Making a Dye Bath

Today while enjoying my morning romp at the lake, I came across 2 large pokeberry plants set in a landscape bed.

I think perhaps the workers didn't know it's a weed. It must have grown so happily and quickly. But it was loaded with berries and I couldn't resist.

I ran back to my car for a plastic grocery bag and filled it up. Branches too, because I found I quickly turned magenta if I tried to pull the berries off the twig.

Once upon a time I was a historic house manager for a 17th century site in Virginia. It was a great place to work. We did lots of public programming, and one that I am proud to have introduced was natural dyeing.

We bought madder, indigo, cochineal, and henna to demonstrate. And we also collected onion skins and some natural plants that grew around us, like privet. And pokeberry.

We dyed the old fashioned way, and the cheap way too, for our little non-profit place. We used hot plates when we had school kids, but open fires in other instances. We cut up little squares of cotton muslin for everyone to take home.

I'm not sure we did everything right. We would place a piece of iron in the dye bath, so it would act as a mordant for the fibers and the dye would be more color fast. We used a vinegar rinse.

Today after I got home with my white grocery bag rapidly turning this color purple, I did some reading on the pokeberry and the best ways to dye it.

A natural dye has different levels of color-fastness, and some can wash out pretty quickly. The trick is to find a good mordant, something that creates a chemical reaction so that the color will actually bond into the molecules of the fibers rather than coat it. It's the difference between stain and paint. The latter is a covering, removable, and the former becomes part of the fibers.

I have a nice white skein of wool that I may experiment with. I'll need to soak it in acidic water. They recommend soda wash, but I may try alum. Because that's easy to find, right in the spice aisle at the store. Then I'll need to add some of that water to the pokeberries and simmer, then let sit overnight. Then I'll be able to play with a colored yarn dyed by me! How exciting.

I live in FL and pokeberries are in bloom now. I've also seen the cochineal bug, the real live thing, on prickly pears. I peeled back their white webby stuff concealing the insect to to show the kids, and my fingers immediately turned red. I'd need a bushel of those bugs, though, wouldn't I? Best to let them enjoy their life on a cactus.

I'll show the results later.

Adam Has a Friend

Remember my prototype Adam from the other day? Well, I made another, and out of great respect for one of my childrens' favorite plaything, book, movie, computer game.... I turned him into Harry Potter!

He's got a scar on his head of black sewing thread, glasses, a goofy smile, the Gryffindor scarf and cloak, and I decided to dress him in a dark green turtle neck with khaki pants. My kids can't keep their hands off him.

I'll make other, more generic ones for the shop. I think I would need some copyright licensure for it to sell as a Harry Potter doll.

He's fun, though. Needs a wand and his friends.

The Back to School Knits

Well, we are back in school. For me, that brings a big change this year, as my youngest starts a preK program. She's only in there for 3 hours, but still, it's my first 3 hours without any kids nearby since I had kids.

We're both taking it well. I'm better than she is! She cried her first day and I exercised at the lake. She started to cry the second day but I saw her and asked for a smile and told her to have fun. Then I exercised at the lake. When I picked her up she was fine.

My major issue, besides wanting to get back into exercising, is time and gas. I live 20 minutes from her program, and I should find things to do in town to keep me busy and the gas tank fuller. So I stick around.

I exercise at the lake.

I shower.

I run an errand or two.

And I knit.



Here's the inside of my car. Notice the towel for use in the shower, the chocolate milk bottle because I forgot to bring bottled water. Guess I could have bought that instead of chocolate milk, but hey, I like chocolate milk. The knitting is a market bag. The base is a crocheted circle and I did a knit mesh for the bag. Just alternate the yarn overs: round one is *yo, k2tog*, and round 2 is *k2tog, yo*. Very simple and quick to knit up. I plan on finishing the top with a few knit rounds, add an eyelet round for drawstring, and knit maybe 2 more rounds. It looks like a sunflower, and when it was smaller it did collapse into a flower shape. It was cool! Now it's more of a smooshed bag.



Now this little fellow is my homework creature. Since he's my first, I've named him Adam. Knit all in one piece and then felted. We all think he's cute and are planning more. Ones with personality, and perhaps clothes!

Just a quick request - if anyone reads this please let me know you are here! I'll send you a knit cuffed bracelet in thanks. I love to talk to myself in the car, but being out in cyberspace with no one watching is a lonely feeling. In the car I get quite animated, and other drivers probably look at the passenger seat to see what my conversation partner looks like, only to realize the state of geekiness I have entered. Again, that's when no kids are around, and that is rare. That's why I'm animated.
But here at the Ridge, I'd really like to know this is serving some purpose. Drop me a line, tell me what you'd like to see (I'm currently researching the history of felting), and we'll work on a bracelet. Hmm, unless you don't want that item.. maybe an Adam?
Thanks for letting me know!

