shades of summer

August 20, 2012 at 2:43 am (Uncategorized)
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spent a relaxing couple of days at the cabin. First we had to do some work – resealing the driveway. But with 2 pairs of hands it went quickly.Then we were able to go out on the lake. The temps have cooled off so we thought a little fish tickling was in order.

But the fish didn’t cooperate. Of course it doesn’t really matter if you catch fish when the scenery is this pretty.

The biggest part of fishing is just to be outdoors and enjoying the fresh air. Maybe next week we will catch some fish….or maybe we won’t — but it’s all good.

I did get to a bit of dyeing though. This is yarn dyed with cosmos flowers. What a riot of orange!

Often when I dye The color is nothing like the plant but with cosmos blossoms you get the oranges that you see in the flowers. Look at the variegation in that flower. It matches the kettling that is in this yarn.It is almost magic the way the yarn echos the flower petal’s subtle hues.

This yarn is going to remind me of the warm sun in my garden as I knit it in the dead of the winter. Well you might have to take my word for it because for some reason my camera doesn’t capture the orange colors as well as the yarn did.

This is the yarn dyed with golden rod. Isn’t the  yellow bright – it’s almost neon yellow with just a little green cast to it.  The dye pot on this one last forever – I usually throw out the pot of dye before I exhaust all the color. And this flower also dyes the same bright flower you see on the plant. Bright and sunny flowers that you have probable seen in ditches along side the road. A common weed blamed for sinus problems. But this plant doesn’t cause you to sneeze it is more than likely ragweed that is in bloom at the same time. Golden rod gets the blame because it stands out more.

Some of the yarn will get overdyed with walnut for rich browns and some will be overdyed with indigo for greens.

I also dyed some square of wool fabric to send to my daughter. I know you can see the orange and yellow are from cosmos and goldenrod. The  brown underneath the yellow was dyed first with golden rod and then walnut and the one underneath the orange wool was dyed first with cosmos and then walnut.

I am happy with all the bright colors I dyed this week.

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Steamed ferns

May 20, 2012 at 1:19 pm (Uncategorized)
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One of my goals this week was to dye with bracken or fern leaves.

So I took a short walk in the woods by the cabin. There is so much to see in the under growth but I rushed by the jack in the pulpits to reach my goal. It would be easy to get distracted by the cool, calm greens that surround me but I stay on task.

My  favorite dye book –  Wild Color by Jenny Dean  Jenny Dean’s Wild Colour  – says that young fronds will yield yellow shades.  The ferns are already  too large but I decide to pick them any ways.

I pick 3 pounds of the leaves. I started by cutting up the stems but then realized

it would be faster to just unzip the leaf from the stem. I just held the stem in one hand and pressed my fingers on either side and quickly ran it through my fingers –unzipping the leaves.I put half the leaves in to the dye pot and then added enough water to cover. Then set the pot over the fire pit. It simmered for a long time and didn’t release much color. The leaves looked like creamed spinach at this point and smelled good enough to eat. After about 6 hours I lifted some of the leaves and placed my yarn under neath them and pushed the grate to the side so it wasn’t directly over the heat. After an hour I checked it and took out all the leaves and added the second half of the leaves to the hot water hoping to get darker hues. I covered it and let it sit all afternoon.

The color was light when I checked again so I left it on the grate over the fire pit overnight. The fire was almost out. In the morning I pulled it out and the yarn was cold.We have had nice sunny weather in Wisconsin but the nights cool off and in the morning it was only 40*.  I hung the yarn over the railing and  let it dry without rinsing.

Here is the yarn before its rinse.

Now we are home again and I have washed and rinsed the yarn.The color starts out a light yellowish green and gets a little darker and becomes  a light khaki shade.you can see where the yarn has come into contact with the leaves as the color fades in and out. I like to dye with out straining the material out of the dye pot I love the kettled look of the yarn. At first glance the dye job on the yarn seems dull but its light soft shade grows on me. And I am already thinking of stranded work I can knit with it.

Now wouldn’t it be lovely to get the same green as these leaves with the spots of dappled sunshine on them?

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Knitting Spring

March 9, 2012 at 3:57 pm (Uncategorized)
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Taking a short break from knitting my wrap. I am knitting up my own personal sunshine. It is bright and yellow and goes from very pale yellow to a darker yellow orange like the color you  get under your chin when you rub a dandelion on your skin. It is sharp and tangy like lemon drops. So lemony it makes your lips pucker, a glorious riot of yellow. I love yellow but I don’t wear it. I should, knitting with it makes my heart feel light. I feel like spring is in the air. It lights up my room even though outside it is dreich(scottish word for a gray dismal day). Its hard not to feel cheerful.

