DIY: Dyeing Wool with Tea, Coffee, and Turmeric

 

I recently came into possession of a white ball of wool yarn, and I thought to myself, "Huh, how boring!" So I decided I would try my own attempt at dying yarn. I've never dyed yarn before so I started to do a lot of internet research, and what I found included a lot of crazy toxic dyes, all of which weren't readily available to me. But then I stumbled across this site: http://www.pioneerthinking.com/naturaldyes.html. It lists a bunch of natural ingredients and what colors they make. For the first time I was starting to think that this will be doable. And you know what, it totally was doable! In fact I entered this idea into a contest on instructables. Click here to Vote on it and help me become a finalist!

Yup, I'm totally being "that" person right now.

What you'll need:
Water
Vinegar
Coffee
Tea
Turmeric
Some bowls
A ball of white wool yarn

Thursday Night Unwind

 Tonight we have arrived.

We have arrived at another wonderful Thursday night! Which means we have made it through the marathon of the work week and are simply 1 measly shift away from freedom from "the man" or "the customer". Even better is the fact that my last shift before freedom is only 4 hours long.

So that makes me in a good mood. and when I'm in a good mood, I like to grove. My ultimate groove music is by Bitter:Sweet. The music is very big band and jazzy mixed with some smooth electronics to make a really fun genre of music that I have no idea what it's called. If you know, please share. The first song up for tonight is called The Mating Game (if you like it continue past the jump for more two videos!):

 

Knitting Tutorial: Knit and Purl Continental Style

This is how I knit. I am a continental knitter. It basically means that you hold the yarn in your left hand instead of your right. This method is also favored by many crocheters as how you work with the yarn is similar to crochet. This is also called the German Method or Left Handed Knitting.

This is also a great method for left handed people since you control the yarn with your left hand. However, I am right handed and knit this style. It's faster to knit this way since you don't have to take your hand off the needles to knit. Continental knitters hold the yarn in their left hand, which allows the knitter to simply scoop, or "pick", the yarn with the right needle. This is why this method is favored by crocheters since when you crochet you are always grabbing the yarn with the hook.

The biggest challenge with this style of knitting is the purl stitch, which requires a lot of practice to to comfortable and accurately.

So here is how to knit and purl continental style.

Knitting Tutorial: How to Long Tail Cast on

So I recently got a sweet little HD camera. SO I've decided to make the most of it and start making some knitting tutorials! If you have a request for anything knitting related, let me know and I'll do my best teach you! This first video is a quick tutorial on how to do a Long Tail Cast On.

It is my favorite cast on to do. It just looks really nice and is really sturdy. It creates a good foundation for your work and helps to give it a more polished look. It's also really fast!

Thursday Night Unwind

Hooray! I've made it to another Thursday! And the best part? I have Friday off! Unfortunately this means I'm working Saturday and Sunday, but at least I get to enjoy a Friday for once! This week I wanted to share with you some great music (as usual), but this band is really REALLY good! 

They are called Balkan Beat Box. It's kind of hip hoppy, sorta rasta, a bit belly dancing music... Oh just click play and LISTEN! 

This one is called War Again:

Knitting Pattern: Boneyard Shawl

This is a great pattern to knit if you've never knitted a shawl before. I found it very easy to understand, and as a us, you can use whatever type of yarn you like! You can find the pattern on Ravelry written by Stephen West of Westknits.com. He has a lot of great patterns, most of which are for sale, but this one happens to be free! You can download the pdf at the Ravelry link, westknits.com, or click here to download it.

What You'll Need:
Needle US 8, 32in circular (or whatever size needle matches your yarn, I used a size 4)
Yarn DK / 8 ply (or any kind of yarn. I used a Light fingering/3ply yarn) 3 skeins (654 yards)
Stitch Markers (it helps to put these around the center stitch)

What you need to know:
Long tail cast on
Knit
Purl (continental) Purl (throwing)
M1R and M1L
How to add another ball of yarn
Bind off or a Flexible sewn bind off
How to weave in the ends

DIY: Photo Candle Holders

This is a super simple and cheap gift idea that is guaranteed to make any sentimental person break down and cry. That is if you are using photos that mean something to that person. You can always use non sentimental photos, but I can't guarantee the tears then. Just kidding...

What you'll need:
Glass Candle Holders
Clear Shipping Labels
A Digital Copy of a Photo
Printer