Six Steps to Kool Aid Dyed Wool - A Tutorial

Whatcha Need

• large microwave safe bowl or container
• plastic garbage bag
• selection of Kool Aid envelopes
• plastic coat hanger
• microwave
• wool to dye
• rubber gloves
• old crappy towel
• rag

Step One

Submerge the wool in a container of cool water. Make sure wool is soaked through. Drain water, squeeze off excess water and lay out as pictured on plastic garbage bag. 

Merino wool and Kool Aid envelopes

 Step Two
Open packets of Kool Aid in your chosen colours and sprinkle on your wool. Don't mix the colours over one another too much as you can muddle the colours and end up with brown.

Experiment with different colours, its lotsa fun!

 Step 3
Put on your rubber gloves and gently rub Kool Aid into the wool so that it dissolves and disperses the colour. At this point you may want to turn the wool over to the other side and repeat steps 1-3. Sometimes I leave it as is for less intense colour.

Step 4
Heat the wool in your microwave safe bowl on high for approx 5 min or until the wool is completely heated through. Should be steamy when you pull it out of the microwave. 

Steamin' pile of Merino

 Step 5
When wool has cooled enough to safely hold in your hands, squeeze out excess water into the sink. Lay out the wool as before but now onto an old towel. Not much of the dye will leak out at this time, but use an old towel just in case! Now roll in the towel and press.

Step 6
Drape wool over the plastic coat hanger and hang  on the shower curtain rod, away from fabric, and allow the wool to air dry. Open a window if possible to improve air circulation. Once in a while squeeze excess water that settles into the ends of the wool. Ready to spin when thoroughly dry!

Share your Kool Aid dyed wool with Close Knit readers by posting links in the comments below.
xxLadeeBeexx

Spring One of a Kind Workshop

I'll be teaching participants at the Spring One of a Kind Show in Toronto how to embroider using a vintage iron-on transfer. Sublime Stitching has generously given me permission to use their hand drawn illustrations on how to work the various stitches-and instructions for lefties too!

Here is the sample that we will be making during the workshop:

You can check it out online at the One of a Kind website 

Workshop includes materials, instruction, admission, and light breakfast. Tickets are $50

Too Poor to Get in the Door

When I was 19, my son was born. Having a baby at a young age has many benefits but it also had many challenges. The most prominent challenge in my mind was poverty. Once I transitioned out of poverty I think I may have been considered a "low income" family. I am in my 30's now, transitioning out of poverty was a long, long process.

December 1998

Through those years, every time the holiday season rolled around the joy I felt as a little kid for Christmas was replaced by anxiety and guilt. My shopping list was short-mainly whatever my son requested and waited all year to receive. I saved up points on my customer loyalty cards for a drugstore and department store and cashed them in to beef up my son's stocking and skipped a bill payment or two in favor of getting him that bicycle or Playstation 2 or that exciting "big ticket" item.

Proud co-creator of gingerbread house!

I put myself through college and university and eventually landed a full-time job at a great non-profit agency with nice benefits and a salary that was reasonably competitive. Finally, I could afford "luxuries". Luxuries like knitting.

My love for knitting and yarn craft led me to knitting for profit and knitting for profit led me into this new world of artsy craftsy types-those who make and buy and appreciate the handmade. Many times I had been asked if I have been to the One of a Kind Show and Sale at Christmas and I always replied with a reluctant "no". I understood that this was something I had to do. The reputation of this show is so huge and a big favorite of those that patronize the handmade. After some time I started to feel guilty that I had never been to the OOAK Show and Sale. I always heard "it's soooo expensive" and there is a cost just to get in the door.

So fast forward to today. I am going to my FIRST SHOW this year. 2010. I think I have paid the most I have ever paid to get into any show, because I am participating as a vendor. I wish I had been able to go to the OOAK Show at least once over the years. I see it advertised every time and it always piqued my curiosity, but with the holidays not much has changed for me. It is just about making my son happy. This year I still won't be able to afford to shop there, but at least I am in the door!

Decorating dollar store frames and adding
pics of us-a nice hand made gift for every
member of the family!

How accessible is art for you? Has it been accessible to you over the years? Do you see it as a necessity or a luxury? Should art be a necessity?

