Green Coffee Press Cozy

Take some Recycled Wool yarn and dye it with some Recycled Coffee Grounds. Knit it up and add a few Recycled Mismatched Buttons, and TA-DA! Warm coffee!

My New Sweater...and a P.S.

My turn! After lots of smaller projects of socks, doggie sweaters, hats, and the like, I decided it was time for a new sweater for me!

I chose a design from Garnstudio's...DROPS 83-7. (Don't you wish they had cute names instead of just numbers?) And, what a quick knit. I finished it over a long weekend!

My yarn was recycled from a thrifted men's sweater knit in Ecuador. The wool is rather hairy, a bit itchy and had bits of embedded vegetation. (I'm still wondering what those sticker-y Ecuadorian plants might be.) I love the beautiful soft, natural gray.

I (almost) always make a few modifications when I knit. This time, I only made one. I reversed the left front cables to make them mirror-imaged. I hesitated with the bulky collar (it's knit double- stranded), but went with it. I like it, but would modify it if I were to make this again.

The buttons were from my stash of "orphans." Some are vintage, and each are now one-of-a-kind. All of them found there home on the front of my new sweater!

P.S.
I hate having my picture taken. But, since you asked, I posted a snap made by a coworker. You can see my sweater in action here.

Latte's Kool-Aid Sweater

Latte was way overdue for a new sweater. I was overdue for a Kool-Aid dyeing experiment. Here's what we both ended up with.

The Model:
Latte is a sweet little Miniature Poodle who adopted me almost ten years ago. She's all happy to be snuggled in her new wool sweater!

The Yarn:

Some buttery-soft, butter-colored lambswool recycled from a commercial sweater in a DK weight.

The Dye:

Three flavors/colors of Kool-Aid unsweetened; Tropical Punch, Orange, and Slammin' Strawberry-Kiwi.

The Technique:
After soaking the skeined yarn for about 30 minutes in warm water with a drop of dishwashing detergent (wetting agent), it was squeezed and placed in a Corningware casserole.

Each flavor/color of Kool-Aid was individually mixed with a cup of warm water, then poured over the yarn as seen below. This method will allow the original color of the yarn to still show.

The lidded casserole was then placed in the microwave and "cooked" on high for three minutes. At the beep, the yarn was allowed to rest three minutes. This process was repeated twice more, and the yarn was then set aside to cool.

After cooling, the yarn was gently washed and rinsed in warm water, given a turn in the spin cycle of the washing machine, then hung to dry.

The Sweater:
A couple of days later, I cast on for Latte's new sweater. The pattern is Casey's Coat from SNB Nation in size medium. It's trimmed with a bit of Lamb's Pride in Onyx from my stash.

Kool-Aid Blues

Meet my most recent Kool-Aid dyeing experiment: I call it Blue Water.

I used Blue Raspberry, Grape, and Lemon-Lime. Rather than using the colors as is, I did a little mixing to get some different shading. It was then steam-set in the microwave. I did not, however, do a very good job documenting my process. Guess this means I'll just have to do it again. Darn.

I used about 100 yards of a lovely bulky wool that was recycled from a thrifted sweater. It's so soft and took up the dye easily. It'll be a great garment worn next to the skin.

And here is my yarn knitted into a Thorpe, a great design from Kirsten at Through the Loops. I dyed a bit more for the trim that was just a mixture of Blue Raspberry and Grape. I love the effect.

Rationalizing

I've really been trying to stay out of stores for a while now. Not only because I'm trying not to spend money, but also because I've been scolding myself about my stash taking over my living space! As you know, I love thrift stores. I (almost) always find something that begs to go home with me to be rescued.

Today, I found myself with an hour between clients in an area close to THREE thrift stores! What a dilemma!! Well, I succumbed to the call...kind of.

In one shop, I found these lovely handknit wool mittens for 99 cents. While they were a pretty shade of yellow, it's just not a color I wear often. A little Kool-Aid later, and I had bright cherry-red mitts!!

