Gradient Seed Stitch Cowl

I recently received a skein of my aunt's hand dyed yarn from her own sheep. It is a beautiful gradient worsted weight yarn, 237 yards made of 75% wool and 25% silk. I spent some time pondering different patterns to use with this yarn and decided I would create my own simple seed stitch pattern for a cowl to really show the subtle gradient transitions in the yarn. I also wanted to share this simple pattern for others to use. This cowl is knit in the round and is a very good beginner project.

Gradient Seed Stitch Cowl Pattern

Gauge 

15 stitches = 4 inches in seed stitch with size 10 (6mm) needle.

Finished Size

2 1/2 in long by 7 1/2 in wide (before blocking)

Cowl

CO 165 sts using size 10 circular needles.

Join to knit in the round being careful not to twist the stitches.

Round 1: *k1, p1* repeat until end of round.

Round 2: purl all knit stitches and knit all purl stitches.

Repeat round 2 until width desired, I knit until I had only enough yarn left to cast off. My aunt uses the technique of weighing your skein, knitting a round and then weighing your skein again to gauge when you need to bind off.

Bind off using a stretchy bind off. I used http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cGHItYwr1us .

Block if desired.

You can find out more about my aunt's farm here: http://www.lilacridgefarms.com/

And you can purchase yarn and roving here: https://www.etsy.com/shop/LilacRidgeFarm?ref=l2-shopheader-name

Adventures in yarn dyeing

As I said in my last post I bought an ungodly amount of sweaters from the thrift store to frog and one of them was this ugly beast made of 60% cashmere and 40% wool yarn. It's oh so soft and will make very nice hats (and a lot of them at that).

I knew immediately when I found it that I would have to experiment with dyeing to pretty it up. I took a look around the web trying to find some info on dyeing cashmere, but there wasn't much help to be had; some said to treat it like any other protein fiber, some said to lock it up in a cupboard an never look at it again. But I wasn't going to be stuck with this plain cream yarn so I decided to take matters into my own hands and experiment. I got some info from some videos on the basics of dyeing with food coloring and got to work.

First I soaked my itty bitty skeins of yarn in lukewarm water (I read somewhere 86 degree fahrenheit). Some people say to soak it up to twenty minutes, but I only did a couple minutes because I don't follow directions well.

Then in another glass bowl I added some vinegar (about 1 tbsp) to some more lukewarm water (1 1/2 - 2 cups?) and added four drops of teal food coloring and added the yarn.

I microwaved the concoction for about two and half minutes and then let the whole thing cool for a few hours until it was room temperature.

I washed them out gently with some dish soap and hung them up to dry in my magic, drying machine bathroom. (It's always really warm in there)

 I knit my end results, along with some additional trials, to get a better idea of how the colors would look in the form of some garment or other.

The colors, from top down, are as follows -
-two drops of purple and one drop of teal,
-three drops of teal and one drop of purple,
-four drops of purple,
-four drops of teal.

Now I have to decide what colors I like best and dye some big ol' skeins in some big ol' pots. (OH BOY)

On a side note, I went to the hardware store and bought some PVC piping to make myself a niddy noddy. I'm very excited. I used this tutorial and indeed only spent about $4.25 on everything.

An introduction to me and my crafts

         Welcome to my first attempt at dabbling in the vast and crazy art of blogging. My name is Hannah and I'm a 20-year-old, Minnesota-born, pre-college graduate living in Indiana. "Why?" you ask me, (as I so often ask myself) do I reside in this grubby, smelly town? I do it for an adorable 8-month-old who happens to be my nephew. I am living with my sister and her husband for a year (starting August '12) while my sister gets better acquainted with graduate school and my nephew exits the more fragile stages of infancy, after which I will return to my oh-so-lovely home state to finish my Bachelors degree in anthro-english-psycho-somethingorother.
    But enough about my fascinating residency, this is mostly going to be a blog for my crafting endeavors, which occur more often than not. I have a considerable amount of time on my hands these days and I have taken to filling it with all sorts of crafting goodness. But to better prepare you for my future crafting adventures I think it would be wise to introduce you to my history in the arts.
     My first learned hobby is crochet; my mother taught me many moons ago but it was only one or two years ago that I started experimenting more with the medium; I learned new, more advanced stitches, designed some cases for my electronics, and became obsessed with amigurumi.

    My second hobby is photography, which kind of goes hand in hand with my love of travel. I love snapping photos, whether they be of family members, animals at the zoo, national parks, or everyday life; I always aim to take good photos, even in the most informal instances (such as photographing my crafted goods).

    My third interest is in paper crafts, namely cut-and-assemble projects. I first discovered this hobby when I came across a little book called 'The Unseen University Cut Out Book' by Alan Batley and Bernard Pearson, which is a book of buildings based on Terry Pratchett's university of the same name from the Discworld series. This book came only with the paper buildings and I ended up spending quite a lot of money on razor blades, super glue, and snazzy new glass cutting board. I have more recently invested in some old cut out books that were mainly designed to be used with model railways (perhaps a future hobby?).

     My most recent hobby acquired is knitting and all things yarn. I taught myself how to knit last summer and have scarcely put down the needles since. I've done a few scarves and hats, but socks are my go-to. I have yet to finish my second pair, mostly because I detest all patterns, but I will prevail! (eventually) I've recently become somewhat of a yarn snob, no longer allowing cheap yarns to touch my hook or needles, but seeing as I currently have no income and am living off of savings I was hankering for some new pretty yarns on the cheap, which led me to my RECENT recent interest (as in I started yesterday and am already hooked), recycling yarn. I bout a nice purple wool, angora, cashmere blend sweater at the used store a few months ago for the sole purpose of  frogging it, but I could only bring myself to rip that poor thing to shreds a few days ago and let me tell you, it is so much fun. I'm mean what could be better than a ton of really nice yarn for under ten dollars? Needless to say I went out and bought a large pile of sweaters to play with, including an ugly cream one that so desperately wants to be dyed.

      Some of my other hobbies include writing, drawing, painting and above all else - reading. Said sister that I am currently living with is getting her Masters in English, so literature has a very big place in our household. Not a day goes by without books being read and lengthy discussions being had. Without my (holy cow I have a lot) collection of books that I so love I would not be able to find the inspiration that powers all my other interests.
   That pretty much gives you a small insight into my crazy crafting world (and perhaps life). Until next time.