Before and After

Before opening my Etsy shop I was quite content with my point and shoot automatic camera. It seemed to do fine when I needed to send pictures of the kids to the grandparents. Sure, I got the occassional thumb in the way, or caught someone in action and it was blurred. But I could adjust the lighting and other things on my Picasa program and it was serviceable.

But after seeing what other sellers were able to do with a camera, I was amazed. Their listings were like artwork!! Mine were dark and blurred or too light and blurred. There wasn't a thumb in any, but still. So I began to nose around and I got myself a new camera. Well, a used camera but new to me. It's a Fujifilm A340, and it has all sorts of buttons and settings. It came with a manual which has many pages of instructions and explanations, all in English!

I have been having a lot of fun reshooting my items. I treat my bags or hats like supermodels. I take them outside with me, and I gingerly lay them on a nice spread-out towel so they keep their bottoms clean while waiting for me. One at a time they get photographed from the north, east, south and west. I stand, I squat, I lay on my belly. I sweat and get bitten by mosquitoes (this is FL, afterall).

I have only redone a few of the listings in my shop, but it looks vastly better already. Now, Computers are another issue altogether. It takes a long time for my little dial-up to load each one. Then there was the matter last night of writing this post, moving two photos around and distorting them in the process, then downright losing one, then unbelievably losing an entire draft. I went to bed after that.

So let's take a look at my two pictures below. Got a critique?

The Before The After

In The Before, I notice I had a poor choice of location. I can see hose, I can see drooping and dying sunflower leaves. I also notice Supermodel Pumpkina is showing her protective screening to keep her bottom clean. Oops. The picture was taken outside in full sunlight. The lighting is harsh, too bright, and it's overexposed.

I think The After is better. I found a more attractive place for Pumpkina to sit. It's still an outdoors picture, but during gentler morning light. It was even a little overcast. I used the macro setting, which gives the background a softer, more blending look. I selected an EV setting of -.3, and the white balance of a shady day. The colors are truer. I like the look of the lid much better.

I'm not a great photographer. I still don't look as smooth and artistic as my fellow shopkeepers. But I'm getting better!!!

The Monster in the Closet, Or, The Yarn Stash

My bedroom closet is getting crowded. There's a bit of shelving my husband uses for his clothes. I have a few shelves. I don't have a lot of clothes, really. But I do have some yarn!!!

Then there's a chest of drawers with 2 large cabinets. Inside are the kids' lunch boxes and book bags. Drawer One has Yarn. Drawer Two has batting, stuffing, embroidery thread, velcro, I don't know what else. Drawer Three has fabric scraps.

Drawer Four has vinyl tablecloths the kids use to craft on.

Wait, I'm not done.

There's a hanging basket type-thingy with 6 sections. In EACH there is YARN.

I have a teeny 4 drawer chest, it's cute, and it's filled to overflow with the wool yarn.

I have some CD crates, but no CDs in them, just YARN. That's the crochet thread/sock yarn section.

What to do with all the yarn? I currently am banished from buying more yarn til I sell some stuff. If you'd like to make it possible for me to buy some new yarns, please see my shop at www.taffyknits.etsy.com and help make some room in the closet!!

But, besides selling it all, the Yarn Stash is the place I turn to when the kids start to even think "I am bored".

Last summer we went crazy for yarn dolls. You wind yarn around a book a bunch of times, cut it in half, and separate strands and tie them off to form head, arms and legs. Then you can give them clothing too (march to the fabric scrap drawer).

This summer we made Bottle Buddies. I saw it on www.familyfun.com. You take an old water bottle, layer double-sided tape up the sides, wind yarn around it and you have a clothed figure. Add a wooden spoon with a face drawn in and more yarn for hair, and voila, a Bottle Buddy.

We also have discovered weaving. I should have had them made their own out of notched cardboard, but we are fortunate to have a nice Fiber Guild in the area that I joined (Polk County Fiber Guild). They have an equipment library! So we borrowed an inkle loom and drop spindles (haven't explored those yet - where's roving in my stash!!!!)

Then, my father has a friend who just flat out gave away a table top loom and a floor loom! So we looked through the stash and wove a little. Cool!

So we are busy with the yarn stash. It gets messy when the kids drag the yarns out. Wisps of skeins travel the floor like vines, ready to latch on to each other and a dog's paw.