I then embroidered them with a bit of recycled white yarn and some sparkly beads. Ta-dah! Christmas mittens!!

My second find was this lovely linen tablecloth. It's hand-embroidered and is in pretty good shape. There is one small hole (about 1 cm) that I think I can cover up with another flower. Not bad.

Okay, so I didn't strictly stay with my "no-stores" plan. I did, however, keep it in control. Kind of like having a bite of a cookie instead of the whole package, right? (I love rationalization, don't you?!)

But I digress...

I've been working away on lace socks. In fact, I have two different pair on the needles and more queued. I needed a bit of a little-or-no-concentration-necessary project to break it up.

Pair #1 of Summer of Socks 2008

Brigid is a quick, easy knit that shows off a variety of yarns. In DK-weight yarn and size 4US needles, it felt a lot more chunky than the light-fingering/size 1US that I've been using.

The yarn is some of my recycled sweater yarn...a very soft yellow lambswool. I hand-painted it with Jacquard dyes in olive, brown and a touch of orange. The result is perfect for next fall.

Hats in All Sizes

It's been Hat-Making time around here. Following is just a sample.
More to come!!

Very Small
(set for a baby shower gift)
Hat Pattern: here
Socks Pattern: my own
Yarn: Lion Brand Wool-Ease in Delft

Medium
(for an 8-year-old friend)
Hat Pattern: here
Yarn: Mostly Lion Brand Wool-Ease

Extra Large
(for Zak)
Hat Pattern: my own
Yarn: my recycled wool in charcoal with a touch of burgundy

Katarina

Here it is! My first real FO for 2008 (I made socks earlier, but had to frog them). I absolutely love this sweater!

The Katarina design is great. The slightly belled sleeves are flattering and comfortable. The lines of the garter neck and fronts make it cozy without being overwhelming. And I had forgotten how the simple beauty of garter stitch can enhance garments.

The yarn worked out great, too. The natural brown wool with the little silk nubs give the sweater a hand-spun look and feel. No one could ever guess this yarn was recycled!

I probably will make another of this design in the future. Possible variations would include: lengthening the body another inch and adding another half-inch to each front (prior to the ribbing). I'm thinking it would also work well in a linen yarn.

New Year, New Project

Like I really need a new project! But it's been a couple of years since I made myself a sweater. So, in the spirit of the new year, and goal setting, I cast on for a new sweater.

I've had this yarn for a while waiting for the right design. It's formerly an Eddie Bauer sweater of 76% wool/24% silk in a natural brown. At about DK weight, it should make a nice indoor garment.

Katarina is by CocoKnits. I love the simplicity of the shaping. It looks like it will be pretty flattering for a variety of body shapes. I'm casting on for size large.

Folk Mitts and Hot Chocolate

I haven't done any colorwork for a while. Playing with bits of my hand-dyed recycled sweater yarns, I came up with these bright and cheerful "Folk Mitts." They are happily keeping my hands warm while I knit up the rest of my Christmas gifts. Check back...I'll post the pattern later.

And here's one more gift ready. It's a simple beanie for Zak. He likes things plain...no designs, no bright colors. So to make him a hat that he will actually wear, I had to reel myself in. But I don't like to get bored, either. To satisfy both of us, I whipped him up a "Hot Chocolate" beanie with my hand-dyed recycled sweater wool in dark brown and black. The color changes are very subtle and not even noticeable unless you're up close and personal!

More Experimenting

I've been playing again! I wanted to see what would happen when I handpainted recycled yarn with Wilton's. Here's what I got. I think I like it!

First, the finished sample: knit on size 4US needles.

Here's how it started out: a gold Eddie Bauer man's sweater of a lace-weight wool/rayon blend.

Handpainted with Wilton's and ready for the microwave.

Ta-Dah!!!!!

I think I will be playing some more with this technique!

More!

Check out these beauties!!! Available here!


