Don't drink the Kool-Aid (Part 2)

Dyeing was so much fun that I decided to dye again. Yesterday on my way to work I swung by Safeway for gas then decided to take a couple minutes to run into the store to pick up some coffee. While I was there it wouldn't hurt to check out their Kool-Aid selection, right? Turns out that Kool-Aid is on sale this week. Woo hoo!!! I picked up 10 packets then headed off to work. All day I thought about the wonderful ways I could dye my next batch.

As soon as I got home I got my yarn soaking - no time wasted! Learning from my previous experience I decided that I really wanted bolder color and more dye so there wasn't quite as much white. I mixed up 4 batches of color this time around. Each had a cup of water with 2 packets of Kool-Aid. Since red is the easiest route, I went with black cherry, tropical punch, cherry, and watermelon cherry. Not a whole lot of difference between shades, but wow, I love the result! I ended up with this glorious skein of bright red yarn without any white spots! Yes!!! The picture really doesn't do it justice. I can't wait for it to dry and knit with it. I think this yarn is going to end up being a gift to me :-)

The weekly challenge at Hogwarts this week is to make something found in the Chamber of Secrets. I totally turned this in as blood. I love the way my Slytherin mind works!

Two of the three skeins from my swap have now been dyed with Kool-Aid, so I decided it was time to take a break then try something new. I really have wanted to do something blue and green, but it seems like all the grocery stores I go to don't carry blue Kool-Aid. I'm not ready to start playing with acid dyes yet, so I knew the next step was going to have to be Wilton's icing colors. When I got home today I decided not to wait, dug out some sky blue and kelly green icing coloring and went for it. I used a cup of water each again and 4 colors - one solid blue, one solid green, and the other 2 a mix of the colors. I was surprised how much longer it took for the water to turn clear this time around, but it was definitely worth the wait. I'm pretty sure this is my favorite yarn EVER!!!

The most awesome yarn in the world! I decided it could be used as snake skin from the CoS. 14 points for dyed yarn!!!

This yarn is going to turn in to my first pair of knitted socks, and yes, I'm keeping it for myself. It's about time I start making things for me too, dang it! Mostly I just refuse to share the pretty pretty yarn. I could seriously stare at this picture all day. Now I just have to find the perfect pattern. I think toe-up will work the best. Maybe. I don't know. I'm totally open to suggestions too, so if you have any brilliant ideas please send them my way!

In other news... my first skein in cherry-grape finally finished drying. I dug out my yarn swift and yarn winder (first time I've had a chance to use my yarn winder) and had a blast turning my hank of newly dyed yarn into something manageable and usable. Seriously, if you don't have a yarn winder you don't know what you're missing out on. I got mine from Knit Picks and it was only $20 - well worth the investment! Who knew winding yarn could be so much fun?!?!

Here's the yarn on the swift. Swifts are pricey, but they're a total live saver! I loooooove mine :-)

Pretty yarn cake!

I couldn't wait to see how the new yarn knits up, so instead of saving it for a swap like I was planning on doing, I chose to start working on a Twisted Twigs hat that looks like it will turn into a Christmas gift for a friend. I can't believe how wonderful it's knitting up. I really like the white flecks too - it seems to make the yarn brighter. I haven't taken any pictures of it yet, so you're just going to have to wait until tomorrow to see the awesomeness.