Kool Aid Dyed Knitting Needle Toppers

After reading stitch | craft | create magazine in the spring, and their article on dying yarn with kool-aid, I knew I had to give it a try.  I decided instead of yarn I was going to have a go with wool roving and come up with a felted project with all the bright colours.  I left the roving immersed in the kool-aid (1/2 cup water added to one package for each colour) for the better part of 24 hours.  Then according to the girls at Craft Magazine, I needed to set it in the microwave.  I put each colour of roving in its own microwavable bowl and sealed it with plastic wrap.  In for 30 seconds on high to check.  Then another 1 minute and 30 seconds to set the colour.

I decided to make topper for knitting needles and made the balls by needle felting on a felting pad using the technique I showed with my heart knitting needles and my bird pencil toppers for inspired magazine.

After the initial needle felting, I like to give the balls a hot wash in net bag in the washing machine. See the above before (left) and after (right).  I find they come out nice and compact with a consistent shape.

A little snip into the bottom of each ball for the needle and a snip (if required) of the needle top, for insertion.  Into the pouch made in each ball by the slit, I add a squirt of fabric glue - and the newly snipped needle end, and you are good to go ... or knit:)

One quick note.  You may need to add a number to your needle with permanent ink so you know what size it is. Some of the needles I use just have the size on the wooden top that you will be snipping off.

And ...  A word of caution.  After the roving dried almost completely, I put it in an aluminum pie tray to completely dry.  We were off to a cottage and when I returned I found that the kool-aid dyed roving ate through the tray.  CAN YOU BELIEVE IT ?!  Did you ever do that experiment in school where you took a tooth meant for the tooth fairy and dropped it into a cup of coke for a week to see what would happen.  And you found that your tooth was well rotted by the end of the week. (That worked for me ... never wanted to drink coke again!)  Well this does it for me with kool-aid - not that we had it around here for but it does make me think of the amount of sugar our kids can be exposed to!!!!  I asked my chemical engineer father what caused it and he things it was the citric acid and ascorbic acid in the mix.

Yikes!

I think that the reaction with the aluminum took away from some of the vibrancy of the roving but it is still a pop of colour in another wise plain pot of needles.  With the August weather (and the feeling of fall just a few weeks away) I need to stock up on fun little projects like this.  It will make my fall knitting just that much more cheerier.

Wrap it up Thursday - Knitted Jam Jar Cover

These beautiful glass jar wraps are from Leigh Radford's, One More Skein and were shared via a post on Design*Sponge.  They are covering up a mayonnaise jar, a peanut butter jar and a jam jar.  They kind of remind me of my faux knitted vase but all the better - the real thing.  And because there is glass inside they make a great flower vase.  These knits remind me of getting ready for fall but, with some bright blue cotton, I created the jar cover for my spring giveaway.

 I improvised following the beginning of her pattern for a lace jam jar.  (The third pattern on the design* sponge post) To make my cover I used a pretty, bird egg blue cotton yarn  and US #4 needles.  (Leigh's pattern calls for  #9 needles - but for my little jam jar this worked the best )  You begin by knitting in the round, starting at the bottom of your jar cover.  Once I had completed the portion that made up the circular bottom, I just continued with the stocking stitch in the round, for my body,  until my cover was tall enough to cover up the glass jam jar.  Then I just finished with a simple bind off.

There is still time to enter the draw for the wrapped up jam jar and the three spring pencils.

 If you would like to enter the contest, add a comment here.

Finally, thank you to all of you for taking the time to enter and for all your lovely comments.  It really, really means so much to me.

Wrap it up Thursday - Sweater Cuff for a Take out Cup

 We have a new tea shop in my neighbourhood with the most beautiful take-out cups.  They really don't need a pretty cuff to cover them up but they are awfully hot.

To make the cuff :

1 - I used the arm of a felted wool sweater and some bright coloured yarn.  I used a thick needle I use for knitting, and embroidered a design with the yarn.

2 - I cut off the wrist end of the sweater - it is the perfect size for a cup cuff.

3 - I just used some of the blue yarn to edge the finished edge of the cuff 

4 - and the pink yarn to stitch up the unfinished edge.  Then I added decorative stitching as a pattern around the cuff.  I turned the cuff inside out to tidy up the loose ends.

