I can’t believe that we’re already sweltering away into the middle of July!   As I sit inside, enjoying the AC, I thought I’d give a quick update on our Garden’s progress.

That's Me Hiding Behind The Tomato Tree

Let me start by saying that if crabgrass were a cash crop, I’d be rolling in green right now (pun quite intended).  Seriously — some parts of the garden, the crabgrass is so thick, I can’t even remember what I’ve planted.  It seems like the hotter it gets, the faster it grows.  And, of course, the hotter it gets, the less likely I am to stand outside weeding.   Anyway, on a more positive note, the runaway hit of the season is our tomato tree.  This was a little seedling that we got as a freebie at the Roger Williams Park Zoo on Earth Day, back in April.  My daughter carried it all day and managed to break almost every branch.  Even though we were instructed to wait until Memorial Day to plant it, I figured its only hope was to go into the garden early.  So, in it went the first week in May.  By July 4th, it was bigger than me!  I’m pretty sure some of the tomatoes will be ripe by next week.  Yum!  The tomatoes that we started from seeds didn’t fare so well.  I think their biggest hurdle was that they never got watered regularly when they were tender seedlings in our sun room.  … Something to do with a disagreement my husband and I had over who was responsible for watering them…  But, we got lucky, because a whole slew of ‘volunteer’s popped up all over the garden.  They must have been seeds from all the tomatoes that dropped of the vines last year.

We are also having good luck with our squashes, which is wonderful after last year’s disappointment (the rainy summer of 2009 caused all over our squash to get fungus and die back early).   Here is a picture of our first zucchini of the season!

First Zucchini Of 2010!

Happy Zucchini Plant

And, I can’t wait until the pumpkins start coming it!  As usual, the greens are a big success.  If you are new to gardening, I definitely recommend growing greens of any kind.  They are soooo easy to grow, its almost like instant gratification.  Between the early spinach, kale, arugula and other mixed greens, I haven’t had to buy salad greens in two months.  In fact, I’m actually getting sick of kale, but it just keeps on growing.

Unstoppable Kale

Here is a picture of a yummy salad using only stuff we grew — kale, zucchini, chives, and spring onions.

Yummy Salad

I’m also pretty happy with my herb garden.   So far, we have tarragon, chives, rosemary, thyme, mint, basil, oregano, flat parsley and cilantro.  Of course, it would be more visually appealing if I managed to get rid of all that crabgrass.  I just bought some lemon balm,  curly parsley, and stevia  plants to add.

The ‘volunteers’ sprouting up from our compost bin were also a pleasant surprise.  We have a few enormous squash vines (I have no idea what type of squash, but hope to find out soon!) and a veritable shrubbery of tomato plants.

Look What Grew In The Compost

Our ‘experimental’ corn and okra seem to be doing OK, too.  I call them ‘experimental’ since I’ve never grown either of them before and really have no idea how to grow them.  The corn was definitely ‘thigh high by the 4th of July’ and is sporting tassels, so I think we might end up with a few ears.  The okra had a rough start dealing with bugs but seem to have caught its stride.  The jury is still out on whether it will bear fruit…  Speaking of fruit, did I mention I almost killed my blueberry plants and apple trees?  Yeah, I went crazy spraying them with soapy water because I read it would kill bugs (they were infested with little green worm).  Well, it killed the worms, but all the leaves fell off!  The leaves eventually grew back, but no fruit on any of the bushes or trees.  Lesson learned — use VERY diluted soap/water solution.

When I moved to suburban Rhode Island from Brooklyn two years ago, I didn’t expect to see the wide array of wild animals that I’ve encountered in my own backyard.

