Lovely little things!

In the last few days, I have been lucky enough to find a few new lovely purchases. One has brightened our apartment and another has added a little more flare to my wardrobe. 

When leaving brunch this morning, I spied this bright blue elephant for my wall. Right now he is residing over the couch and really brings something special to the space. Better yet, it was 30% off! So perfect to find something you love and to discover it is on sale. I bought him from this & that, which is a lovely store full of silly little treasures and never disappoints. While a lot of the products are over the top, there is usually something for everyone. 

Next I found this lovely silk scarf at a second hand shop the other day! It is so amazing and only about a $1.50. I had a very long and hard week, so, it was really nice to be rewarded with a great thrifting find! I wore it in my hair today and it was just perfect. 

The detailing of sword fights is the best part!

So happy to have found these two to add to my eclectic collection! They are both so perfect for me in every way!

<3 Amy

I've Been Dyeing To Do This

An Introduction to Fabric Dyeing

About six months ago, I knit Amy this scarf with some cheap cotton yarn that I got from a bin at Lidl.  I bought a ton of white, generic yarn figuring that I could dye it to be whatever color I wanted later.  I knit up a Summer Flies Shawl, a pattern I'm a big fan of.  Then it sat for ages because dyeing is actually really intimidating, especially if the instructions are not in a language you speak.  

In a burst of productivity, I finally dyed it.  The results were satisfactory.  In the future, I will dye my yarn before knitting with it.  Nevertheless, you may find yourself in a situation wherein you have something that just needs color.  Do not be afraid--especially if you live in America where Rit dye is everywhere and easy enough to use that I was allowed to instruct small children in its application by the age of seventeen.     

Luckily, I had learned how to use this particular dye two years ago while making something for my last job.  It had been a while so I skimmed the instructions but there are those pesky things like grams and liters.  However, I knew that powder plus boiling water and salt made dye.  So, that's where I started.

Red and Blue Make...

Black?

I added the water to the dye and mixed in the salt.  I think that's what you were supposed to do.  Seemed right.  Each box contained two packets.  I figured one package of each color would equal one box of purple dye.  But the dye turned this horrifyingly dark shade of almost black.

Submerging Scarf

However, as I saw the dye work its way up the scarf by osmosis, I could tell that it was, in fact, a nice shade of plum purple.  

I set the timer for 20 minutes and waited anxiously.  We got this great little egg timer from a friend who left the city.  It has this unique function.  You know that time is up when you suddenly find you're not annoyed anymore because the ticking has stopped.  Some people might say this means it's broken.  To them I would say, "fair assessment." 

BLACK?! 

When I dumped out the dye and started to rinse out the scarf, it looked black.  Distinctly, not-purple-in-any-way, black.  But after much work rinsing, it did end up purple.  This is part of the frustration of dyeing yarn after knitting it.  It took forever to rinse out.  In the end, I threw it in the washing machine with some black clothing to get the rest of the dye out.

I'm pretty happy with how it turned out, though!  There are some patches that for reasons beyond my comprehension are a totally different shade.  Still pretty!

Groundhog Day Cowl

Groundhog Day Cowl

A Late-Winter Scarf Pattern

Newly Finished Scarf!

 Let this be the first of many posts about knitting!  Last summer, I got one skein of this amazing wool while I was in Vienna picking up a visa.  The yarn is Jawoll Magic from this lovely little shop.  One skein was more than enough for this scarf.  I have a large scrap ball left over that I am probably going to make into some baby socks for sock-making practice.  I've looked online at prices and found that it's much more expensive from any online shop (~15 Euros) than where I purchased it in Vienna (8 Euros).  So, if you ever find yourself in Vienna, definitely hit up A. Christian.  They may not speak any English but they are very helpful with their hand motions! 

Two Wraps

I had been saving this yarn for months, trying to find the perfect pattern for it.  I had pretty much given up on knitting anything with it before it got too warm for wool--and then winter hit for real.  When Punxsutawny Phil predicted 6 more weeks of winter, I cast on a modified Dayflower Cowl.

Three Wraps For Maximum Warmth!

Though the pattern makes it big enough for one wrap around your neck, I tripled it so that I could have a nice warm scarf.  My exact specs are on Ravelry.  (If you're not familiar with Ravelry and cannot see these links, go ahead and sign up!  It's an incredible resource for knitters.  I cannot advocate for it enough!)  

Pattern Close-Up

I'm not generally a fan of variegated yarn, especially with lacework--but the lines in this are so subtle that I don't mind.  I love the bluebell-esque flowers in this lace.  After spending the winter making two pairs of mittens that were heavy on the color work, this lace was a nice escape.  

And so, I've come to accept that lace is where my heart lies even if I'm always eyeing a fair isle pattern.