Russet Lodge Custom Knits

Now that my yarn is dry and finished I just have to share a few more photos. Here is the yarn in skeins, and then, because I couldn't help but play with it, wrapped into balls and ready to knit. The color's not quite right in the second image, but you get the idea. Sunshine and candy canes, people!

I have long wanted to experiment with doing my own yarn dyeing. I had the chance to give it a try this weekend thanks to a few lucky thrift store finds. Both the yarns I got were old and the color just slightly off from what it had once been. Luckily, neither had moth holes or other moth damage, and both were 100% wool. Kool-aid dyeing is simple... one package of kool-aid per ounce of yarn (to saturate, that is). The drink is acidic enough that no additional acid is needed, and you don't even need that much heat to set the dye. My first attempt was with a pale yellow worsted weight wool, about three ounces, and some orange kool-aid. I decided both experiments were going to be monochromatic, but I wanted something unique. The yarn was already in a long skein, so I tied it in a few places and I was ready to go! I mixed up the kool-aid in a large pan (2 quarts of water, 1 package kool-aid, no sugar, of course). I only used one package because I still wanted a fair amount of the...

Well, as August winds down and the days start getting shorter my thoughts are turning once again to sweaters and scarves for myself, something I have accepted will probably never happen. The waiting list is gradually decreasing and my knitting minions are improving their skills, though who knows if they will use them for good or for evil. I am still making a fair bit of business for myself selling patterns. The bonnet pattern has been available for some time through Ravelry and through me directly, and I recently released a very customizable kilt hose pattern as well. I have a pattern for knitted fingerless gloves with mitten flaps, which I have so far only made for gifts, and if anybody would like a copy of that, it is also for sale. All patterns cost $3. In other news, I have some major yarn lust these days, and it is hard to keep myself from buying new yarn for myself (though I have quite a large stash of quite nice fibers), especially now that Noro has released kureyon as a so...

I saw this cartoon today and had a little laugh since it's so true... nataliedee.com

For those who don't know, I named my knitting blog Russet Lodge Knits after a series of comedy sketches by the venerable Catherine Tate displaying a refuge/home for harrassed redheads called russet lodge. When I was doing some vanity googling I came across this article from The Times Online, and it was eerily appropriate. http://women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life _and_style/women/families/article1873119.e ce Family forced to flee just for being ginger Andrew Norfolk A family of six have fled two homes after enduring a vicious hate campaign, apparently prompted by the colour of their hair. Kevin and Barbara Chapman say that anti-ginger prejudice has led to their property being vandalised and their four youngest children being subjected to a litany of cruel taunts, verbal abuse and bullying. The Chapmans and their children, who are from Newcastle-upon-Tyne, have a blaze of red hair which, they claim, has reduced them to living like fugitives in the city. Their plight carries uncomfort...