Finished Linus blanket

I posted the beginnings (and details) on this blanket previously. Now, 47,520 stitches later (330 rows x 144 across) it is done - whew! You can see all five colors (2 greens, 2 blues, and a purple) in the pictures. I like taking pictures of projects when they're not necessarily all neatly laid out - hence the second picture - lots of interesting texture. (The purple looks different in the two pictures; reality is somewhere between the two).

Felted bag

A thrift store cardigan with embroidered red, white, and black flowers turned into a felted bag. The cardigan label read "Karen Scott" 100% wool. The button band came off first; I unraveled that and used that yarn to sew the bottom and front shut. Then felted all by hand. The sleeves, with ends cut into three strips, were braided together to form the handle. There's a pocket on the inside, and the top edge is folder over and sewed, so I can thread in a cord if I want to pull it together at the top.

The button is from the vest in my previous post! I kept the lovely shell buttons from this cardigan for a future project.

Vests

I stopped at the thrift store this week for another sweater to unravel, but ended up with two wool vests, both of which probably won't get unraveled. The top one is a handmade, like-new, gray, basketweave-cable vest knit in the round for $5. My dad likes to wear wool vests, so I'm hoping he will give it a new home (pssst... let me know). The second vest is woven, says "A Dafydd Snowdon Design, by Craftcenter Cymru Wales"... I'd been thinking about a felted project and this may be the raw material for that. Like the black/white/gray graphic design.

Second yarn harlot scarf

I knit another one of these for a friend in Phoenix - who assures me people in Arizona do need scarves. This time it's 100% wool, Moda Dea Cartwheel, Sea Blues.

Blanket beginnings

Here's the start of my first project using my recycled and hand-dyed yarn. The yarn was from a Gap 100% lambswool size xl sweater acquired from the thrift store for $3.50.

The original color was a gray blue. I took the yarn divided it into five skeins, and dyed each one a different color. You can see the first two colors here. I'm making this with the idea of sending it to Afghanistan through the "Afghans for Afghans" group. They say that the color green is especially beloved there, so two of the five colors are shades of green.

The pattern for this blanket is from "Knitting for Peace", specifically, it's the "Project Linus Security Blanket". I really like the scalloped edges.

Recycling continues

More thrift store sweaters have come home with me for recycling. They are pictured here. The label of the dark blue one says "Esperanto, made in Mongolia, 100% cashmere". The white one says "Dale of Norway, pure new wool", and the wheat colored one says "Polo Ralph Lauren, 100% wool".

That last one is gigantic, size xl, with such lovely thick wool. I tried stepping on the scale with and without it, and it's ~3 pounds - heavy too! It's my favorite (and was the most expensive of these three). It would make a great blanket. To be continued...

Kool Aid dye-ing

Since my post about the $6.99 Goodwill sweater, I've acquired a couple more thrift store sweaters for recycling. The one pictured below was a 100% wool natural-color cabled Talbot's sweater.

I took one ball of this yarn to try dyeing my own yarn. Using Kool Aid drink mix. The Red #40 and Blue #1 that makes Kool Aid drink so bright and colorful happen to be excellent dye for other things. There are tutorials out there on this. For instance: http://www.knitty.com/issuefall02/FEATdyedwool.html

I used Berry Blue, Grape, and Black Cherry flavors. Used the hand-paint method, and heat set it by steaming it in a pot on the stove. It turned out a lovely mix of blues between turquoise and faded denim.