I keep thinking of the flowers hiding under the snow patched ground. A hundred daffodils bulbs (planted last fall) a few of which have already started pushing there way up through the dirt. I can’t wait to how many have survived the dog’s frantic burying in the dirt. Some of our willows already have little pussy toes on thier branches. Last week we spotted 2 sandhill cranes- -they landed 20 feet in front of us as we walked around the ponds. the male proceeded to dance and call – I like to think he was dancing for us but I think he was displaying for the female and telling her he would protect her from these 2 people and their dog. The song of the sandhill isn’t very pretty it sounds like a sick turkey or a honking goose gargling. And it is very loud-I couldn’t imagine living near a fly way where large flocks  of them make this noise. But I love hearing them in little doses when they come back in the spring in pairs. It has been so warm this winter that the last 3 weeks I have expected to hear the trill of black birds as I walk.

Spring is in the air and on my needles —  I can’t wait for this winter to be over and move into the new season

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dyeing

December 5, 2011 at 4:22 pm (Uncategorized)
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My sister Peg sent me a pkg last Tuesday. I eagerly opened it and found the dried dahlia blossoms that she promised me. It was perfect timing cause we were heading to the cabin the next day and that is where I dye. We had a beautiful drive north the sun was shining and the sky a perfect blue with not a cloud in sight. After a walk with the dog so she could check out the local smells…….I built a fire in the fire pit and then helped Marty  in the yard – we needed to finish getting the house ready for winter. we have been having problems with the woodpeckers drilling holes in our siding. So I strung old cds on heavy fishing line and Marty attached them to the facia board. Two years ago the woodpeckers were killing my golden curly willow tree and old cds hung from the branches seemed to keep them away. The cds spin and flash in the wind and scares them away. And they look kind of festive so I don’t mind. Once I had a nice fire going I set a pot of water with the dried blossoms and 2 skeins of yarn in it on my rack The rack swivels and I can also adjust the height.I let this heat up and then swiveled the rack so it was off to the side. I let this go the rest of the afternoon then I went into my shed where I keep my walnut dye -I have two 5 gallon buckets with lids. I lined the buckets with paint strainer bags that you can get at the store. Inside these bags are the walnut husk. I poured water over the whole thing and it has been sitting for about 2 months. I have already dyed several skeins of yarn but this dye still has lots of color in it. so I lifted the strainer bag out and dropped my dry yarn in it and then put the strainer bag right back in the bucket. I know this isn’t how you are supposed to do it -you are supposed to wet the yarn and give it plenty of room to move in the water and absorb the color. But I like to play and see if I can get yarn that is saturated at different levels through out the skien. The buckets had a little mold on the top and ice crystals.  By the time the sun went down there was only a light brown on some areas of the yarn in the walnut buckets so I swished the yarn around and squeezed it a couple of times and left it to soak.  I had a nice golden yellow from the dahlia blossoms the coals were still keeping the pot warm so I decided to leave the pot as it was till morning.

after breakfast and a walk I took care of the yarn- the dahlia was beautiful golden and I squeezed out all the water and packed it in a ziplock bag for the drive home. I was a little disappointed in the walnut yarn there were areas that didn’t take probable cause it was just too cold in the shed but I also packed this into a ziplock figuring I would rinse at home.

once home I started to rinse my walnut yarn in the wash tub and all my beautiful browns ran down the drain so I quickly put the stopper in the drain and ran just enough water to cover the yarn and then left it to sit. And it worked – the yarn and the brown water it sat in warmed up and the yarn began to absorb the color.  Yesterday I rinsed my yarns and hung them to dry and I am very pleased with my colors and wish that my camera captured the colors better- imagine a darker orange and a little more red in the brown photos.                                                                 sweet dahlia                                                               walnutty fun

Thanks Peggy

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Toffee

November 22, 2011 at 2:23 pm (Uncategorized)
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This is my Xmas candy recipe I made an early batch this morning because I want to send some to my daughter and her husband. The recipe isn’t special it is a regular sugar and butter toffee and I spread dark chocolate on top when its still warm and sprinkle sea salt on top of that. Its a grown up version of heath bars.

Fleur de sel toffee

1 pound butter

2 2/3 granulated sugar

1/3 cup water

1/4 cup light corn syrup

dark chocolate chips and fleur de sel to sprinkle on top.

line a rimmed cookie sheet with foil and butter the foil. bring butter sugar water and corn syrup to a boil in a large sauce pan with a candy thermometer clipped to the side. stir frequently and till the candy reaches 300*(about 12 min). then take off the stove and pour it into the prepared pan.

let the candy cool for one min. and then sprinkle with the dark chocolate let that sit a min.and then spread the melted chocolate with a knife then sprinkle with the salt. After it hardens break the toffee into pieces.

It really is this easy to make candy the hard part is keeping yourself from eating too much candy.

I tried different recipes for toffee and this is the one I like best I can’t remember where I found it. I do know that originally the recipe said only to stir until the butter was melted and the sugar disolved but I find that the bottom of the pan scorches when I do this so I stir the whole time that I am cooking it. And it also said that the toffee would cook much faster than 12 minutes but it always takes me at least 12 minutes on a medium high burner. And you really have to watch the candy thermometer because at the end the temp jumps up to 300* very fast. And when it does it is important to take the pan off the heat and pour immediately I don’t whip it like the original recipe said because the pan always scorches a little and you don’t want that stirred into the candy. When I am done I fill my sauce pan with water and set it on the hot burner to melt the sugar and help clean the pan.

