

If your little one is beyond putting things in his or her mouth, securely stitch a felt ball to the tip top of the hat. TA-DA!

Dyeing with Kool-Aid...

Soak small skeins of wool yarn in hot tap water for a few minutes. Lay the yarn out on a glass, microwave safe dish and add enough hot tap water to barely cover it. Sprinkle one or more colors of Kool-Aid (the mix that doesn’t contain sugar) over the wool.

Note: Use red sparingly as it tends to overpower other colors.

Do not mix the dye bath or wool if you want really mottled colors; do mix some if you want less variation in color.

Carefully set the pie plate in the microwave and ZAP on med-high to high (depending on your microwave) for 2-4 minutes. Leave the yarn to cool. Remove the skeins from the liquid and rinse in warm water until the water runs clear.

Experiment and have fun!

Tutorial for Dyeing Cotton Fabric...

I spent today dyeing cotton for quilting and other crafty projects. Lately my fabric coloring has involved PaInTiNg with fabric paints or Dyna Flows, but I got an itch to actually pull out the Procion MX Dyes and DYE fabric. My method (which I love by the way!) is a hodge podge of techniques and recipes from books (some listed below) and from my own experimentation. I am going to post my method, but keep in mind that I am not an eXpErT by any means... and my college years were the last time I sought repeatable, evenly dyed results. I am basically looking to PLAY with color.... and get the most mottled and textured looking fabric possible. Here's how I do it:

(half yard pieces of fabric in gallon sized ziploc bags)

Instructions:

1. Mix soda ash pre-soak in a 2 or 3 gallon bucket:

2 cups soda ash
2 gallons of warm water

Soak 5-6 yards of the PFD or pre-washed cotton fabric to be dyed in the above mixture (20-24 fat quarters or 10-12 half-yard pieces). Soak the fabric 30 minutes to overnight.

NOTE:
If you start soaking and can’t get to the actual dyeing, let the fabric line dry (do not use the dryer) and store it dry for dyeing later on.

2. Mix up dyes in small plastic containers as follows:

NOTE:
Once a container or utensil has been used for dyeing, do not use it for food!

For each color:

• Place the Procion MX dye powder in a 16-ounce plastic container.
• In another container, add 1 T Urea to 1 cup of warm water and mix.
• Slowly add urea water to dye powder, making a paste at first, and then gradually adding the remaining water until the paste becomes a liquid.
• Use the following measurements to start and, after experimenting, adjust dye powder amount to suit your needs:

Red: 1-teaspoon dye powder to 1 cup water and 1Tablespoon urea

Blue: 2-teaspoon dye powder to 1 cup water and 1Tablespoon urea

Yellow: 3-teaspoon dye powder to 1 cup water and 1Tablespoon urea

NOTE:
Always add water to powder, NOT powder to water, for easiest mixing.

Some colors mix easier than others. By making a paste first and adding water slowly, you will keep from getting dye “freckles” on your fabric that are a result of poorly mixed dyes.

Color mixing is it’s own art form, but I find that if I mix up containers of the three primaries, I can combine them in the next step to get the other colors I want fairly easily.

Dyes can be stored after they are mixed in the refrigerator for a few weeks, though they start losing potency after a week. Bring to room temperature before using.

PLACE TIGHTLY CLOSED CONTAINERS OF STORED DYES IN ZIPLOCK BAGS AND MARK CONTAINERS REALLY WELL… FOOD AND DYE SHOULD NOT CROSS PATHS!

3. Dye the fabric

Add some of the soda ash water that the fabric has been sitting in to a gallon sized Ziploc bag. A cup or two of water is a good place to start for a fat quarter or half yard of fabric. Less water makes for a more mottled look; more water makes for a less mottled look. It just depends on what result you’re after. If you run out of soda ash water, just use warm tap water.

Add tablespoonfuls of dye mixture from your plastic containers into the Ziploc bag. I generally add 2 to 4 tablespoonfuls to a bag…. Some bags get all one color; some bags get a mix (3 yellow and 1 blue for a green color, for instance). By using a separate spoon in each cup of dye, I keep the cups of colors from becoming contaminated with each other.

Adjust dye amounts to suit your desired outcome (more dye = more saturated color).

Take a fat quarter or half yard of fabric out of your soda ash water and add it to the baggie with the water and dye solution.

Remove as much air as possible from the bag before sealing it. Once sealed, smooch the fabric around in the bag to mix the dye into the fabric.

I am usually looking for uneven, mottled results, so I don’t use a lot of water, and I tend to scrunch up my fabric in the bag. Putting extra fabric into the bag makes for even MORE mottled coloring. The less room the fabric has to move around, the more markings.