Wild Turkey Hen Struts Across Our Lawn

I suppose the destruction of their natural habitats has resulted in many of these cute critters becoming our neighbors.  In addition to the ever-present squirrels and chipmunks,  I’ve seen foxes, possums, rabbits and deer.  I’ve even heard very creditable reports of coyotes and fishercats in the area (unfortunately, the ‘missing pet’ signs attest to their presence, as well).  However, my favorite wild visitors are the wild turkey.  Every time I see one of these amazing birds, I dig out my camera and try to snap a few photos.  Of course, my photos always look like crap and never do the birds any justice, but I wanted to post a few anyways.  Last week, we had a hen with eight poults visit our birdfeeder and spend over an hour traipsing through our yard, pecking at anything that looked tasty.  They are so cool!  It actually made me glad that our backyard has more weeds than grass!  This morning, my kids ran to the window yelling that the turkeys were back.  This time, there were two hens with the eight poults.  I’m pretty sure it was the same family that visited a few weeks ago, and I was really relieved to see that all eight babies were still there.

The Babies Nibble By the Birdfeeder

When immigrants from Europe began settling North America in the 1600’s, wild turkeys were plentiful and became an important food source.  By the early 1900’s the population had dwindled due to habitat destruction and over-hunting.  However, conservation efforts have returned wild turkeys to sustainable levels.  According to the North American Wild Turkey Management Plan  “the comeback of wild turkeys in North America is arguably the greatest conservation success story in history.” Unfortunately, the number of wild turkeys surviving to adulthood in Rhode Island seems to be dwindling, possibly due to factors including predators and poor weather conditions.   (The Providence Journal has more details.)  The RI Department of Environmental Management has asked that wild turkey sitings be reported to help track local populations.  I already reported ‘my’ brood to be added to the turkey census!

Mama Turkey Looking In My Window While I Take Pictures

Three Baby Turkeys Look for a Snack

One Little Turkey Walking Down Our Lavender Path

If you could be an animal, which animal would that be?  After giving it considerable thought, I, without doubt, would be a house cat.

Catnip Kitties

Just think about it — fresh food and water always on hand, the ability to roam about in the ‘wilderness’ (or suburban neighborhood) at will, an entire house full of couches, pillows, and beds at your disposal, chase squirrels when you feel a bit feral, and then come inside for a good scratch behind the ears…  I guess I wouldn’t want to be just ANY cat; I’d want to be one of MY cats.  I know, there is a certain level of cache and adventure to being a wild animal, but do you really want to have to hunt for your food every freaking day?  Not to mention, who wants to be dodging predators when you could be napping in the sun?

Box of Catnip Kitty Toys

Anyway, in honor of being a cat, I wanted to share one of our recent craft ideas.  Using a similar technique to my wild things felt dolls, my kids and I made catnip toys for our kitties (Bacco, Max, and Petunia) and some of our other kitty friends.  These little toys were fun and easy to whip up in an afternoon.

Materials:
1. Craft Felt
2. Scissors
3. Permanent Markers
4. Fiberfill or Cotton Batting
5. Catnip
6. Sewing machine or needle and thread

Step 1 (for the kids) – using the permanent marker, draw a cat face on one of the pieces of felt.  Draw eyes in a contrasting color
Step 2 (for a grown up) – cut out the cat face and eyes.  leave about 1/4 – 1/2 for seam allowance. trace the cat face onto another piece of  felt and cut it out so that you have to matching pieces (a front and a back)
Step 3 (for a grown up) – sew the eyes onto the face
Step 4 (for a grown up) – place wrong sides together of cat face front and back; sew together leaving 1 – 2″ opening at the bottom
Step 5 (for the kids) – stuff the toy with fiberfill and catnip
Step 6 (for a grown up) – sew the bottom shut
Step 7 (for the kids) – toss the cat nip toy to a kitty and see what happens!

Our cats love wrestling around with their catnip kitties!

Look What We Made!

Completely off-topic, my daughter made this creepily realistic pair of legs out of our leftover fiberfill and a pair of her tights.  I just had to post the photo.

Funky Tights - Preschool Artistic Expression!

One of My Displays – Kitties, Bags, and Hair Clips

I did it!  I survived my first large-scale craft fair this past weekend (a joint venture with my mom and cousin).

