Wednesday, June 07, 2006

Blues Power

Bet you didn't think I knew how to rock 'n' roll.
Oh, I got the boogie-woogie right down in my very soul.
There ain't no need for me to be a wallflower,
'Cause now I'm living on blues power.
-Eric Clapton and Leon Russell


Presenting, the next yarn for my "Classic Rock Socks" series. Remember the Fields of Gold socks?? I planned to make more Classic Rock Socks, and what is better for June than Blues??

And where does one get such an odd skein of blue yarn? A skein that, to quote another first-time dyer out there (I wish I could remember who), only a mother could love? Well, yes, I guess I kind of gave that away, didn't I? I DYED IT MYSELF!!! It's weird and bright and funny looking . . . . but I love it!!

Yup, I joined Dye-O-Rama. Given all the time in the world, I will always wait until the last minute. It's just in my nature, I guess. And since the yarn must be sent out by Monday the latest, I figured it was time I tried the dying thing. Since I didn't think I had any blue sock yarn in my stash, I decided to gather up my blue Kool-Aids and dye some June yarn. (Turns out my sock stash has grown faster than I can keep track of, and there was plenty of blue in there already. Oh well, the more the merrier!!)


Oh my goodness, this is fun!!! The first pot has one packet of Berry Blue. The second is one packet of Blue Moon Berry with one packet of Raspberry Reaction. The third, which I forgot to take a picture of, is my favorite of the three sections. I used three packets of Ice Blue Raspberry Lemonade and threw in some Grape to darken it up. It's the section toward the front in the "Drying on the Line" picture. Yes, I'm sure my neighbors think I have really gone over the edge now. Not only am I hanging this butt ugly blue yarn on the line, but I'm out taking pictures of it too!!!


What I learned??
  • Rip the packets open from the BOTTOM so you don't tear off the name!
  • Don't squeeze the yarn right out of the pot (it is HOT!!!).
  • Tie the yarn tighter. (My section bands started to slip, so one section is much longer than the others).
  • Be sure to dye all the way to the tied band (to avoid those white gaps between colors).
  • Use a combo of packets to get better colors.
  • This dying stuff will be addicting!!
I am now armed and ready to dye my pals yarn!!

21 comments:

Lynda said...

ooooh - it's so pretty!

knittinmom said...

I love it! You can dye me some yarn any day ;-)

Cathy said...

You did a fantastic job Karen! Good for you :) I can't wait to see your next go 'round!

Olga said...

You know, everyone's been doing the dyeing except for me...I've always thought it's just a little too messy. But your pictures actually make me want to try it! That yarn is beyoootiful!

Stephanie said...

Looks like we're thinking along the same lines. I just ordered some blank yarn & it's off to the market to get Kool-Aid this weekend. I can't wait!

Anonymous said...

Gosh, I really love your hand-dyed yarn, what a gorgeous shade of blue! Thank you for sharing the process, you certainly inspired me to try my hands at it again after my first - and last to date - nightmarish try :)

Mintyfresh said...

what are you talking about, ugly? it's a perfectly wonderful blue skein! i bought a zillion packets of kool aid but have been too chicken to sit down and plan for dyeing. can you assess the colors as you mix them and get an accurate read for how they'll compare with one another? (I'm just worried that even if i use different flavors at different proportions, they'll all end up looking like the same color!)

Ragan said...

UGLY????? No way! It is a wonderful blue! It is great!!! Oh my! I think that you did a most wonderful job!

Sonya said...

I think that's a gorgeous shade of blue!

Heide said...

Wow, I love your blues yarn! I'm curious to see what other musical colors emerge from your clever mind. And nuts to any neighbor's who may think you've gone over the edge... in fact, I think you should dress up like a fairy, complete with a wand and dance around your yarn and sing to it while it dries. I guarantee nobody will be asking you for a cup of sugar. Heh, heh, heh.

Noey D. said...

I have to agree with everyone else, it's not ugly! It's really pretty! I wanna try dying now too!

Anonymous said...

very pretty!

Unknown said...

The colors are great...what yarn did you use?

I am so hooked on the kool aid thing. My last trip to Food Lion (the only place here that sells the blue kind) I bought over 40 packs. They thought I was nuts.

So worth it though. Great job!

Anonymous said...

I love the color it turned out!!! How cool is that! Kool-Aid??? OMG, I am NOT going to try this....yet!!!! :0)

Melissa said...

Good job! I can't get blue KoolAid here (uugghh!!) but I wish I could. That color looks great!

MissyJoon said...

she knits, she blogs, she creates buttons and banners and she DYES yarn (in beautiful blues!)--woweeeeeeee! xox

Anonymous said...

That is really and truly NOT butt ugly yarn. It's gorgeous. I think you just like singing the blues! Looking forward to seeing the finished socks.

elizabeth marley said...

That is some beautiful yarn!! You did a wonderful job!

ps. I was sent over here by Susie to encourage you to keep spinning. I just started spinning, too, and it has been an uphill battle...but I love it. Good luck!

Jen said...

woohoo! great job dying the yarn! Did you just swatch from the yarn and you're planning on giving it away for the swap, or are you starting socks with it?

kathy b said...

Karen

What success with the blue yarn. I LOVE the color. It all sounds so messy though. You did a fantastic job.

Ragan said...

I was just visiting...looking for a new post. But...I will keep checking! Still love love love that blue yarn you made!

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