Our first soldier is on the way home!

Since fall of last year, Wes, Ray, Dave and I have written to a soldier in Iraq through Soldier's Angels. Lt. Beverly and her company are on mail stop which means she is coming back in August safe and sound. Yippee!!!

We've just been matched with our second soldier, Jonathon C. Please say a prayer to keep him and all our military safe!

Fiber Charities

Knowing the generous of fiber artists, I've compiled a list of charities that are in need of yarn, needles and finished products such as hats, scarves, etc... If you know of a charity I can include, please let me know. I want this to be the biggest list on the internet. Please note that I don't personally know all these (except for the Knit Wits of Georgia and the Knit Your Bit) so investigate the charity before committing your resources. While I'm sure the non-profits listed are legit, I don't want anyone "taken". Also feel free to suggest local charities that need our help.

Knit Wits of Georgia: My very own personal favorite. We are under the umbrella of Barrow County Family Connection which faciliates collaboration of the non-profits, businesses, and government to provide higher quality services to the children and families of Barrow County. I teach knitting in the after school program to fifth graders free of charge. I also supply needles and yarn. We also accept yarn so we can make scarves and hats to distribute to the Soldier's Connection in Loganville, GA. Also if you'd like to donate to the Knit Wits of Georgia, please let me know. I can take paypal.

The Ghana Project: Collecting already knit (or crocheted) 7 inch x 7 inch squares to complete afghans for severely deformed children in Ghana, Sierra Leone, and Ethiopia. Deadline, at this time, is November (see blog).

Head Huggers: They accept knit, crochet and sewed hats for chemo patients.

Knit Your Bit: Sponsored by the WWII museum, scarves are sent in by fiber groups and distributed to our military veterans in VA hospitals, VFW, American Legion, etc.

Warm Up America: Warm Up America! (WUA!) is an organization made up of volunteers who create handmade afghan blankets, clothing and accessories to help those in need.

Caps to the Capital: Knitters and crocheters e-mailed and called Save the Children, asking what they could do to help newborns in need. As a result of their enthusiasm, Save the Children partnered with the Warm Up America! Foundation in July 2006 to launch Knitters and Crocheters for Newborns: Caps to the Capital. These babies need more than caps, though. They need voices, too. The U.S. can lead the way in saving young lives by increasing funding for critical health measures such as antibiotics to fight infections, training for skilled birth attendants and immunizations against tetanus, for mothers and children in developing countries.

Afghans for Afghans: a humanitarian and educational people-to-people project that sends hand-knit and crocheted blankets and sweaters, vests, hats, mittens, and socks to the beleaguered people of Afghanistan.

Project Linus: it is our mission to provide love, a sense of security, warmth and comfort to children who are seriously ill, traumatized, or otherwise in need through the gifts of new, handmade blankets and afghans, lovingly created by volunteer "blanketeers."

The Cutest Kids in the World

My very talented, yet totally crazy sister-in-law, Tina, has been snapping pictures for years. This is Wes and Ray a couple of months ago. Where they got the blond hair and blue eyes remain a mystery.

The Griswalds Wannabes Visit Charleston.

Yes, it's true. Hubby, our two wacky children and I took a tour in the Holy City of the South. It's truly a beautiful, awesome place. Dave wants to move there--on one of the mansions on the Battery. Unfortunately, our income will not allow this. We stayed three days and three nights.

After five hours in a cramped Mazda, we checked into a Quality Inn. Of course, our room was next to a group of teens who made it their lives' mission to annoy the snot out of me.

On Monday, we visited the LaFrance Fire Truck museum and walked the Battery. Wesley's overriding concern was picking up the perfect shale souvenir. Regan was excited to spit into the water. We ate a terrific Italian restuarant called Bocci's.

