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I have finally got round to getting photos of my rainbow pullover.   I used the Top down raglan sweater generator pattern and the BFL  I spun and dyed with kool-aid.  For the pattern I used multiples of k8, p4.

I have spun my first lot of Rainbow BFL and am quite pleased how it’s come out.  I wasn’t sure about it at first as some parts are plied with the opposite side of the colour wheel which I didn’t want but now the first ball is done it’s growing on me.

It weighed 84.3g.

I am going to make myself a cardigan I think.

I have been knitting a cardigan for Dylan using some BFL that I dyed with Kool-aid. I am really pleased with it although I think I will have to make the sleeves a bit longer or it won’t fit him for long.

I ordered some more BFL from World of Wool which came yesterday.  I wanted to make a rainbow coloured roving with it.  I used koolaid I bought from DT Craft and Design.

I did exactly the same thing that I did with my first attempt at dyeing.

I have got 4 or 5 more batches of this to dye.

The Kool-aid colours I used were as follows:

red……….  strawberry

orange.….orange

yellow…..pina. pineapple

green……lemon-lime

blue……..berry blue

purple….grape

I have finished my first batch of the BFL that I dyed with Kool aid.  I put a bit extra twist in when plying to try to make it a bit more hard wearing.

It only weighs around 50g which surprised me.  I thought it looked a lot more than that.  It measured around 63 yards. I haven’t done a WPI as I am sure some bits are thicker in some places than others.

I will be making Dylan a jumper or cardigan out of it when I have spun and dyed enough.

I have finally spun enough wool to knit a cushion cover.  The trouble with it is as I got better at spinning my yarn got thinner so the first part of the cushion is very thick and the last bit is about the thickness of DK.

I used Wovenflame’s free cushion pattern.

I have now started spinning my BFL roving that I dyed using kool aid.

Last night out of the corner of my eye I saw Dylan walking very strangely.  This is the reason why.  Trying on my wellies for size.

I didn’t know if  to dye my blue-faced leicester  while it was still roving or do it after I had spun it.  I decided to dye the roving as I find spinning with one colour  boring.

I followed a tutorial by Picperfic which was excellent but did things slightly different.

I did the maths on how to work out how much kool aid to use the other night but I must have done it wrong.  It doesn’t matter anyway as the end product turned out okay.

I had 500g of BFL.

I split the roving into equal sized pieces so I could fit one piece at a time into my steamer.

I bought the kool aid from DT Craft and Design.  I bought berry blue, lemon-lime and pina pineapple. …6 of each.

I soaked the roving in some hottish water with a squirt of washing up liquid.  The water wasn’t so hot that I couldn’t put my hands in it.

I left it to soak for about 20 minutes and gave it the occasional swish around.

I then laid cling film on my kitchen floor as  I don’t have anywhere else big enough to do it.  I tipped the bowl up and drained the water out and pressed most of the water out of the roving.

I then laid it on the cling film in a sort of u shape.

I mixed up my kool aid using warm water.  I did 7 fluid oz per packet.

I used 2 of the yellow and one each of the others.

I then poured the kool aid over the roving using a spoon as I didn’t have anything else.

It’s advisable not to have a toddler in the kitchen at the same time, especially a small kitchen like mine.

I then rolled the cling film inwards on both sides so both sides are kept separate.

I then coiled the whole thing up and put it in the steamer.  I left it for about 35 minutes.  Once it had finished I took the lid off and let it stand until it was only warm.

I then put some water in the washing up bowl that was the same temperature as the roving and unpeeled the cling film and let the roving into the water.

I gave it a rinse, it didn’t need much as the colours had absorbed really well.  I pressed the water out of it against the side of the bowl.

I put it in the washing machine on the wool spin and then hung it on the line to dry.

Here is the one I made yesterday which is slightly different as I used 2 blues and one each of the yellow and green.

The roving is going to be spun into yarn for a cardigan for Dylan.  I don’t know if to ply it or keep it as singles.

I aren’t going to dye any more yet until I have spun what I have already dyed.  If I can control myself that is.. it’s so addictive.  Who would have thought you could dye such beautiful colours from something you are supposed to drink?

I did my first proper plying session last night.  The plying part is so much faster than the spinning.

I wrapped my yarns around a couple of tubes that joss sticks came in.  They are thicker than toilet roll tubes.   The cat kept pouncing on them as they were rolling all over the floor.  She thought it was a new toy especially for her.

I don’t know if to make more of the same type of yarn or just find a small project to test it out on.

I haven’t washed this plyed as it didn’t feel as if it needed it.

I have recently had the urge to spin my own wool. Not for the purpose of saving money as it doesn’t but more for the reason of learning a life skill.

I bought a kit from ForestFibres in the UK.  It came with a medium weight drop spindle and some roving.  I had a choice of colours for the roving but as usual I picked green.

At the same time I bought 500g of Bluefaced Leicester roving for when I get more proficient.

I also bought 2 dog brushes from Wilkinsons to card my leftovers.. I can’t stand waste.

The kit arrived very quickly and I got down to trying it out straight away.  It came with basic written instructions but I found it easier to watch youtube videos.

This was my first skein of yarn.

It was far from perfect but it was usable as I found out tonight when I knitted a toddler cup cosy out of it.  DS seems happy with it anyway.

I tried a bit of plying too which I really rushed as I didn’t think it would work.  It’s very loose but at least now I understand the concept of how it works.

I now have to do a lot of practice before I can produce anything that looks like shop bought yarn.   I am really pleased I decided to give spinning a go as I find it very rewarding and therapeutic.