Lisa's Story

My next guest blogger is a neighbour of mine! I met Lisa when I was knitting in a new cafe that opened up across the street from my house. She walked up and commented on my knitting and explained that she was a knitter too-and we've been connected ever since! I have seen her wonderful knits on her beautiful baby granddaughter and always admired her work. Lisa responded to my call for guest bloggers as a friend on Facebook and so she graciously shares her story below:

My dad in the 1920s
 in knitwear head to toe

I know a bit about craft and mental illness.  Those who know me best are laughing out loud at that statement ;-)  I sew, quilt and knit.  Crafting is laden with family memories – all the women in family were/are knitters, from grandmas , mom, sister, to the next generation of daughter and nieces.  So that makes me happy and reminds me of those loving ties as I knit.

My Mom, who passed away a year ago.
 I was thrilled when I found this photo.

  

As for the mental illness, I have bipolar disorder, also known as manic depression.  Which means lots of time under the black cloud, unable to do much; and briefer periods of increased energy and joy…till it gets crazy and I crash again.  One big, scary rollercoaster.  So how do the mental illness and craft interact?  When I’m low, knitting is usually the first activity I can pick up again, and I’m convinced it helps soothe and cheer me.  When I’m high and agitated, knitting acts like meditation – slows me down and grounds me.  

My sister (aged 11) designed and knit 

this intarsia animal baby blanket for me.

 She is still the most magnificent, fearless knitter I know.

I’ve seen knitting help others, as well.  I’ve been in and out of hospital many times, and a bag of knitting supplies is always the first thing my husband brings to me.  And once I’m out in the ward knitting (after the staff have confiscated all sharps like scissors and cable needles!), it doesn’t take long for people to approach, fascinated, asking to learn how to knit, or for some spare needles and yarn to cast on.  And what do my fellow patients tell me?  “My mother used to knit for me”; or, “my grandmother taught me to knit.”   During my last hospital stay I knit three sweet dresses for my baby granddaughter.  And  I know she will be a knitter.  

Lisa and granddaughter, safe and warm in a whole lot of knitwear

Mary's Story

Allow me to introduce Mary Breen! Mary operates a beautiful shop in our neighbourhood filled with one of a kind hand made gifts. She is constantly finding ways to get involved, to give to people in need and to support the arts. She is one of my personal heroes. Here is her story:

I’ve had depression for 31 one years.  At least that’s how long I’ve been receiving treatment; it might have started earlier.  No surprise there.  A great many of my family members have depression or other forms of mental illness.  So I know I could have it a lot worse, say if my DNA code had called for schizophrenia or bi-polar disorder.  Mental illness just runs in my family.  I have long since come to terms with it.  In fact the only time I remember being aware of the “stigma” was when my father was in and out of hospital, and everyone around me was weird about it.  As far as I’m concerned, this treatable disease is no different, and in a lot of ways preferable, to any number of physical ailments that might negatively impact my quality of life.  And, as an aside, you wouldn’t balk at insulin for diabetes, so why say no to drugs for this disease?

My life is definitely one of quality, and a big part of the reason is craft (also art, dance, theatre, literature...).  It’s imperative that I have a creative outlet, and it’s always been that way.  Along with the depression, I inherited a very dominant crafty gene!  My mother and all my foremothers, especially the spinster aunts, always had projects on the go.  No woman in my family ever sat down without something in her lap to work on (that’s the hereditary work ethic poking its nose in where it doesn’t necessarily belong).  The talent of these women inspires me everyday.  I use their embroidered linens and meticulously hand-painted china, and enjoy the memory of all the crazy stuff my mum and I made when I was young. 

They say knitting lowers your blood pressure.  I’m sure that’s true for me (until I drop a stitch), and the same applies to painting, drawing, needlepointing, felting, soap-making and most any other artistic activity I pursue.  Though making can be exhilarating too.  And best of all, it gets you out of your head.  The chatter stops, the self-censoring stops, and the joy flows.  It does a body – and mind – good.  Between the drugs, the crafts, a loving partner and amazing (also crafty) daughters, I’ve got everything I need for good health.

Mary Breen

Owner, Wise Daughters Craft Market

www.wisedaughters.com

P.S. Here’s a photo of the smocked dress one of my relatives made for my mother, who was born in 1925.  It hangs in the shop.

Guest Bloggers Wanted!

