June 12, 2006

Swatchy-swatchy

Ok, first of all I have one question. How in the world did this....
become this......????????

I'm pleased with the end result, but it is not at all what I was hoping for. I was going for a nice subtle shades of blue ranging from light to medium. Instead I got a really great purple/green/blue combo, but not great for my June Project Spectrum swap. I'd heard that the Wilton's blues didn't hold exactly, so I was expecting it to be a little different, but there is almost no blue at all in the purplish color. It's a lot more magenta in person, the computer always screws with colors you know. Grrr.....I guess I'll just try some kool-aid tomorrow and hope for the best. The yarn is supposed to be mailed out by the 15th, so it's too late to order acid dyes online, and the only acid colors I have are periwinkle, turquoise, chartreuse, and jet black. Not really June-y either. I have a great idea for an "extra" for this month's package so hopefully that will make up for my lack of dyeing mojo this month.

Speaking of June yarn. I received my June package from my pal in the mail today.


Check out that yarny goodness. I also got nail polish, lip gloss, and the cutest notebook ever! I always have a notebook in my purse to jot down notes, lists, numbers, etc. I think this yarn will be River Rapid socks. I'm gearing up for the summer of socks. There is a contest to see how many socks you can knit between june 21st and sept 21st. I don't really expect to win, but I'm challenging myself to see if I can get all my sock yarn knit up during that time. Any socks cast on before the 21st don't count, so that's why I haven't started any socks with all the delicious yarn I've gotten lately. I've been swatching and getting patterns in mind for each yarn.
On the left is the yarn I dyed with kool-aid a while back and named Seafoam. On the right is the yarn I dyed with the acid dyes that is still unnamed. Maybe Iris? Trek mentioned it looked like Irises in full bloom. I'm not sure what to do with Seafoam, but I'm thinking that Iris is fitting for some Jaywalkers. I've been browsing sock patterns all week to prepare. I need to finish Doug's socks before the 21st so I'm not distracted by them since they won't count for the contest. Does anyone have any sock patterns that they just love and would recommend? (preferrably free patterns please, I can't afford to go drop a pretty penny on books and such) Sometime before the contest starts I will be introducing all the yarns and the socks they are destined to be.

4 comments:

sheep#100 said...

Come by my blog and take my free patterns for - well - free.

Jennifer said...

Lovely sock yarns to work with! Iris is particularly pretty!

I think what you ended up with for the June PS yarn swap is very pretty, but I agree, not very June. You can hold onto it for July though with all that purple!

Anonymous said...

You could mix a very small amount of black (acid dye) with a little more of the turquoise and overdye the entire skein (kettle dye...all at once, big pot.) Do not add vinegar until the dye water is steaming (almost at temp), then stir in about 1/4 cup of vinegar. You'll wind up with a deeper, yet still variegated yarn.The purple will darken, the blue will look more royal and the green should develop into a peacock...or so it would seem.

In fact, if all you're looking to do is darken it, try using just a small amount of the black...same procedure...and toss it in. It will deepen and mute the colors.

And if you don't want to try this on the advice of a total stranger, try it with a three or four yard mini skein before you put the whole thing in.

It shouldn't take but a minute or two for all the color to absorb. If you try sampling with mini skeins you can see if you'll need to add more black or more blue.

This I know from experience. I wound up with the most beautiful yarn from something that I almost pitched. The overdye saved the skein.

Or was this not what you had in mind at all?

:::wandering off to re-read your blog post:::

Theresa said...

I love the seafoam! It looks watercolors.