NOTE:
Low immersion dyeing results in mottled colors. If you want EVEN dye results, this is not the technique for you! Try tub dyeing instead.

With a black sharpie marker, I write my dye measurements on my Ziploc bag. For instance, I would write “3 Y/1B” on a bag that contains 3 spoonfuls of yellow and 1 spoonful of blue. This way, if I get a color I love, I can repeat it to get similar outcomes. I also note on the bag if I varied any of my other constants (more water, more fabric, etc).

Leave these bags to sit for at least 3 hours and preferably 24 hours to “cure”. Curing is when the dye molecules BOND to the fabric. I’ve read that turquoise needs a full 24 hours. More time usually results in deeper colors.

Once your fabric has “cured”, rinse it thoroughly under warm water. Use Synthrapol to wash the fabric after you’ve rinsed it to ensure that all of the loose dye is OUT. If color is still coming out of the fabric, keep rinsing and re-wash in Synthrapol! 2 to 3 teaspoons of Synthrapol will wash 5-6 yards of fabric.

Iron your colorful dyed fabric and GeT sTiTcHiNg!!

Cheap Acrylic Paints + White Stuff = Happy Gail

Nothing... and I mean NOTHING was safe from my cheap acrylic paints yesterday. DC (dear cowboy) went on a loooooong bike ride after work and I fed kids LeFToVeRs (so much for trying to live out my life channeling June Cleaver). This allowed me several hours during the warm, breezy evening to paint sTuFF.

First came Pellon (I was out of Timtex)....

Next came fuzzy rick-rack....

Then a doll for my friend Karen who will be moving soon...

Then these wooden garden stakes....

I made the garden stakes by:

1. painting the plain wooden stakes in bright colors

2. adding rub-on letters

3. finishing with a sealer

They are all over the yard now.... and I want to make TONS more! Anyone know of a place to purchase inexpensive BULK wooden garden stakes?

I almost added a picture of me.... hands, feet, legs covered in bright paint. When Scott got home from his ride (after I'd cleaned up) he said, "There's lime green paint in your hair". I love that he says this as if it's a perfectly normal occurrence. Probably because around here it's not THAT abnormal. I would imagine that many of YOU, dear readers, could say the same?
*grin*

Seriously.....

I am not obsessed with horoscopes or anything like that. It just seems that lately these daily bits of wisdom that pop up on my homepage when I open my computer in the morning are a PERFECT fit for my life. For today....

"Being uncomfortable, either emotionally or physically, isn't necessarily bad."

On that note, I am supposed to be at work in ten minutes. The roads are icy and the temps are below freezing.... and I'm a big WEENIE when it comes to driving around in these conditions. DC (dear cowboy) has my rig and said he'd come get me, but geeeeez....

My kids are home (schools are closed due to weather), and my house is safe and warm, and there is still half a pot of coffee in the kitchen. I think I need to be RIGHT here.

I realize that my being a weenie when it comes to cold temperatures and driving in the ice TOTALLY goes against today's horoscope, but being cOmFoRTaBLe isn't necessarily bad either, right???

update: I went into work for four hours..... The main roads weren't too bad.
: )

Painted Timtex Shrine Tutorial, Part 1

Cut two pieces of Timtex interfacing: one piece 2.5 by 6 inches, and the other piece 2 by 4.25 inches.

Using watered down acrylics; paint the two pieces of Timtex. These can be contrasting or matching colors. Use your fingers and a bit of pressure to push color down thru the backside of the Timtex so that both front and back are “painted”. Let dry.

Painted Timtex Shrine Tutorial, Part 2

Out of the 2.5 by 6 painted piece, cut as follows: 2 pieces that measure 1.25 by 2.5 inches, and one piece that measures 3.5 by 2.5 inches. Measuring down 1” from the largest piece on the 3.5”side, cut the corners off to form a house shape. (These are un-painted pieces of Timtex so that you can see the numbers…. Yours pieces for cutting will be painted).

Painted Timtex Shrine Tutorial, Part 3

Butting the sides of the shrine up against the center house shape, and using a fairly wide and tight stitch, zigzag the pieces together. Also zigzag or buttonhole stitch around the outside edge of the entire shrine.



Out of the 2 by 4.25 inch painted piece, cut as follows: 2 pieces that measure .75 by 2 inches, and one piece that measures 2.75 by 2 inches. Measuring down .75” from the largest piece on the 2.75”side, cut the corners off to form a house shape (Again, my pieces are white so you can see the numbers… Yours will be painted).