 

I followed the existing sweater "knit" stiches to create my pattern.

That's it.  Play with any design you like - and your cup cuff will be ready in jiffy.  Say that three times fast!

Felted Bowls - for Organizing

You may recall from my last post , I have been on a bit of a tear lately.  My mood is a bit suspect and so when I look around at the usual mess of life it sometimes makes me want to scream.  Time to weed out all the bits and pieces that are unnecessary.  Sometimes I think I want to get rid of all my itsy, bitsy crafty odds and ends and start with a clean slate.  I would probably just start to make and collect again but the idea is tempting.

One thing I have made over the past few years that helps me sort out some of this "mess" and corral all the odds and ends are felted bowls.  I like them because they are a project but also because they are nice and soft and you can put in special jewelry or lay them on top of a more precious surface and not worry.  I began making the bowls based on a pattern from Leigh Radford's book One Skein.  Love that book and these bowls knit up easily. Although, I must admit at first, before I gave them a hot wash, I was worried that they would be too flimsy but they do wash up quite firmly, especially the smaller bowls.  I started making up my own sizes, once I got onto how it all worked.

Although I can store all sorts of things in these bowls I think my favourite is my collection of felted balls both store bought, homemade and knitted.  You have probably seen the bowl pop up in shots and I always find it a source of inspiration.  

Well one crafted project is complete and stored away.

My felted bowl runneth over with felted goodness.  Now... where are my scissors...

Making a Faux Knit Vase

I have kept a scrap piece of paper with the works of Annette Bugansky for many years.  Porcelain and ceramic made to look like knit fabric, in the shape of mugs and vases.  So, when I saw the February Issue of Country Living, I was completely inspired.  I must admit I am a sucker for any image of chunky knits.  I love balls of yarn piled high and cables, knit stitches, needles, textures and colours.  The faux knit decor items shown here are from reshape studio and the homeport.  

It made me think.  Is there something I can do now until I can get my hand on one of these lovely pieces? And so ...  The faux knit ... or should I say faux, faux knit vase was born.

I had a vase that really wasn't my favourite.  A left over from an ancient flower shop delivery.  I also had another (yes another - I know I have quite a few) knit project that I started but still didn't have a home for.  It was a cotton knit wash cloth that I though I might package up with some homemade soap that I still have yet to make.  The amazing thing was the washcloth fit around my vase perfectly ... so why not play around and see if I could make a fake knit vase with a real knit ... does that make any sense?

Starting top left and going clockwise 

(1)  I started off with my cotton washcloth, my ugly vase, some extra yarn for sewing the sides of the cloth, modpodge to apply the cloth (and cover as well), flat white spray paint and some clips to hold the cloth in place when it dries.

(2) and (3) My washcloth needed to be stitched at the short sides to create a tube

(4)  Before I pulled on the knit tube I modpodged the outside of the vase.

Starting top left and going clockwise

(1)  Once I had a layer of modpodge, I slid on my knit cover.  (2)  I then started to add modpodge on top and stretched out my cover as I went along  (3) I used large clips to hold the cover at the top of the vase and when I realized the shape of my tube wasn't a perfect fit for my vase, I used plastic wrap to hold in around the bottom until it dried  (4)  I  added layers and layers of paint, each only a very light coat until I thought there was enough coverage.  You wouldn't want to use wool yarn because the fibres would make a mess sticking out through the paint finish.  Even with the cotton yarn, I still needed to do one coat of modpodge on top of a couple layers of paint, just to make a smoother finish.  It was those paint layers on top of the modpodge that recreated the smoother finish you would find on the real porcelain or ceramic.  I would like to try it with a tighter knit and see if it is even more effective.

When it finally dried and I had added about all the paint I could without ruining it - I was done.  I won't say it is perfect.  It was fun to try and other than half a jar of modpodge and a can of spray paint I'm really not out any expensive supplies.  When I added these beautiful equadorian roses, the project kind of came to life.  I just love that hit of colour with the texture of the vase, sitting on the pale blue.

I'm still keeping a knitted mug and vase on my wish list but for now I am going to enjoy this burst of happiness on this (almost) Valentine's day.