It was the Prospect Park Craft Fair in Brooklyn, and, I have to admit, it was pretty fun! I sold more than I expected, and I met so many great people — both sellers and customers.   Aside from a very small church fair that my mom and I participated in a couple of years ago, this was my first real craft fair experience as a seller.  Since I didn’t know what to expect, I reached out to some of my fellow etsians to seek their advice on what I should do to prepare.  I’m happy to say, I got loads of great info.  That said, there were lot’s of lessons I learned along the way.  Here are just a few things I’d like to pass along:

1. Beware of the Weather – since we were expecting a rainy day, we packed out canopy to keep our stuff dry.  As it turns out, the rain blew in sideways, at an angle, and totally defeated the canopy.  Now, water won’t hurt most of my things, so I wasn’t that upset.  That is, until I found out the hard way that the ink on my tags runs when wet.  (I printed them with my color laser printer at home).  There was a moment of frenzy as I ran around ripping tags of my carefully priced items to prevent the ink from staining my crocheted pieces.  Nothing was ruined, but I did end up with a number of items without price tags.   Then, once the rain ended, we had to deal with gale force winds which blew over canopies, blew over displays, and covered everything with dust and pollen (yuck!!!).  Honestly, the wind did more damage the rain ever could have.

Some More From My Stash

2.  Kids Count – One of my fellow etsians gave me a heads up to include some children’s items in my inventory.  Based on her advice, I whipped up a bunch of really cute amigurumi animals.  These ended up being really big sellers, and next time, I will be sure to have even more on hand.  What I didn’t expect was that kids would have such an impact on their parent’s purchase.  Whenever a child came over to my shop, I treated him/her just like an adult customer.  I chatted with them, told them about my items, and asked them to pick things up and touch them.  Most importantly, it’s just nice to make them feel welcome, but I realized the adults seemed to linger more if they didn’t feel like their kids were in the way.  And, the kids were definitely very vocal about making purchase recommendations to their parents.  As an example, I ended up sale a very ‘grown up’ looking celtic purse to a 7 year old girl, because she convince  her mom she really loved it.

3.  Hagglers are Not a Necessary Evil – At the small church fair my mom and I did a couple years ago, everyone haggled over our prices (which weren’t that high to begin with).  I had braced myself to face more of the same last weekend.  I was so pleasantly surprised that not one person haggled over our prices.   Its nice to know that given the right venue and right crowd, people actually appreciate the effort that goes into handmade goods.  I know there were a few people that walked away empty handed because they didn’t want to pay that much, but it was done in a very respectful manner without questioning the value of our items.

4. Get to Know You Fellow Sellers – Like I said, we met some great people.  I wanted to give a shout out to some of the other crafters we met along the way.  Please check out the 2010 Park Craft website for some pictures of the day (the little felted kittens were mine!).  Also, here are a few highlights:

Wooly Cat – this is my mom’s shop where you can find some amazing felted bags, hats and ballerina dolls.

Lyrical – this shop was our next door ‘neighbor’ at the fair.  I really admired her beautiful jewelry made with lovely, sparkling gemstones.

Born In Brooklyn - this shop was our other ‘neighbor’ at the fair.  She makes amazing handmade ceramic pendants.  I used to do pottery/ceramics myself, so I know the amount of effort that went into these gorgeous pieces.

AngelRox – this shop sells the coolest wrap around convertible tops/dresses/skirts/shawls.  I can’t even do them justice by trying to explain them — check out the site.  My sister-in-law bought one and spent the rest of the weekend giving us a fashion show with a new look every 15 minutes!

Regina and Rebecca (me) At Out Booth

Some More icebluberries Jewelry, Clips, and Cozies

When I first started this blog, I wanted to make sure I gave plenty of ‘air time’ to some of those people out there doing some really creative and fun things (and there are so many of you!).

Ballerinas In A Line

This post features the work of Regina Hamilton a.k.a Woolycat Designs. For those of you don’t know me personally, Regina is my mom, so I grew up with her creativity. She even showed me how to make my first mini doll quilt when I was 5 years old. In fact, I think she recently found it when my daughter was playing over at her house.

Poseable Ballerina Doll

In addition to her beautiful quilts and felted knit handbags, Regina has recently begun making a line of the sweetest little ballerina dolls. These are original designs and each doll is a little bit different. Some have flowers on their toes, others have flower necklaces, some have bangs, some have poseable arms and legs, but they are all charming!