Hi All,
I am looking for ladies and gentlemen that are interested in guest blogging a piece on your personal experience with depression and how craft has helped "treat" your depression. If you think that this sounds like something you'd be interested in sharing please shoot me an email
junctionknitting (at) yahoo (dot) com

The purpose for sharing your stories is to help give strength and inspiration to those that may be experiencing a similar mental health problem and need to get help, or to those that have gotten help but need a place to see that they are not alone. Depression is an isolating illness and I believe that one way of effectively reaching out is to do it by way of internet-ya know that series of tubes!

Your entry just needs to be a couple of paragraphs, some photos would be appreciated, and you can be anonymous if you want to. If you would like to be identified please let me know how, and if you have a website, blog or shop you'd like me to link back to I can do that for you as well.

All the best in health and craft,
Melissa
a.k.a. LadeeBee

Japanese Paper Pendants On Zibbet

Hello Craft Fans!
My Japanese paper under glass tile pendants are now available online in my Zibbet shop! This shop has been rededicated to handmade goods unrelated to the Vintage Baby Revival line. I have been bringing these fantastic little necklaces to shows with me for some time and they have been wildly popular. Affordable handmade now at your fingertips! Each pendant was carefully crafted with durability and maximum beauty in mind. Playing with Japanese paper is so much fun, and I won't be stopping any time soon, so look for more pendants to arrive each week!
--LadeeBee

What is Making Me Happy-Right Now

Lately I have had the urge to knit socks. I have not knit a pair of socks before, not because I thought I couldn't do it, I just felt that I would not have the patience to work with such light weight yarn. I grabbed some yarn from my stash and got to work on a basic sock pattern I found on Ravelry. I knit up one sock in two days and started the second. I still have that second sock on the needles 'cause I have been pretty busy with work knitting, so it'll be on hold. For now I am really enjoying checking out the array of hand dyed sock yarns on Etsy.

Have a look with me at some of my favorites:

Black Sheep Dyeworks Superwash Merino Wool in Aegean Multi 

Yarnbreath's Merino Silk sockweight yarn

Colorful Yarn Creation's Aztec fingering weight yarn

Fibre Optic's Radio No. 61 Traditional Hand Paint Foot Notes Sock Yarn

Grant Creek Yarn's Persimmon Hand Dyed Fingering (Sock) Yarn, Superwash Merino Wool and Nylon

Lampyridae's Alpaca/Cashmere/Silk sock yarn

Knitting Like Crazy's Witchy Superwash Merino Sock Yarn

Hope you enjoyed!

-LadeeBee

Quilting Up North

In Northern Alberta there is an oil town called Ft. McMurray. The list of reasons for going to Ft. McMurray is short- to make money. People from all over the country and probably North America come to Ft. McMurray to make their tidy little fortune working in the oil sands, or 7-Eleven. Even gas station attendants make $18-$20/ hr. Sounds tempting, n'est pas? Well, there is a bit of a trade off. Like the freeze your ass off temps, the lack of stuff to do, and the dismal man-made landscape.
Ft Mac is smack dab in the Boreal Forest and rests beside the point of two converging rivers. The natural landscape is stunning. Unfortunately there is not much that is "nice" or "interesting-in-a-good-way" about the town. I don't want to dump too much on Ft. McMurray as there is a community of people that live there, but even they admit that it isn't much of a place to call home.
I visited the Northern Alberta town recently to visit my Mum. She is not an oil worker, but makes more than she ever has in her life as part of the management team at a major Canadian discount retailer in the shopping mall. She works long, hard hours and earns every penny of that salary.
While she had to work I found my little oasis in an otherwise culturally deserted town. I found Suzy Q's Quilt Shop by doing some online research. All I came up with was the name and address of the shop, not even a photo. This shop is located in the downtown core and has a very unassuming store front. Also, it was a short walk from my Mum's place-though my Mum did offer to leave work and drive me there. Of the seven days in Ft. Mac I was at Suzy Q's three. Here is a tour of the shop:

I especially love the way the dragonfly's wings are stitched.

Quilting Kits

Natural Resources

Wool for needle felting, spinning, wet felting. Suzy Q's also has yarn and other knitting supplies, embroidery patterns, and beads.

This is the owner. She called this machine her "baby".

The ample workspace. My stuff is the second table from the right. I brought my knitting to work on.

I actually really liked this fabric. I am very attracted to orange and green. This fabric went 50% off in the boss is away sale over Easter Weekend.

A quilt hanging out in the work room.

