Rainy Afternoon? Dye Yarn!

Several weeks ago, Elizabeth sent the girls some undyed yarn and Easter colors. She posted instructions for dyeing yarn and encouraged each girl to express herself with her own hank of yarn. They were eager to get after it. I promised that we would do it one rainy afternoon. 

And then the bluebells bloomed and we were outside, rain or not. But late last week, it rained and I was all bluebelled out, so we set about to dye yarn.

My girls had seen a sneak peek of Larkspur's beautiful yarn, so they'd settle for nothing less than using every color in the packet. Since I didn't happen to have pipettes on hand, I figured we'd give yarn painting a try. (I also brought out a turkey baster. It was clearly obvious it wouldn't give us detail but it kept Sarah entertained the whole time.)

I determined from the get-go that I would help one girl at a time. Good call. They required careful supervision.

The yarn was tied in several places, using a figure-eight style tie. We left it tied. Critical to minimize tangles.

First we soaked the yarn in 1 cup of warm water and and 1/4 cup of white vinegar. The girls eagerly squished the yarn and turned it over, careful to be sure every strand was wet.

We mixed our dye in our watercolor jars. We added one tablet of Easter egg dye and 1 tablespoon vinegar. And let it fizz. Fun. We talked a little about the chemistry of it all.

[Just an aside, but I dislike both math and chemistry. I'm beginning to suspect that Elizabeth is on a mission--via yarn--to convert me to someone who embraces math and chemistry. Between dyeing yarn and doing the math on  a Baby Surprise Jacket, I'm seriously using a part of my brain I've tried to avoid. Embracing math and chemistry would truly be a miracle.]

Then we filled the cups with water--about a half  cup's worth. We spread the table with a big green garbage bag and set our cups in the middle. Then, we circled the dye with the yarn. And we used our watercolor paintbrushes.

We talked about a pattern and everyone understood that we were going to move around the yarn in a rainbow order. Katie and I worked on hers first. I got her started and showed her how to paint the yarn on top and make sure she was painting the layers in the middle and then to carefully flip it and get the underside. She took off on her own and Karoline watched. There was blessed silence as she worked--everyone concentrating and creating. There was no end to Katie's patience.

Karoline required a great deal more help. First, Mary Beth guided her around. She soon decided that she wanted all the colors Larkspur had, but she was only interested in painting the purple herself. Mary Beth and I thoroughly enjoyed painting it for her helping her finish.

When the yarn was all painted, we carefully transferred it back to the large (15X10) glass casserole dishes. I covered them with plastic wrap and then I microwaved them individually. I microwaved for 3 minutes and then let it sit for 5 minutes, repeating this four or five times. lately, I've suspecting that my microwave isn't really working at full power even when it says it is, so I'd adjust your times accordingly.

Then I left to go to the airport.

When I returned, the yarn was completely cool. We ran a cool bath and swished our yarn around gently for about ten minutes. Then, we pulled it out of the tub, gently squeezed and placed it on the bathroom floor between two thick towels. We instructed Karoline to bourre until she was too tired to bourre any more. So, she gladly danced on the balls of her feet for few minutes. We hung the yarn to dry in the bathroom and waited patiently until the next day.

When there was no dampness left whatsoever, each girl recruited a brother to help her wind her very own ball of yarn.

Ta-Dah!

Mary Beth still has a hank of merino-silk to dye. But now, we're off on a bit of a rabbit trail. I'm pretty sure these  books will work for high school chemistry for both of us, no?

Remember, there's a great bargain to be had on Easter egg dyes this week;-). Go!

For undyed yarn, Knit Picks, has a wide selection at a reasonable price.

{Comments are welcome}

On My Mind: Easter Week

Sunday, late afternoon...

Outside My Window

It's finally spring. Virginia is greening up nicely and we're sure glad to see it.

I am Listening to

The Ladies of Cecelia perform Be Still and Know--over and over and over again. It's really beautiful. Longtime followers will recognize the amazing vionlist as MacBeth Derham's daughter, Libby. I think you will agree that she's grown into quite the lovely young lady.

I am Wearing

A sweater and a skirt and an apron.

I am so Grateful for

~safe travels. Mike and Patrick are in Amsterdam this week.

~3 goals and a 3-2 win over China. Patrick scored all three.

~decent telephone connections

~knitting

~cotton yarn

~a daughter who knows that baking is art

~Easter with grandparents and cousins

~ a darling picture of a young soccer player wearing Patrick's National Team jersey. Paddy signed it for him and sent it back to his parents so they could put it in his Easter basket.

I'm Pondering

Knitting twelve sweaters isn't insane. It's actually part of what keeps me sane, keeps me calm and focused on the important things, and brings me present into the here and now. Pretty amazing for something as simple as wrapping some string around a couple of sticks...over and over and over again. Until there's a sweater....or twelve. ~Amanda Soule

 

I am Reading

Organized Simplicity 

I am Thinking

about what to keep and what to change from my Lenten rhythm and resolutions. Actually, there's very little I expect to change. The only book I read during Lent was the Bible. I do look forward to delving into the stack I have for myself, but, I'd like to keep the extended Bible reading time as well. And all the other disciplines? All good. It was a very fruitful Lent.