When asked why she decided to try her hand at doll-making, Regina said that she always enjoyed playing with dolls as a child, and by making them, she can continue to enjoy them as an adult. Her favorite parts of the creative process are matching fabrics, trying to decide on hairdos, and embroidering different expressions for faces. For her, its like playing, and she loves that, every doll comes out a little different.

Pretty In Pink

She also enjoys making things for her 3 grandchildren. “It is most rewarding when I make something for one of my grandchildren, because no matter how it comes out they always love it, and it is always made with love.”

I also couldn’t resist including this lovely little doll family in my article. Take a look at the dolls and then look at the family below. (yep, my family!). My mom even used some of our old clothes to make their outfits. Talk about cool customization!

If you like these dolls, check out Regina’s other items at her shop, WoolyCatDesigns on Etsy. Her dolls aren’t yet listed for sale, but if you like them, please convo her!

"The Stockdills" Doll Family

"The Stockdills" The Real Thing

I have to admit, when I first saw the article about Polyvore in the New Yorker a few weeks ago, I thought “Are you kidding me?  Grown ups really spend their time doing this?”  But, as I read I on, I became more and more curious about this website.  Now, I’m totally hooked!

Homage to Betsey Johnson by iceblueberries featuring Betsey Johnson

Polyvore is a site for anyone who loves clothes, accessories and anything to do with fashion.  Here is the gist of it — you get to ’shop’ from an amazingly huge selection of fashion items by a myriad of designers (dresses, skirts, pants, shoes, jewelry, bags, etc) and add them to your on-line closet.  You can then arrange your favorite items into outfits, or ’sets’ and publish them to the site.  Once published, anyone else can look at your creation and comment on it.  Not only can you clip items that are already stored at the site, you can browse fashion sites on the web and use the clipper tool to drag in other items.  (It doesn’t work for all sites — sorry, you can’t clip things from Etsy).  Although, I’ve found that you can clip photos from the patterns at LionBrand.   If you’ve ever looked at a fashion magazine, and said “I would never have paired those boots with that skirt!” then, this is your chance to get it right.  It kind of reminds of “Fashion Plates” for grown-ups.  Remember when you were a kid, you loved those plastic clothing-shaped plates that you arranged over different textures, put a piece of paper on top, and then rubbed with a crayon to create an outfit?  This is like that, but with so many more possibilities.

Not only is it fun to create your own set, but its really cool to check out what everyone else has done.  The creations run the gamut from traditional fashion to completely surreal (think mix and match body party with wild accessories).  People can add custom background, photos of actual people, and fun text.  I’ve noticed that while working on sets, I tend to focus on items of clothing that I would either wear if I could actually afford it, like the Betsey Johnson ensemble, or items I would love to wear if I dared, like the can-can skirt.  It had definitely made me think twice about what I put on when I wake up in the morning.  Goodbye, sweats! (or as Jon calls them — daytime pajamas!).

Here are a few sets that I’ve put together, just for fun!

Can-Can by iceblueberries featuring Bird by Juicy Couture tops

Mad Style by

Usually, when I start a project, I have every intention to finish it.   That doesn’t mean that I don’t have a whole slew of partially finished project stashed away on the shelves.

Princess Petunia Attacks The Gown

I totally intend to finish them — someday.   However, once in a great while, I just hit a brick wall and say “no more!”.    That happened to me today.  By way of background, my family and I will be attending a charity event in memory of my cousin Karyn next week.  (check out this wonderful article about Karyn in the Billerica Green Newspaper). The theme of the event is “Prom Night”.  When I found out that all attendees were encouraged to wear real prom attire, I got really excited.  My brain was racing with great ideas — maybe an early Madonna-inspired dress with lots of tulle and long lace gloves; or perhaps something in the vein of “Pretty in Pink”.  I finally decided that I was going to make matching purple taffeta dresses for my daughter and me, and matching bow ties for my husband and son.  Who can deny the kitsch appeal?  C’mon, it would be the ultimate in prom cheese!

