Psychotically Sane

Archive for January, 2010

I know that it has been a while since I last updated this blog. Truthfully, I have no interest in keeping either of my blogs updated. And that sadden me.

But I am going to try to post something of an update.

Er…. Or how about the newest yarn I have dyed…. Since I have nothing close to exciting to talk about.

Remember my yarn dyeing tutorial?? Well, I’ve got photos of the finished yarn.
Because I couldn’t come up with anything better, this one is called Twilight. Different shades of blue with just a touch of white and purple to give it the pop.

And then Crayola Crayons. I love how bright the red, yellow and blue are.

I was asked to put together a yarn dyeing tut. Full of pictures, because that’s the easiest way to understand what to do.

So I took photos of my yarn dyeing adventures this morning. What a wild ride!

Step 1 – Soak yarn in water. It needs soak for minimum of 1 hr, but I wouldn’t recommend going over several hours. I wouldn’t be able to wait that long.

Step 2 – Ring out the excess water from the yarn. It still needs to be pretty wet while you are dyeing it, but it doesn’t need to be soaking wet. I usually pour the yarn into a colander and let it drain out that way. Usually 30 min – 1hr.

Step 3 – Set up the work area. I have a couple pieces of plastic wrap laid out, then an old tablecloth that I use to paint the yarn on.

You don’t have to use the old tablecloth, but it keeps the plastic wrap cleaner so there is less chance of accidental coloring where you don’t want it.

Dyes and cups. I like the Jaquard Powder Acid Dyes. You will need one cup for each color. I use 3oz cups. Go larger cups or bowls if you desire. Just make sure that they are disposable. You don’t want to use a bowl or cup that you will later be using for food or drink. And a cup of vinegar (I’ve read two sets of directions that you do and you don’t need this. I play it safe and use it) You won’t need much vinegar but it’s easier to pour from a 3 oz cup than from the bottle.

Stirring sticks, 1/4 tsp and 1/2 tsp & paintbrushes. I bought skewering sticks and cut them in half. Regular cheap painting brushes from the hardware store. You don’t need to go expensive. And make sure you keep the teaspoons separate from your cooking ones. You don’t want to use these again for foods or liquids.

Clear Plastic wrap and towel. You will use the plastic wrap to wrap the yarn and the towel has it’s obvious reasons.

Gloves. The dyes stain. Trust me on this one.

Step 4- Mix the dyes.


I use 1/4 tsp of dye for almost 3oz of liquid.

Stir it up.

Some colors you will need to use more of the dye powder for. You will be able to tell when you need more or less.
Now the vinegar.

Mix in 1/2 tsp of vinegar and stir again.

Step 5- Now get ready to paint. You should have put on your gloves before you started mixing, but if you didn’t, but them on now.
Get your paintbrush and dip it into the cup.

Now paint it on to the yarn. Make sure you saturate it really well.

Paint the skein of yarn to your desired colors and patterns.

There is no right or wrong way. Every time you will get a delightful surprise of coloring! Once you paint the first side, flip it over and paint the other side.

Step 6- Remove the skein of yarn carefully from the tablecloth and move the tablecloth so you can lay the yarn on the plastic wrap. Fold the plastic wrap around the yarn. Fold it over once.

or twice. I just really liked this photo.

Step 7- Pop it in the microwave for up to 7 minutes per 200 grams of yarn. It’ll burn if you put it in too long and it won’t heat set if you don’t put it in long enough. I have found that 2.5 minutes for 100grams of yarn has worked well.

If you have to open the microwave to let steam out halfway through, go ahead. It won’t hurt anything.

Step 8 – put into a pyrex pan and let it cool. Since it’s the dead of winter, I let it sit outside. It airs it out since it gets stinky! I will most likely do the same in the summer time.

(this was a different skein of yarn I dyed today. I forgot to take a photo of the first skein after I took it out of the microwave ;)

Step 9 – Once it’s cooled off, give it a nice bath in the sink. This will remove all excess dye that would bleed out normally in the first washing.

I throw in 1/4 tsp of wool wash. It gives it a yummy scent.

Very carefully wash the yarn. You want to make sure to remove all excess dye. If it was heat set correctly, very little dye will bleed out. Some colors bleed more than others. Blue’s don’t bleed much, but purples, reds and yellows will bleed a lot. It’s normal.

Ring out the water, lay it on a towel and pat dry. Hang to dry. Wind in a ball, and knit. Fun!

Good luck with your yarn dyeing experience!

I’m not much of a hat person, but I fell in love with the Star Crossed Slouchy Beret that I found on ravelry. I wanted to practice with dyeing yarn, so I bought some bare yarn from Knitpicks, some dyes and did some research. After coming to the conclusion that it can’t be as hard as it sounds, I dyed up my first skein of yarn. unfortunately I don’t have a photo of it And then I dyed up more yarn and more yarn and more yarn.
This has to be my favorite. While I’m still perfecting the coloring and how to get the pretty pooling, I’m having fun.