Oh, another good use for a yarn stash: a toy for the cat!!

Bottle Buddy with "baby" yarn doll My eldest at the loom

Seasonal Knits

Even though it's summer and it's hot as blazes here in Florida, the weather has not stopped my knitting needles from clicking away. It has stopped me from weeding in my garden though.

I've been having fun anticipating the change in the weather and the upcoming fall season. It means a lot - back to school, autumn harvest (although in Florida it means planting season), and Halloween!

Halloween has always been a favorite holiday of mine. It's so sensory. I love trick or treating. There was never any candy in my house when I was a child, but we were allowed the booty from trick or treating. I loved being outside at dark, and all your friends were disguised. There was anticipation and excitement for what you were going to see and meet. I grew up in the north, and there were dry and crinkly leaves that crackled under your feet. The twinkle of candles in a jack-o'-lantern's eyes....

The last time I trick or treated I was 20! In college. I convinced a few of my friends to go with me. One was from Japan, and had never been, so she was up for it. I was a mummy. My boyfriend, who was tall and mustachioed, and dressed as a pirate, gave our ages away and elicited a few comments, like "aren't you too old for this?" but we got candy anyway.

Now I go along with my kids and it's still as much fun. But, alas, I don't get as much candy. There's a lot to knit for Halloween. You could make masks, costume accessories, trick or treat bags....

My children are excited for back to school. My eldest is an accomplished knitter, and she knit a crayon box to go along with my pencil case (http://www.taffyknits.etsy.com/). There are a few fun patterns out on the web for Autumn. I've made some felted apples, and a Spider Web necklace, and I have some pumpkins waiting to be felted. Lion Brand Company (http://www.lionbrand.com/) has the cutest crocheted skull pattern.

I'm hanging in there til the weather breaks. At least I have rain to offer relief. It'll be another couple of months probably before I sense any autumn.

Adventures with a Stitch Dictionary

Do you hate to swatch?

I have read so much on the internet on the importance of making the gauge swatch and how although most of us hate doing it, it's so important when following a pattern. Even when I swatched, I often was pretty dissatisfied with the end result. I think it's the difference in body shaping. The model's version fits so perfectly, doesn't it? So where's my waist in this thing? Why is my neckline 2 inches into my bust when hers scoops attractively below the collarbone?

I kept plugging along. And eventually I found freedom in the form of a stitch dictionary and my own personal measurements. The stitch dictionary came my way thanks to Mom, who was cleaning out her Craft Room. It languished a few years, while I plodded with someone else's pattern and got something that didn't fit. One day, I was looking for information on how to convert a row pattern into knitting in the round and I cam across this article in www.knitty.com called Knitting by the Numbers in the Winter '04 issue. Brilliant! From the article, I learned not only how to knit in the round, but how to knit to my measurements in any pattern I desired. Wow! From my beginner/intermediate standpoint, it was like jumping out of an airplane.

I made a really cute stockinette stitch mercerized cotton t-shirt (with a waist where my waist actually is!). Then I thought, what else can I do? And I dug out the stitch dictionary.

Now swatching is so much fun. Because it's My idea, My pattern, and I will make a gauge swatch to know how much to cast on, or what needle size looks best with my crazy stash of yarns. I use the stitch dictionary for everything - socks, tops, trims, even toys.

Combining the stitch dictionary with knitting a gauge swatch is simple. Find your pattern you like. First, see what the yarn label recommends. If it's 4 stitches per inch, that means casting on 16. But, if your stitch dictionary says the pattern works as a mulitple of 6 plus 3 stitches, casting on 16 won't work. Multiple of six means either 12 (plus 3) or 18 (plus 3). So cast on either 15 or 21 to knit a 4" length or more. 15 sounds reasonable. Then knit away, admiring your planning, and take care to measure how many stitches per inch in that pattern you are actually producing. Once you get that figure, ignore the yarn label specs and go with your own hand and your own body.

The gauge swatches are piling up. Fortunately I have three daughters who like to use them as rugs in their doll houses. Felted ones we use as patches or pockets on pants. They make nice coasters, too.

The main difference since exploring with my stitch dictionary is when I knit something for a family member, I have to pester them with my tape measure for a few minutes. I want it to fit, after all. Even around the ankles if it's a sock.

So, if there are any knitters out there who felt as I once did, all frustrated with the beautiful patterns created by established designers, cut your ties to them. With a little help from a stitch dictionary, you can design too.

P.S. The photos show just a few of the things I've made using my stitch dictionary.