I am Creating

A sweater shrug (number 5 or 6?) and I'm starting a new project this week, too.  With handpainted yarn. Karoline painted it. Much more on that later this week.

On my iPod

Knitting Yarns and Spinning Tales

Towards a Real Education

Mary Beth and I mapped out her first high school year and got everything tidied up and ordered. We'll begin next week. I like to have our school years run year 'round and my goal this year was to finish before the bluebells bloomed so that we could really enjoy some extended time outside this spring. That plan is mostly on track.

I know that she wishes she were attending a one of two schools in the area. The first is all girls and way out of our price range and a long commute. The second is an impossible commute. We're both trusting that God will provide during the next four years. I'm grateful that she is who she is. Pure blessing.

Towards Rhythm and Beauty

This Easter was very different than I imagined just a week ago. I thought we were going to the Shrine downtown and then to brunch at the club. Early in the week, we decided Mike should fly to Holland to meet Patrick. So, that makes it the first holiday without everyone together. That's new. Then, Mike's dad fell for the second time in as many weeks and it was clear that we couldn't do the trek into DC. So we stayed home. I  just sort of did reprise of last year. And it was fine.

But I missed them.

To Live the Liturgy...

Easter isn't time or place or even tradition. It's the awareness of the risen Christ and the intimacy of His forgiveness and His friendship.

Stephen and Nick served Mass Thursday night, SAturday at the Easter Vigil and first thing Sunday morning. This fact might not be remarkable except that before this week, they'd never, ever served. Now, they know what they're doing.

I am Hoping and Praying

for Elizabeth deHority. She is constantly on my heart and in my prayers. She needs you now. Please, please pray with me.

for the soul of Ty Lewis and for his family and for the countless soccer families who grieve his loss.

for Sarah and her family as they grieve the tragic loss of her sister-in-law.

for Mike's dad and for his mom and for his medical care.

 In the Garden

We planted sunflowers and snap peas and spring lettuces and morning glories. The tulips are fading and I need to think about color for the front beds. I'd like to get creative and I'd like to plant some perennials. In the end, I'll probably plant two flats of petunias. Just like last year.

Around the House

A few fun new Easter things.

A copy of Tangled and a very effective new de-tangler.  (Guess whose basket?) Hat tip to Lori.

Fresh supplies for the easel

Chocolate-covered espresso beans.

From the Kitchen

Recipe testing some meals inspired by the farmer's market for the summer issue of Faith and Family.

~Fettuccine Gazpacho Salad

~Mixed greens with Strawberry Vinaigrette

~Zucchini bread

and some more you'll have to read about in the summer issue. By the way, I got a sneak peek at the spring cover last week. So much darlingness:-)

One of My Favorite Things

safe landings

 

Sarah Annie this week

She misses her daddy. And her Paddy. This has been an intense time of travel for Mike. He's rarely been home this spring. Sarah is very attached to Daddy, so his absence rocks her world. And she's a big Paddy fan. Pretty much, we're both hanging on 'til the end of May.

A Few Plans for the Week

homecomings: Mike on Monday and Patrick on Tuesday (but Paddy will only be here for few jetlagged hours.)

For the first time in eleven years, I'm going to meet a friend for lunch. And a visit to a yarn store. I'm giddy with excitement.

More bluebells, no doubt, as they begin to fade. And lots of Bluebell Blogging. I have a billion blue photos to share.

Pretty sure there will be a doctor's appointment for Mary Beth. She had a CT scan last week to address some ongoing problems related to  last year's eye injury.

Make-up State Cup game from the weekend of the deluge. No idea when that will be, except it must be before Saturday, when the Round 2 game is to be played. And it's in Richmond. Can't wait to drive to Richmond on a weekday evening/afternoon.

Picture thoughts:

  

{{Comments are open. I have been terrible about responding to mail. Please forgive me? I do read every single note and I do pray for you. But, I don't always answer promptly. I'm hoping that having comments open on occasion will give me a chance to answer the more common questions for several people at once and will give you dear ladies an opportunity to talk with each other. They are moderated, so if you don't see yours at first, it means I'm busy knitting; it will appear shortly.}}

On Good Friday, Mercy

One of our family’s fairly new Good Friday traditions is to begin the Divine Mercy novena, spending a small part of the sad day of the Lord’s passion looking forward to Mercy Sunday. The feast of Divine Mercy, also known as Mercy Sunday, is the Sunday after Easter every year. The message of Divine Mercy is based on the writings of a Polish nun, Sister Faustina Kowalska, who, in obedience to her spiritual director, wrote a diary recording her revelations about the mercy of God. I will post each day of the novena here.

We are assured that God loves us, no matter how great our sins and that He wants us to trust in His mercy. We beg His mercy, trust in His generous response and know that His mercy flows through us to others.