On Tuesday, after a acid reflux causing breakfast at the hotel, we took a horse-drawn carriage tour. Regan loved the horse, Timmy and totally ignored everything but the horse's rear end. It was off to Folly Beach for an afternoon of sand and sunburning. I managed to put sunblock on everyone but me. My back was the color of Roma tomato. The Folly Beach fishing pier was next. Wesley earned the name "Fish Guts" as he slide his hand onto the pier's nastier souvenirs. That night, we gorged ourselves at Sticky Fingers BBQ. FYI, Wesley's hands were disinfected and washed several times.

The teens/college guys next to us at the hotel threw a party that lasted into the wee hours of the morning. I only fell asleep while someone was having sex or during the burping contest.

Wednesday dawned hot and muggy. Of course, it was the first one spent totally outside. We traveled across the Ravanel Bridge, aka the Funky Bridge as Regan renamed it, to Mount Pleasant to visit Patriot's Point, home of the USS Yorktown, Clagamore, Ingham and Laffey. We also visited the Medal of Honor museum. I am in awe at the bravery of our military.

I highly recommend the North Towne Grill in North Charleston for dining. We ate there Wednesday night. Greek food is so overlooked. If someone told me to sing in public for the spanakopita and Greek potatoes from the NT Grill, I'd be up there warbling and writhing like a bad Madonna imitation.

On Thursday, we boarded a ferry for a tour of Charleston Harbor which was very relaxing. Regan only spit overboard twice.

During the drive back, I had to slip my bra off while on the road. The sunburn on my back made sitting back impossible. Fortunately, I was wearing a tank top which made bra unfastening easy. I told Dave to stop for a bathroom break but not at a truck stop considering my braless and tank top state. Dave spied a Wendy's from the interstate and to his endless and cruel amusement, it was a Wendy's attached to a truck stop. I got out to pee and buy drinks. I immediately broke into a sweat from the heat. Slipped into the truck stop part, because that, of course, was were the toilets and apple juice were, I peed and made made my way to the sink to wash my hands. The air conditioner was working overtime and the bathroom was incredibly chilly. Luckily, I glanced at myself in the mirror and..... What happens to boobs when they get cold? Yep, you guessed--I had a pair of headlights on my chest.

Hunching over like an eighty year old women in a lime green tank, I stood in line with Buck of JD Hunt trucking staring at me.

I am now happily at home, wearing a bra and copious amounts of aloe on my back. Thank you, Sue Woo, for all the recommendations!

Dyeing Yarn One Color in Seven Easy Steps

Thanks to the Guru of Color--Darilee Nelson from Main Street Yarns in Watkinsville. She was the guest speaker at the Knit Wits July Meeting. She showed in great detail and enthusiasm how to dye protein based yarn (wool, alpaca, etc)

Supplies (Once you dye, do not use these for anything else.)
• Pot (pick up very large stewing or bottle warming or Dutch oven pot at Walmart)
• Dye
• Water
• Salt
• Vinegar
• Rubber Gloves
• Face Mask
• Measuring set
• Spatula
• Tongs
• Salad spinner
• Various plastic bowls
• Plastic measuring cup

1. Before beginning, mix your dye stock solution. Using rubber gloves and face mask, mix dye stock. The dye is most dangerous when in powder form. Slowly add 32 oz hot water to 1 tsp dye powder. This is your dye stock. You will not use all of this so store in an airtight labeled container.

2. Soak undyed wool (any animal or protein fiber) loosely bound skein in a sink full of lukewarm water and salt (1 tsp of salt per 100g fiber) for 15-20 minutes. Make sure skeins are fully submerged and any air bubbles are gone.

3. The amount of dye stock solution you will add to you pot will vary depending on the shade of color desired. If you add too much, at some point the fiber will saturate and not hold any more color. For a medium shade use 1oz. dye stock to 2 oz. wool.

4. Fill a pot with new lukewarm water, more salt (1-2 table spoons) and vinegar (equal parts vinegar and water, i.e. one gallon of water and one gallon of vinegar). Add dye solution. Stir to mix dye solution and water mixture.

