A bit of a dye-lema

OK, apparently dyeing causes an irresistible urge to pun when making blog posts!  Fortunately for you I've finished for the present and here is the result of those experiments.  My previous post showed my colour experiments with some mini melusine samples.

Well I decided to go with a blue green system but to tweak the colours a little to brighten them up.  I gathered my supplies and set up my base of operations, supervised by my neighbour's cat (you can just see her legs at the top of shot.

All I had to do was paint in each block.  Nice and simple.

Four and a half hours later, one major disaster when one of the dyes tipped over onto the shawl and having to remix both the light green and blue stocks and I was very happy to take this photo because it meant I was done!

It's now wrapped up and bagged in some black plastic bags to let it heat set in the car.  Typically to my luck so far, the weather has become a little cooler (now I want a 40+ C day, there's none to be seen on the forecast!).  Still, it could've been much worse and I'm cautiously pleased with the results. I won't be 100% sure of results until I give it a wash and see that the dye has properly set!

I'm dyeing, I'm dyeing...

A while ago a friend put me onto The AntiCraft! website which has a whole range of craft projects that vary in type and complexity.  And I found Melusine, a lovely hand dyed shawl that not only was my first 'hey, you can dye knitting after knitting' but also went on to explain 'and here is how'.  Since one important part is being able to heat set the dye but they pointed out that placing the material in a black plastic bag and placing it into a hot car, and since I live in Australia (which is known for hot!) it seemed providential!

So a knitting I went.  I had some 2 ply wool/silk yarn in my stash that was waiting for inspiration so it seemed povidential.  But since I have never dyed anything before and since it took a long time to make the shawl, I thought it prudent to make a few mini versions to experiment with.  And here's my dye results.

The first I tried was a blue green version.  The colours set incredibly well but were a little darker than I think I like so if I go with this for the big one, I'll cut back on the black dye.  Particularly for the greens


I also didn't have any paint brushes handy so I used cotton buds.  These allowed for great control of the dying, but it took much longer than I thought it would.  When sitting on concrete outside hunched over a small scarf, this is Not A Good Thing.

The long time and the weather meant I had a break before doing the next one- I was NOT going to sit outside on a 40+º C day.  Today was cooler (bliss!) so I set up for number 2.

This one was inspired by one I saw on Ravelry.  However, I had a number of technical issues that made this a challenge.  First was that for some strange reason the yellow and red dyes did not dissolve nicely the way that the two green and two blue stocks I had despite them all coming from the same company (Jaccard Acid Dyes) and using the same method (chemistry is strange!).  The yellow didn't dissolve well which was annoying but not the end of the world.  The red though, was just strange.

Initially it was fine- placed the powder into warm water.  Dissolved the lot, no problems.  Then the stock cooled.  Except it didn't just cool, it partially set.  Think jelly made up with a bit too much water.  The resulting mix was very viscous, sludgy and a bit lumpy.  Couple this with the bright red colour and the result does have a disturbing resemblance to prop blood from CSI or something similar

It also was a pain to measure out into the working mixture since it was so incredibly viscous.  I ended up with the scientific measure of 'a gloop' and stirring like crazy to try and get it mixed into the mix with limited success.

And to top it all off there is a big splodge where the fabric slipped when wrapping it in gladwrap for heat setting the dye- so a big dark bit was in contact with a yellow bit.  You can see the resulting splodge on the left hand side in the photo above.  *sigh*

Still, it could all be worse- this all could've happened on my big shawl!  Weather is warming up again next week so I'll see if I can get this done before it's too hot and/or I have to go back to work.

Shrinkies... kindof.

I saw an interesting pin on Pinterest that suggested that plastic containers that looked to be that found from the supermarket bakery items would be used to make Shrinkies.  Sadly, I broke rule one on Pinterest (that rule that seems to be rather common to break if Pinstrosity is any guide!)- I didn't read the original link.  So instead of cool shrinkie stuff, I've got a bit of a disaster instead.  D'oh!