Spreading Out The Fabric

Well, here we are – less than a week before the event, and I realized I have committed myself to make 2 gowns and 2 bow ties in 4 days.  Not to mention, I am trying to get my act together for a craft fair for which I am totally unprepared, unpacking from an impromptu trip to NYC, and dealing with 2 very cranky, over-tired kids.  But, I was determined to give it my best shot.  I managed to get the bodice out and stitched together.  (My daughter took a photo of me laying out a burgundy dress to use as a pattern for the bodice of my purple gown).

Measuring the Gown

No sooner did I start sewing the bodice, the kids took the rest of the fabric and decided to make a tent out of it.  During the tent venture, my son managed to close the top to the storage ottoman on my daughter arm.  While dealing with arm-in-the-ottoman incident the cats decided to get into a fight in the middle of my fabric.  For the icing on the cake, my gathering thread broke on the skirt, and I was faced with starting the gathering process again.  Then, the light came on.  “Do I really need to do this?  Am I really this crazy?”  And, the answer was, no, I didn’t need to do this!  We will have just as much fun wearing something out of our closets.  So, I balled up the fabric, half-finished dress and all, put away the sewing machine, and called it a day.  It was cheap taffeta anyway, and I can always use it for a kid’s project.

It made me think a bit about how much of our day to day stress is really necessary and how much is self-induced.  Sometimes it feels really good to just say “no”.  And guess what I’ll be wearing to the event?  Yep, the same burgundy dress in the photo that I was using for a pattern.  Go figure!

Princess Petunia Sleeps on My Half-Finished Gown

If you’ve been watching the news, you know that those of us in Rhode Island have had our fair share of rain last week.

Spring Daffodil

Even though we got by relatively unscathed, it was still pretty weird to see your backyard turn into a swamp in a matter of hours.  Although the highways are open again, and most of the water has subsided, many of our neighbors are still draining their basements, and some friends are still waiting to get back into the house.  The ’silver lining’, so to speak, is that now everything is turning green and growing like crazy.  So, I thought it would be fun to write about our early gardening ventures and show some pics of all the great things getting a head start in the yard.

Last year, Jon built 5 raised beds in the yard and built a cloche over one of them.

Bacco and Max check out the sage and lavender

Typically, seeds packets advise you to wait until the last frost to plant outdoors, but we figured we could shave of 4-6 weeks by planting under the cloche.  So, as soon as we had a sunny weekend, we got started with our early spring crops.  The Demesne garden site has some good info on spring planting, and some fun ideas on companion planting.  In the end, a lot of what we ended up doing was based on trial and error.  A few things to note – most of the planting was done pre-flood, and you can’t get seeds in a straight row when a 4 year old is helping!

Spinach – the spinach was actually planted last fall and somehow managed to survive the winter as a little sprout.  When Jon put the cloche back up a few weeks ago, it really took off.  This is definitely a hearty plant!

Spinach Plant

Snow Peas – for some reason, I just love the way pea shoots look.  They are so cute!  These seeds were ones that I saved from the peas we grew last summer.  They sprouted in less than a week under the cloche and are growing well.  These are a great cool weather plant.

Snow Pea Shoots

Arugula – we always do really well with arugula.  These seeds were also from plants we grew last year that went to seed.  They sprouted in less than a week, and the ones in the cloche are growing very rapidly.  I hope to be eating arugula in a couple of weeks.  (As an experiment, I planted a few rows under the cloche and one row out in the open; the ones under the cloche are about 3 times as big).

Arugula

Kale – I never grew kale before, but heard it is a great cool weather crop.  It sprouted in a little over a week and already has its second set of leaves.

Kale

Carrots – These are supposedly a good cool weather crop.  Ours haven’t sprouted yet, but I’m still hopeful.

Garlic – You can’t go wrong with this herb.  Put them in the ground around Halloween, and don’t worry about them until August.  I planted cloves from one head of garlic last fall.  All of them sprouted over the winter and have been growing steadily.  We’ll have scapes early summer and 15-20 heads of garlic by the fall.  Yum!