Lace-weight wool/silk blend
(SOLD)


Worsted-weight wool/mohair/angora blend
(SOLD)


Worsted-weight 100% wool
(SOLD)

Recycling Eddie Bauer

I have been really enjoying ripping things apart lately. Especially wonderful sweaters!!! It's good therapy. I can take out all my aggressions on someone else's knitting and not feel a bit guilty!

I've been stockpiling thrifted sweaters for a while, but hadn't really started pulling them apart until the past few weeks. My home smells a bit like wet (clean) wool, and I have skeins hanging in almost every room! I'm loving it, but my son is a bit put off by it all. My plan is to get more up and ready for sale in my new shop.

I must admit, it's hard for me to decide to let them go. Being such a yarn addict, I want to keep them all!! But alas... they must find new homes. Take a look. And more will be available soon.

Silly me!

I printed up some Jan-Knit business cards this weekend. Then I needed a case to protect them in my big bag. I found myself looking at some in the nearby office supply store, and being disappointed in the selection. Then it hit me (oww)...make your own, silly girl!!! So a couple of On-Demand movies later, here's my new card holder...

It's crocheted out of recycled gray wool, embroidered with some of that thrifted crewel wool I found a while back, lined with a bit of cotton scrap from a sewing project, and fastened with a leftover blue mother of pearl button. Ta-dah!! Beat that, Office Max!!

V-Stitch Shawl update

The main body of the shawl is now complete and being blocked. I am still consider multiple options for finishing...fringe, beads, edging... I decided to wait and see how it drapes after it's blocked and dry... to be continued.

Oh, and the little colors peeking through are happy flowers on my sheets! I love them!

A few more to rip apart...

Today was the "orange tag sale" at my nearby thrift store. I picked up three more lovelies to rip apart for yarn.

The top sweater is an American Eagle Outfitters wool with an occasional stripe of a metallic green. Since it looks and feels new, I'm guessing it was a Christmas gift that didn't go over very well. Their loss is my gain...it will make great hats and/or bags.

The middle layer is a yummy angora/wool blend. I'm thinking baby hats or ...?

The dark sweater on the bottom is a cotton Talbot's turtleneck. It is also near-new. It's bound for glory as "vegan" hats for sale at Tina's gallery.

I also started ripping on a sweater I thrifted some time ago. I was not able to get a decent shot of it because Ashes insisted on "helping." She was not about to be moved out of the one sunny spot in the house. As soon as I picked her up and placed the sweater on the floor to photograph, she was right back over there! I called, I coaxed, I hissed, I cajoled, and as you can see... she ignored! So this is the best shot of a Gap wool tweed I could get. Thanks, Ashes. At least you're comfortable!

Yay! A new toy!

Don't you love new toys? I do! Today I received my new swift. I was so excited when I arrived home and it was waiting for me. As soon as I set it up, we both got to work. Now, I have mixed reviews.

While it really is just fine... turns well, no rough edges, is the right size, etc..., I'm now realizing I should have ordered a different style.

My old swift had a hand crank, my new one does not. The handle breaking off my old swift is what prompted the ordering of a new swift. Now it seems that finding one with a handle would have been my top priority. But dork that I am sometimes, I didn't even look for that. So, I am just going to have to build up my arm/shoulder muscles and spin it myself!

The light blue yarn on the swift is being recovered from a wool/silk thrifted sweater. More about that later.

More Recycling...

I recently thrifted this sweater. It's a soft denim blue 50% wool / 50% silk long-sleeved tunic. While I liked the sweater and all its cables, it's just too long and ill-fitting.

Here, you see the left sleeve has already been frogged into a nice sized ball. The yarn is a great three - ply that measures 12 wraps per inch.

As I played with the recovered yarn, it "told" me it wants to be a cozy shawl in its next life. So I've been experimenting with different stitches. As of right now, it looks like a "V-stitch" is working out really well. Next will be the search for the right edging.

More new goodies...I just added these to my library. I easily drool over any of Nicky Epstein's books, and I've been coveting the Mason Dixon book for a long time. They just had to come home with me. Yippee!