When I was on bed rest, waiting in complete stillness for Sarah to be born, Karoline was not quite 2 years old. Before bed rest, she was a nursing baby who was dependent upon me for pretty much everything. With the beginning of bed rest, she was a weaning toddler who had to learn a whole new routine. Putting her to sleep was a great challenge. Karoline was used to nursing to sleep right next to me. It fell to my 12-year-old daughter to comfort her to sleep in her own room.

Mary Beth left the bedroom door open and from my bed in another room, I could see her curled up around Karoline. She had a beautiful sung version of the Divine Mercy chaplet playing in the room. The rhythm and repetition soothed my wee one to sleep. The words of the chaplet played on during her entire naptime, every day, seeping into our souls.

Over and over, we heard, “For the sake of His sorrowful passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world.” His mercy was palpable in a home where we knew that birth could come any time and would bring with it a medical emergency. When the time did come, it was the middle of the night. I went into Mary Beth’s room to tell her we were rushing to the hospital and heard the chaplet still playing. Those words echoed in my head that whole tense day, right up to my baby’s emergency premature birth.

Now, that sung chaplet is very much a part of our family's tradition. The message of mercy is a  simple one and children (and the adults in their lives) can call it to mind as readily as ABC:

A — Ask God for His mercy. It is His desire for us to come to Him again and again, confessing and repenting of our sins and asking Him to pour His mercy over our souls in such abundance that it will flow from us to others.

B — Be merciful. When we know God’s mercy, we know what it is to be forgiven and to receive grace. God wants us to be missionaries of that mercy, to forgive others and to shower grace upon them.

C — Completely trust in Jesus. The message of mercy is that the more we trust in Jesus, the more completely we rest in Him and are peacefully confident in His mercy, the more we become channels of that mercy and grace. When we live in God’s mercy, it flows abundantly through us, spilling generously into the lives of the people we touch.

{reposted from the Arlington Catholic Herald}

Good Friday

~~~~~

Jesus was beaten until He bled. And He was given a crown of thorns.

~~~

Jesus was given a heavy cross to carry.

~~~

He carried His very heavy cross up a steep hill.

~~~

He was crucified.

~~~

The Seven Last Words:

1 "Father, forgive them; they do not know what they are doing" (Lk 23:34)

2 "I assure you: this day you will be with Me in paradise" (Lk 23:43)

3 "Woman, there is your Son" (Jn 19:26)

4 "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?" (Mt 27:46

5 "I am thirsty" (Jn 19:30)

6 "Now it is finished" (Jn 19:30)

7 "Father, into Your hands I commend My spirit" (Lk 23:46)
~~~

  Jesus died.

~~~

He was taken down from the cross and He was wrapped in linen.

~~~

And was placed in a tomb.

~~~

With a stone rolled across it.

And now we wait.

{wooden figures available at Worship Woodworks}

Yarn Along: Where I Break the Rules

I seem to consistently break the one picture and brevity Yarn Along rules. If I didn't, I'd post three or four knitting posts a week. Instead, I save them all up in my head until Wednesday. I love Wednesday. Begging your grace?

I finished Chloe #4, blocked it, put a button on it, and gave it away. Officially, it's the first finished sweater because I still haven't put buttons on the ones for my girls.  This one went to Zoe, which means that as I knit, everyone found every opportunity to say, "Oh, you're working on Zoe's Chloe?" Yep. Very fun. And what a sweet, sweet baby...

I have cast on for yet another Chloe (the 6th I have cast on), this time for a baby not yet born. This one is in Blue Sky Alpacas Multi Cotton. It feels lovely in my hands and is stitching up rather nicely. I'm pleasantly surprised with the cotton. But I still don't want to have to knit everything in cotton.

I've promised myself that I will move beyond Chloes after this sweater. Not sure exactly where I'm going, but I'm going to knit something other than a Chloe. I think even my family is getting bored. Carmie made this adorable vest for Sarah. She's worn it and worn it and worn it since it arrived a few weeks ago. I see the value of vests for toddlers and I know that these could be the workhorses of her wardrobe, so maybe that's the direction I'm going. I just need to figure out which yarn...

Reading? I have stuck to my Lenten resolve, but I have lined up Easter Week reading. Here's my problem: my Lenten reading was on audio; I listened to all of it. But now, I have some books to read. As far as I know one cannot read and knit at the same time. How am I going to find time to knit, to read, and to blog? 

I caved and bought three book-books, despite my promise to myself only to buy books on Kindle this year. At the insistence of every knitter who offered an opinion, I'm going to read two Elizabeth Zimmermann books, simply because it appears to be the thing to do. And then, in hopes of getting my house so together that I create more pockets of time in which to knit, I am going to read Organized Simplicity. {Mary Beth notes that all our "simplicity" books are blue. Could we just paint the house blue and attain peace of simplicity?}

Be sure to stop by and visit Ginny and see what other folks are knitting and reading.

{comments are open to chat about knitting and reading and organizing and such:-)}