And this is the Star Crossed Slouchy Beret. Knit up with my first skein of hand dyed yarn. And I LOVE the finished hat. While I would prefer it in a solid color, I think the variegated coloring works. I love how it turned out.

Now I’m doing a scarf with the two skeins of yarn that I dyed up the other weekend. Same colors, it’s going to be just as pretty!

For a week they were reporting a big snow blizzard to hit Tennessee. First it started as 2-4 inches. Then 4-6 inches. I think eventually it got along the lines of people swearing it was going to be huge. The biggest snow storm since 2003! For the record, there are parts of Tennessee that got 3/4 of an inch of snow in 2009. Most likely the same amount the past few years. It doesn’t snow. And when it might flurry, it barely sticks. And whatever does stick, sticks to the road where it melts and then freezes overnight. We get ice. Damn ice…

Anyways, so we actually got about an inch of snow this past Thursday. They were warning everyone that it was going to start around midnight Thursday morning. It started snowing 10am where I live. They had started calling off school Wednesday night and I found out that the kiddos daycare was closed Thursday morning. So he stayed home with Grandpa. And when I got home from work, he went to play in the snow.

And he loved playing in the barely an inch of snow. It wasn’t the right kind of snow to make snowballs with. So instead he just picked up handfuls and flung them at me.


But he did have fun. Until he was completely covered from head to toe in snow, frozen and exhausted. At that time I announced that it was time for hot chocolate and a snack.

Yeah…. he was ready to go inside. But being cold, frozen and tired didn’t stop him from talking about how he played in the snow. Now if we could just get one big snowstorm so he can REALLY play in the snow and build a snowman and throw snowballs. The puny one inch of snow that we got that day would be just a thing of the past.

My days have been filled with this

and this

and this

.

Of course work and sleep and eating are added into the equation, but I don’t have a photo to represent those.

I feel like there is something missing…

I tried to post this last night, typed it out on my phone, and then when I hit the “save draft” the phone restarts. Maybe I can remember what I wanted to say.

I’m not usually a fan of New Year’s Resolutions. No one ever keeps them. They get forgotten in the first couple weeks. I usually forget to make them. But this year isn’t about resolutions. It’s about complete changes. Mind over matter, right?

So I have compiled a list, in no particular order about what I want to change this year.

1 – New Job, New Home - While my dream of living in California this year is not going to happen, I’m picking a date. 11.11.11. November 11th, 2011. I’ve always had a fascination with the time 11:11 and the many myths and legends of what it means. And I feel like that would be a good date to make this change. Just as I feel certain that California is where Skyler and I are meant to live. So in the meantime, it’s a new place for Skyler and I and a new job to go along with it. I like my job right now. I love the people I work with. But the pay isn’t worth what I put into it. And I’m going into the horrid economy to try to find a better paying job. And I feel stupid, for leaving behind a guaranteed 40 hour a week, mon-fri job. A job that is secure. And I hate new jobs. I hate the whole process, from putting in applications and resumes, to the dreaded interview process.

2 – Fall in love - I’m not talking about the type of relationship where “we are both madly in love, can’t live without the other, let’s jump the gun and elope”. I’m talking about a relationship where I am completely and utterly happy of who I am with. Where he loves me, I love him. I could definitely see us having a future together when we are ready. I think I’m just tired of the constant loneliness of not having someone there for me. But I guess I just haven’t met the guy that is meant to be the one?

3 – Being happy - My biggest thing now is that I’m not happy. I’m grateful for everything I have in my life. I’m grateful for my friends and family. I’m grateful for my adoring and completely amazing child. But I feel like I’m missing out on so much. I feel like there is a piece of my heart that is missing and it needs to be filled. And I want to be happy. I want to live each day filling loved and cared about instead of just being here. I hate feeling like I’m holding onto a false sense of hope of being happy. I want it to happen. I am trying, but it seems that when I push, there is also some unstoppable force pushing back at me. And unfortunately it’s a lot stronger than I am right now…

4 – Blog more; Rant less - Let’s face it, 2009 was a bad year for blogging. I think it had a lot to do with slight depression and the constant feel that my life was crumbling before my eyes. Constantly ranting and complaining about my life wasn’t something that I wanted to be in the publics eye. So I kept the ranting and whining to myself (except for the constant whines on MSN and texts to my wonderful friends) until I felt like I was going to burst. In a fit of desperation, I made a private blog where I now post my rants. No one reads it. I can whine and rant and let out my frustrations and unhappiness without feeling like I get the constant “She’s whining again??” from those that read this blog. But now that I have the place for me to let loose, this blog has gone un-used. And I feel guilty. So I’m making it a mission to blog more. Blog happier. Take more photos. Knit more. And blog about my daily life recording instead of my daily rants about what is wrong. Instead, let’s share what is right.

So bring it on 2010. I’m ready for these changes in my life.