Garlic

French Tarragon – I was told this plant couldn’t over winter in our zone.  I dug it up and put it in a pot, but accidentally left it outside all winter.  Much to my surprise, it totally came back!  I just moved it into its permanent home in one of the raised beds.  I guess it is pretty hardy after all.

French Tarragon

Sage – This is a very hardy plant.  It stayed out all winter, and its all ready getting full and bushy.

Parsley – Once again, I didn’t think this plant was a) a perennial, or b) could survive the winter.  Well, our parsley is alive and well!

Mint – What can I say about mint?  You can’t keep it down even with a steamroller.  Get ready for mint juleps!

Basil, Dill, Cilantro, Oregano – just put these seeds in this week.  The jury is out!  (although we always seem to do well with herbs)

Rhubarb – this is the second year we’ve had this perennial in our garden.  The roots were a transplant from my uncle’s and aunt’s garden in Maine.  They seem to be thriving!

Rhubarb

I can’t wait until we start picking and eating!  Happy spring, and happy gardening.

Azalea

A few months ago, my husband asked me to make him a felted sleeve for his new laptop.   So, of course, I started peppering him with questions like ‘what color?’, ‘knit?’, ‘crochet?’, ‘recycled?’, ’size?’.  Half jokingly, he said he didn’t care, but it just needed to have flames going down the side of it.  I had just bought a bunch of second hand wool sweaters to use for felting projects, and I found a dark olive one that would be perfect for a laptop cover.   Lucky for me, I also had a bright red sweater that just screamed ‘flames!’.   Thus, was born the “Greased Lightning” Laptop Sleeve!   He’s gotten a number of compliments on it (or so he told me — maybe he was just trying to make me feel good), so I thought I would post some instructions on how to make your own.

Tongues of Flame Fingerless Gloves

I also used the leftover pieces from the sweater sleeves to make a cool pair of fingerless gloves.  You can see more pictures of the gloves at my Etsy Shop.

I’m not a Photoshop genius, so please be kind with my diagrams!  Here goes — First step, select a sweater to use as the base of the bag.  In order to felt properly, it should be 100% wool.   If you are going to add an applique, select a sweater in a contrasting color.  The sweater used for the applique should also be 100% wool, but should be thinner than the sweater used for the base of the bag.  Felt both sweaters by putting them through at least one cycle in the washing machine (hot wash/cold rinse); dry in the dryer.  Using the diagram below, cut out the central piece of the laptop bag.

Template - How to Cut Sweater for Laptop Bag

If you are adding an applique, cut out the applique and sew it to the outside of the bag using whip stitch or ladder stitch. (you do not need to hem or turn under the edges of the applique; the felting process will keep it from unraveling) The sides of the bag will be partially open (where you remove the sleeves).  Sew the open part of the sides shut.  The bottom edge of the sweater (will probably have some ribbing) will be the top of the bag.   Attach a zipper.  You can also add buttons, if you prefer.  The last step is to turn the bag inside out and stitch the bottom shut.  Although I added the tongues of flame by hand, I did all the other stitching by machine.

Template - Sewing the Laptop Bag

You can use the sleeves to make a pair of fingerless gloves.  Cut according to the diagram above.  The cuff edge of sleeve will be the wrist side of the glove; the raw edge will be the finger side of the glove. Turn the glove inside out and mark where the thumb opening should be.  Machine stitch as indicated in diagram.  Snip the ‘triangle’ that is created with the stitching.  Turn the glove right-side out.  You can now stitch on an applique, embroider flowers, or embellish however you like!

Template - Stitching for Gloves

With Easter only a few short weeks away, I thought it would be fun to post instructions on hand dying yarn using Easter egg dye.

Finally Dry! Ready To Use

I discovered this art a few years back while surfing the net and have tweaked and combined a few different techniques to come up with a process that works well for me.  Unfortunately, my photos don’t do the final product justice.  I really need to figure out how to take better pictures!  If you want to see some amazing photos (and a detailed set of instructions), you should also check out the Kathryn Ivy site.  I love what they’ve done with their yarn.