Some photos of my latest additions to my fabric stash. As mentioned before there was a 50% off sale on some of the fabric. The fabric I really liked was included! What luck!! On Saturday everyone got a plastic egg with an additional secret discount tucked inside. My additional discount was 15%. This lot of fat quarters only cost me $22. A steal!!!

I adore the colour and pattern on this fabric. I picked up two versions of it. First of all I am attracted to circles and secondly I am am attracted to leaves.

Well, that concludes my tour of Suzy Q's Quilt Shop in Ft. McMurray, Alberta. Happy quilting and crafting.

Creatography- Creativity and Photography: What Can I Do With All Those Pictures?

A while back I posted "Photography 101" on my blog discussing my excitement over the class I was enrolled in on photography through the Toronto Board of Education. I tried to stick it out for the full 10 weeks, but unfortunately after only 3 or 4 classes I stopped going. I was not happy with the instruction I was getting (or lack thereof) and decided I'd be much happier discovering photography through practice and informal learning-like checking out cool blogs and looking at the photos of others. 

Since then I have opened a Flickr account. You can see my widget in the right hand side of this page. Mostly my photos are shots of my buttons and crafts and from time to time I try to take some interesting shots around my city (like the one above taken near a local high school). 

I thought I would share with my readers what I have discovered so far since taking up more of an interest in photography and craft.

Taken near Dundas West Subway Station, Toronto, Ontario

1. Photojojo-kick ass tips on what you can do with all those photos you've accumulated and of course how to take more interesting ones in the future. I have subscribed to their newsletter and about every week or so they give you a free idea on a project, craft, product, or tip to keep you interested in the fun that is photography. Oh yes, and I highly recommend their new book!
2. Flickr-okay, so  most people on "discovered" this site before me, but for those of you who still don't know what they are missing, please head on over and visit. I grabbed a free account and once I am full up I am seriously considering getting a pro account for a mere $25/year. I enjoy looking at pics of things I am interested in. There are groups you can join and submit your own photos to for sharing. It is fun to comment and to favorite and to have others comment and favorite your photos too. Best of all I find the site inspiring. You'll discover what is the most weird as well as the most wonderful elements of our planet. 
3. MOO-a site that uses your own photos to create show stopping business cards or cards to save and trade...I just purchased a set of 50 cards (I only paid shipping on this offer) and I am so looking forward to receiving them. I suggest poking around the site to see it for yourself. 
4. Cre8tive Gang-an amazing blog for down to earth tips and inspiration for your photo craft endeavours. There is so much to discover on this site and it is clear that for the Cre8tive gang, photography is truly a passion. They stress that anyone can take great shots!

Photo taken at a shop in my community called Smash.

Share your creatography with me by posting comments below.

Paper Craft

Many moons ago I went to The Paper Place in downtown Toronto for a sale they were having on their paper off cuts. The sale began on a Sunday afternoon at 4pm and finished at 7pm. I think I stood there searching through the piles and piles of scraps for a full three hours. Each time a staff member brought out a bag of paper to drop in the sorting bins there was a new surge of energy and excitement. I was hooked! In the zone! I thought "what if there is something in here I haven't seen yet?" "what if I missed something that I am really going to love?" I just kept sifting and searching for more and more paper (drool). 

The Paper Place stocks Japanese specialty papers and products. You can also take workshops on bookbinding and classes on lampshade making. I often go in to the shop, but feel way too guilty to leave with much (as it is a little expensive-and understandably so). I already spend a large sum on yarn and buttons, so it doesn't leave cash for much else. But I couldn't resist the sale. I received a 10"x6.5" clear plastic archive envelope to fill for $18.00. The rules were you could fill it with as much paper as you could as long as the bag could close and the bag couldn't burst. Well, by God I got that bag good and full and impressed the hell outta the staff and the customers. Proud of myself, I headed home with my full bag of paper off cuts wondering what I was going to do with them. 

Enter: New Hobby
Now, I like to make these pendants. So addictive, because the pendants just make the paper stand out and you can really zero in on a part of the pattern that you really like. It is so much fun placing the glass tile over the paper and finding just the right spot to make my cut.

In addition to using this amazing paper I started using maps as well. I know maps are popping up all over the place in the world of craft, but I just couldn't resist. What else are we going to do with all of those out of date atlases.

If you are reading this post and have any paper craft ideas for me, please share them by commenting to this post. Happy crafting!