5. Add wet fiber gently. Do not stir briskly but just enough to get the dyed water into the nooks and crannies of the hank. VERY gently/occasionally continue to stir the pot throughout. This is to prevent dye from settling on the bottom of the pot and making dark places in your fiber.

6. Gradually bring to simmer on stove on low. It is important to raise the temperature of the water and the fiber at the same time. No rapid boiling or heavy stirring. This agitation will felt the fiber. Simmer/steam for 15 minutes or until you’re happy with the color. If your water is clear, all the dye is taken.

7. Place fiber in a bowl and allow to air cool. Rinse and wring it gently out in the sink..

8. Place fiber in “Salad Spinner” to wring it out (or the spin cycle of a washing machine). Pour out water of salad spinner every couple of minutes. When there is no more water coming out of the salad spinner, hang the skeins so they can air dry completely.

Information that I didn’t know until the Guru taught me….

• The color blue sometimes is the hardest color to “take”. It is the last color to be absorbed by fiber. For example if you are dyeing yarn green (yellow and blue), the yellow will be absorbed first and then blue.
• You don’t have to wait 15 minutes. It’s just a guideline. Once your yarn reaches the color you like, take it out to rinse. On the other hand, if the color is not deep enough, add more dye. Once the yarn has absorbed all the dye, the water in the pot will more or less clear again.
• By creating an acidic environment the vinegar acts like a binding agent for the fiber and dye. Salt is a leveling agent helping to disperse the dye evenly throughout the pot.
• Darilee uses www.prochemical.com to buy the powder dye. She used Pro Washfast Acid dyes. Other dyes include jacquard (available at www.knitpicks.com) or Gay Wool. Be sure to wear a face mask to mix the dye powder with water. The powder is potentially toxic if breathed. Once liquid, it is more or less harmless.
• Other dyes like Kool Aid and Wilton Cake Dye are more like stains. The color may fade over time. For example, think when you eat a birthday cake. The icing is colored with Wilton Cake Dye. If you accidentally smear some icing on your shirt but wipe it off, it still leaves a faint stain that will fade over washings.
• To dye cotton, use MX Reactive dye.
• Use rubber gloves. Darilee pointed out that while dye will wash off your skin, it will not wash off your fingernails as your fingernails are protein based—like the fiber you’re dyeing.
• Always keep your yarn labels.
• You don’t have use the stove top for your heat source. You can use crock pots, ovens and microwaves. Just make sure the heat is not too much. If you use the oven, dye in an aluminum pan on low (around 200 degrees F).
• If you want to dye different colors (i.e. one end of the skein red and the other blue), you can suspend one end of the skein on a wooden spoon (like a spit) over the pot of red dye. Then switch to a pot of blue dye and put the undyed part in the blue dye while the red end is suspend by the spoon. Or use Mason jars to drape a little of the fiber in each different colored jar..
• This is different than space dyeing. I’ll post another entry later on Darilee’s Space Dyeing method.

I'm a Pattern of the Day by Daily Knitter!

Today! Wow, it's my first tote. This is so cool! When I checked back at other pattern of the day, my first shawl pattern was earlier this month. Yippee!

Rainy Day Lace Scarf

Yet another simple scarf. It's perfect for a rainy day like the day I made this.

Using size 10 straight needles and two skeins of Mystical Creations yarn (wool/silk blend) in Gray Ghost, cast on 24 stitches

Row 1-5 knit all stitches
Row 6: K1 YO2 to end
Row 7: K all stitches, dropping YO as you go
Row 8: Knit all
Row 9: K1, (YO, K2tog to end), K1
Row 10: Knit
Row 11: Knit

Repeat Rows 6-11 until you use all the yarn or until you reach the length you like.

Knit 5 rows and bind off.

Block lightly to open up the eyelets. Just be careful not to stretch the drop stitch part. Mystical Creation Yarns can also be found on Ebay and this particular yarn is a thick/thin yarn. All of MCY have beautiful colorways.