See after the fact I realised that I used Type 1 plastic while shrinkie plastic is actually type 6.  Type 1 plastic it turns out does shrink a bit but also curls up randomly and turns white after heading.  And even my Chinese take out container I used in desperation (bottom right) turned out not to shrink at all.

An investigation of my fridge and cupboards for type 6 plastic was futile, so it looks like if I do decide I want to play with some shrinkie ideas I'll have to splash out for sheets instead.  Oh well!

Modifying a beaded tree

First of all, I have to warn you I'll not be talking about how to make the tree itself.  This tree was a kit I bought from the last Melbourne craft convention (their shop link is here) that comes in a with and without bead decorations version.  This is about how I modified mine in order to have some lights built into the tree.

The lights were just some simple LED lights that run off two AA batteries.  Best time to get them would be just after Christmas in the sales so if you are thinking of making a tree, now is the time to plan your shopping!  I got mine from Kmart but I've also seen them in the Reject Shop and similar as well.

Assembly with the lights is fiddly- if you had a second pair of hands or a clamp it might help, otherwise just take your time and have your branches organised.  The tree is assembled as in the instructions but you include the LED lights in as well, starting with the end furthest from the battery pack.

As you move down the tree, gradually include each LED, wrapping the excess wire along the trunk.  Work out how many LEDs you need as you go (my tree had 9 rows of branches so it works out to 'Twoish' per row).  Once you finish the tree then wrap the wire in the floral tape until your tree is the right height and mount the tree on the box as per the instructions.  If you were fancy you could rig a way to hide the wire but I find I can fit the battery pack into the box anyway and the wire can run around under the lid.

I really like the finished effect, if I do say so myself.  Particularly how the bead decorations catch the lights.

The lantern is another Pinterest inspiration.  Fill a lantern with baubles for a simple decoration.  I just added some more LED lights in there to brighten it up a bit.  The lights are powered by the battery pack hidden under the paua shell in the first image.

Christmas treats

For those paying attention, it has been a VERY long time since I last posted.  Sadly work takes a lot of my time.  But now school holidays are here and I have several weeks to procrastinate on fun things before realising that the pile of work I brought home has not magically marked itself.

I do have a few things in the works but this week has been taken up by lots of Christmas cooking.  So happy Christmas to all and help yourself to a virtual goodie.  Clockwise from 12 we have blueberry friand slice (using fresh blueberries I bought from a market this morning), mini Christmas puddings (recipe below), Chocolate truffles, gingerbread melted snowmen (instructions found through my recent discovery of Pinterest!) and finally some white chocolate and berry truffles that I kind of invented/adapted from the chocolate truffle recipe. 

For my family members who read this blog, there is now no surprises for Christmas nibbles but for those who I will not be seeing on Christmas day, here are a few recipes for you to make your own.  Particularly useful I hope for those who held off cooking in case the world ended and made the effort wasted!

Mini Christmas puddings

Ingredients

One tin of Christmas pudding
Brandy
approx 30g White chocolate
1 tblsp Copha, vegetable shortening (optional)
Glace cherries

Take the Christmas pudding and crumble it up into a large bowl.  Add several tablespoons of bandy and mix.  There should be enough moisture to allow you to roll the pudding into small balls (about 1.5 cm diameter or whatever you prefer).  Place in fridge for at least 20 min.
Melt white chocolate, if it is still thick (because I used chocolate chips mine was) add a small amount of copha to thin the mix.  Spoon over the top of the pudding.  Before the pudding sets, place two small pieces of green cherry and one of red.  Refrigerate until top has set.

White Chocolate and Berry Truffles

Ingredients

200g white chocolate
70g dried blueberries
2 egg yolks
Cherry brandy or normal brandy
dessicated coconut (enough to coat)

Grate the chocolate and place in a large bowl with blueberries.  Add egg and brandy and mix.  Mixture should be moist and able to be rolled into small balls.  If too dry, add more brandy, if too wet add some coconut.
Roll the mixture into small balls, then roll the balls in coconut until coated.  Refrigerate until firm.


Have a great Christmas, Hogswatch or holiday of your choice.