So now I just have to finish packing my box of goodies and go to the market to buy some cheese and then to the post office.

I also finished this yesterday while watching the Packers play football This will look better once it is blocked but I couldn’t wait to show off a picture. I think I might use my block as a pillow cover or maybe I will use it under a vase to protect a table top. I am happy with it except for the odd duck. Yes that yellow and brown duck. That was the second duck I made and the color just didn’t do it for me but I sewed it up and figured it would be my one odd. I like one odd in blankets and quilts but in a small piece it disturbs my eyes too much. So I look at my doily and think maybe I could take some of my walnut dye and ‘paint’ over the yellow and dull it a bit . But that is probable inviting disaster. The dye will surely run over into the orange and blue and I will have a huge mess. So I may have to be content with my odd duck. Over all I am pleased with my natural dyed yarn from this summer and I like the combinations I picked for the blanket. There are a couple of other knitters that are also cutting and knitting the i-cord and when they are done Jana will be able to release her pattern.

She just showed us the finished picture over the weekend and it is gorgeous. Just stunning! I can’t wait until I have an entire blanket finished.

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Summer is offically over

November 9, 2011 at 6:27 pm (Uncategorized)
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This is what we woke up to this morning. And yes I know it is November or as some of like to call it Wovember but it is too early for snow.

I was still doing some of thisand a little of thatbut even though I wasn’t ready winter blew in and this is my neck of the woods this morning.but I still managed to coax some fall colors out of the dye pot. Look at the gorgeous browns in Gallager’s field. I came very close to capturing the colors in my yarn.shades of walnut, cosmos and golden rod.

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cosmos

November 8, 2011 at 6:10 pm (Uncategorized)
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Cosmos is a lovely flower. Its cheerful and super easy to grow. I can plant the seeds in the ground instead of having to start the plants inside. The orange and yellow flowers are delightful and brighten my garden bed and gives me lots of blooms to cut and bring in the house.

but this flower is more than just another pretty face. I pick the blossums and put them in a ziplock freezer bag and stash them in the freezer(always prompting a ‘what the heck it this?’ from Marty).

When I have a good amount I cover them with water in a pot outside and heat it over the fire pit. And then the fun really begins. I watch the pot (and yes it still boils even when it is watched) and the color darkens – then I add wool to the mix. My yarn was mordanted with alum first. Here are some of the skiens of yarn that I dyed. Aren’t they lovely!

I have been knitting my blanket with this yarn it is the color I have chosen for the turtles. I also have over dyed some of my orange yarn with walnut husks and I am going to use this varigated yarn for some of my birds. I have the idea that my birds are  going to be different colors over dyed with walnut. So that my blanket will have different flocks of birds flying through it.

its pretty amazing that all this color comes from just one pkg of seeds isn’t it? and even better I bought my pkg of seeds several years ago and just collect the seeds each fall so I can replant in the spring. Now when the snow is flying this winter and I am inside by the fireplace knitting as my bright orange yarn slips through my fingers forming a turtle I can dream of my summer garden.

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Sand hill cranes

November 5, 2011 at 1:38 pm (Uncategorized)
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We have been watching these sandhill cranes  for the last week and a half. They are in a field we  past on our morning walk with our dog. They have been dancing and strutting their stuff. I really am not sure why they are dancing that is usually a spring time thing when they are mating. However this morning Marty suggested maybe they are dancing around and scaring up bugs and stuff to eat.

These birds remind me of the birds in the blanket I am test knitting called  ON THE SHORE  for Jana. check out her designs here http://justblocked.blogspot.com/ . Jana’s designs are incredible. This design is based on an Escher print. There are fish and ducks circled by turtles. The blanket will have several ‘hexagons’ sewn together that will be steeked and a border added on the edge.isn’t it gorgeous! I love the circle of bobble-ly eyes! Thanks Jana for lending me some pictures to show.

Believe or not  these creatures are made of simple stitches- ribbing and garter for wings and fins, moss stitch for scales on the fish, and slip stitch like you would use on the heel of a sock for the turtle. Jana’s imaginative use of increases and decreases and short rows shape the animals. The charts are awesome  and easy to follow. Jana also made this pattern into a pillow which is great because I think a lot of people love her blankets but don’t have the time to do a large project. These guys almost seem alive and ready to jump off the needles as I bind off the last stitch as I work on my blanket. Even the sewing (which I know lots of knitters hate) is fun because the pieces fit together like  a jigsaw puzzle. Here is what I have finished so far.
this is my winter project and will keep me from having cabin fever when the snow drifts prevent me from going outside. The yarn in this project is all hand dyed using flowers from my garden and weeds and what not that I have collect from the ditches on my walks. The orange turtles are dyed with Cosmos flowers that I grow in my garden. The blue fish are indigo. And some my cranes are golden rod over dyed with walnut husks. Some are wild grape leaves over dyed with walnut.

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