I dyed... yarn that is.

As well as making Lucy's Granny cushion I've had the urge to try my hand at dyeing some yarn. My very first attempt was a complete success!!!! I used Moda Vera Supremo (100% cotton). It started out like this, a very boring beige colour...

...and then the magic colour was added and this is what it turned into...

 ... a wonderful "Pergoda Red", at lest that's what the colour is called on the dye packet. It took darker in some places than others, but I like the effect.

I'm just so dash-gone proud of how it turned out that here are some more photos of the skeins, 5 in total.









And because my first attempt was such a ripper I did it again with some Heirloom 4ply cotton. It went from this...

... to this after I suspended half of it in violet coloured dye.

It's not a really intense colour but it is darker than the pictures show. This cotton is destined to become some fingerless gloves - pattern from Tess Dawson's Crochet Designs: 25 Must-have Items to Make. There will also be plenty of yarn left over to make a shawlet, perhaps an Ishbel by Ysolda.

For both lots of yarn I used Dylon on the stovetop.

I've now been bitten by the hand dyed yarn bug!!!

Cheers.

Better late than never....

As promised - yes it was a while ago - here is the completed Granny Garden cushion from Attic24.

In the beginning there was a lonely jumper. It sat patiently at a Salvation Army store for someone to find it. Well, someone did ME!!!

This was the jumper before I took to it with a pair of extremely sharp scissors. The front of the jumper and one sleeve were used for this cushion so that means I can use the rest of the jumper for another.

Here is what the jumper turned into...

...the back of the cushion. The crocheted edge you can see runs along what used to be the bottom of the front of the jumper.

After a rummage through the contents of the Button Bandit to find some contrasting buttons, these were stitched to what used to be the sleeve. It all means that the stuffing can be removed for washing.





 



And the finished front I hear you ask, what does that look like? Well...

Here is the finished item at home on the bed.

Yes, it does look rather lonely doesn't it? So that's why I started a ripple cushion to go with it!!!

Granny Gardens and Peep Shows!

I'm so excited! Futuregirl has posted a picture of my version of her Starling Bag on her blog! You can check out her "Peep Show" with other peoples completed Starling Bags and other Futuregirl patterns on her blog here.

As promised, here is the begining of my crocheted Granny Garden cushion. The design is by Lucy at Attic24 and as usual she has really done a fantastic job.

I'm using Sullivans Coton-A, it's an acrylic/cotton blend and has some wonderful colours, bright enough to jump out at me when I was going through my stash to find something to use!  It's a very quick project, lots of little centres to make up, and then join (using Lucy's join as you go method) with totally ramdom colours. No thinking required to sort out what colour looks good where.

Here's a peek at how it's going so far.

I know, last photo is a bit bad but it has been raining for a few days and it's far too wet (and humid) to venture outside, so indoor photos will have to do for now. More to come in the next couple of days. Cheers.