If you like dying yarn with Easter egg dye, I definitely suggest you wait until right after Easter and scoop up a bunch of super-discounted egg dying kits.  Last year, my Mom found a whole slew of kits on sale for something like $.50 each, so I now have a small stockpile egg dying kits.  Now, I just need to find the time to dye myself a heap o’yarn!

If you end up trying it yourself, I would love to hear about your results!  And, stay tuned — I’ll be posting about dying yarn using Wilton’s food coloring, some time soon…

Easter Egg Dyed Yarn

Material Needed:

• 100% wool yarn (I used Lion Brand Fisherman wool 465 yards wound into 4 hanks approx. 115 yards each)
• Easter egg dye tablets
• Vinegar
• Wash basin, sink or large bowl
• Glass bowl large enough for yarn
• Large baking sheet (for hand painting)

Tips

• The less yarn you use per tablet, the more intense the color.  1 tablet per 100 yards of yarn gives a nice medium tone color.
• You can add more water to your dye mix to color more yarn, however the color will be lighter.
• Never run water directly onto your yarn or it may felt.
• Do not vigorously rub yarn while rinsing or it may felt.
• Wear rubber gloves, or you will dye your hands, too!

Process

• Wash yarn in warm water with a very small amount of dish soap.
• Fill your basin or sink with enough cold water to cover your yarn.
• Add approximately 1 cup of vinegar to your water and mix.
• Gently add washed yarn to the vinegar-water mixture.  Make sure your yarn is completely submerged.  Soak for at least 30 minutes.
• Remove yarn and gently squeeze out water.
• You can either use the immersion or hand painting methods described below

Immersion Dying Method (single color)

• Prepare dye tablets as directed on box.  Depending upon how much yarn you want to dye, you may want to add more water.
• Pour dye into a bowl big enough to hold your yarn.
• Add enough water to barely cover yarn.
• Submerge yarn into dye.
• When yarn has absorbed dye, remove from bowl.
• Gently squeeze out excess water (do not squeeze too tightly, yarn should still be wet)
• Put wet yarn in a glass bowl and cover.
• Microwave for 10 minutes.
• Remove yarn from microwave (be careful, it will be very hot).  Let the yarn cool until it can be handled comfortably.
• Fill basin or sink with very warm water.
• Submerge yarn in the basin and swish around with your hands. (the yarn should not be bleeding any dye at this point)
• Squeeze yarn dry with your hands; roll it in a towel to remove additional excess water.
• Hang the yarn on a rack to dry.

Hand Painting (gives a pretty variegated effect)

• Select 2 or more colors. Prepare dye tablets as directed on box.  Depending upon how much yarn you want to dye, you may want to add more water.
• Lay hanks of yarn flat on a baking sheet.
• Add an additional 1/3 cup of water to dyes.
• Use a small cup, ladle or squeeze bottle to pour dye over yarn in sections.  Be sure to prepare enough dye to solution to cover all of yarn.  You can also deliberately leave sections white.
  

  Hand Painted Yarn After Color Has Been Added

• You can “pre-dye” yarn using the immersion method and “paint” sections of the yarn before drying.
• When yarn is sufficiently coverd with dye, remove from bowl.
• Gently squeeze out excess water (do not squeeze too tightly, yarn should still be wet)
• Put wet yarn in a glass bowl and cover.
• Microwave for 10 minutes.
• Remove yarn from microwave (be careful, it will be very hot).  Let the yarn cool until it can be handled comfortably.
• Fill basin or sink with very warm water.
• Submerge yarn in the basin and swish around with your hands. (the yarn should not be bleeding any dye at this point)


Soaking The Yarn After Microwaving

• Squeeze yarn dry with your hands; roll it in a towel to remove additional excess water.
• Hang the yarn on a rack to dry.
  

  On The Drying Rack

  

  Hand Dyed Skein

  

  Another Photo of the Finished Product

Here is are are a couple photos of felted flowers I made from the yarn that I dyed. I also made a really cute yoga sweater, but I haven’t managed to take any pics of it!

Felted Lotus Brooch

Felted Orchid Hair Clip