My Kool-Aid Dyeing Workshop

Saturday morning was my Kool-Aid Dyeing workshop. Last summer I presented my Kool-Aid dyed yarn babette to my sister-in-law for a baby shower gift. Two of my mom's friends were interested in learning and we finally got around to doing this workshop. It was just the four of us, me, mom, Lu and Michelle, but we had a blast! I had made this Kool-Aid yarn color chart last week and really had fun with that.

We each tried painting skeins and dyeing a solid skein. Here are two of the painted skeins that I did.

I have one more painted and my solid that were still drying at my parents' house.

Gretchen and Eric's Blanket

I've given you a couple of sneak peaks of this project, but I didn't want to give much away to the recipients.  This was the only Christmas gift that I started early, I actually started it in July and then put it aside because it was too hot on my lap as it grew. 







This is the Granny Stripe Crochet pattern, more details on my Ravelry page.  I've used this pattern before and love it, it's easy, fast and the results are lovely.  The yarn is a new favorite, Stitch Nation by Debbie Stoller Washable Ewe (available at Joann stores).  It dyes up beautifully and all of this yarn is hand dyed with Kool Aid.  Some are overdyes of gray, purple and yellow yarn, but most are on white.  This was my first time really trying out overdying with Kool Aid and it really expanded my color palette. Purples are quite limited with Kool Aid, but overdying really helped to solve that problem!  Gretchen had told me that her favorite colors to decorate with were Yellow, Purple and Orange, so I created this palette based on her preference.  I love the results, and it was actually really hard to gift this gorgeous blanket. 



I suppose one of my New Years resolutions should be to finally crochet a blanket for us. I have some of this yarn left over and might just start on something for us. I really need a scale so that I can weigh my yarn and know how much each stripe takes and I'm not running out of a hard to match color mid stripe. 

More Kool Aid Dyed Yarn

I dyed more of my Kool Aid yarn this weekend. I now have 10 skeins total in 14 colors plus natural. I will be crocheting up more granny squares this week. I'm liking the colors so much, despite the limited range, that I might want to do some for a blanket to keep. It is so easy to do, and I learned from my beginners mistakes. Here is a good tutorial.

Unfortunately Joann's is discontinuing the yarn that I used. It was the Moda Dea washable wool. I have bought every skein with a coupon, and don't want to pay full price, so I'll have to find another yarn to use.

Learn to dye with Kool-Aid!

I'm teaching a Kool-Aid yarn dyeing workshop this weekend and there is still time to sign up. If you are in the DFW area and are interested check out the evite for more info. I do need to know asap so that I can order the yarn, so please let me know if you want to join us.

I had heard that wool yarn could be dyed with Kool-Aid, but had no idea how well it could work. Check out these images I found on flickr and the great colors they created! I also found this info on how to do this at home. I'm planning to try this asap, and will let you know how it works out.

My mini vacation

Well, lucky Frank escaped for a week to Colorado! So mom and I went down to Austin for a few days. Definitely not the same as Colorado, but a nice change of pace none the less. I had lots of time to crochet, which was nice since I'm on a time crunch for finishing up a gift. Here is what I worked on. I think I am about a quarter done. This is my kool aid yarn, with the Babette four round granny square. I'm loving it! Since I was in a yarny mood I made a point to stop in Hill Country Weavers to pick up a ball of Noro Kureyon Sock yarn. I bought this Spring Ripple Scarf Pattern a while back and am looking forward to starting it. I got the yarn in the color pictured here. The pattern only takes one skein, and it self stripes, which is great.
I'll tell you more about my trip soon.

Fun stuff

I got so excited when I saw the selection of drink mixes at my local Mexican Grocer. They have interesting flavors like Melon, Jamaica, which I tried. I also found some kool-aid at another store. There are apparently some elusive flavors that I might have to hunt around for!


I spent yesterday afternoon dying my yarns. I used 4 skeins total of Moda-dea washable wool. I am still learning as I go, but am thrilled with the outcome. I plan to overdye that bright green one, and to do more colors as well. I think I am going to use these for a baby version of the Babette blanket.

Zinnia Colors

I talked about my love for zinnias last week. Well, I'm still enjoying my zinnias from my cutting/veggie garden, and plan to all summer. It struck me yesterday how similar my kool aid yarn colors are to my zinnia colors. Obviously I'm drawn to bright colors!

I blocked the crochet squares that I had finished already. I couldn't believe how easy and effective it is. It was my first time to block anything. I just wet the squares, pinned them to a foam board, and let dry. It didn't take long for them to dry in the hot Texas sun. They turned out so neat, flat and square. I can't wait to get it all put together.

Phew, that was close!

Celeste with the baby babette

The baby shower for my sister in law, Celeste, was on Saturday. I didn't have much time to work on the blanket last week because I was getting ready for my class on Friday. Soooo, I was up til 2 am Friday stitching squares together, and again Saturday morning! I finished everything but weaving in the yarn ends, which I will do soon. I wished I could have had it totally finished, but I was just happy that it was all put together. Mom's friends all really liked the blanket, and want me to teach them how to do the kool aid dyeing.

This is the quilt that mom made for her first grandchild.

The zig zag quilt pattern is from Anna Maria Horner. I love the way this turned out.

Karen, Kathy, Mom and I

I'll post more detailed shots of the blanket soon. Oh, by the way my jewelry class was a hit, and I'll tell you more about that too.

In the garden

I have to admit my back yard is in need of some tlc. However, with the rain and cooler temps the garden is coming back to life and I have wanted to wander outside more often. My Tropicana Canna is blooming as is a lovely clear blue morning glory.

Can you see where my color inspiration comes from in my hand dyed yarns? I did some more kool aid dying, this time experimenting with different types of yarn. The lustrous silk bamboo on the left didn't take so well and I never got the water to run clear. The next one is a bamboo wool blend that took better but I don't think it would dye very dark. The other two are both wool, roving and then superwash and both did well.

Babette Beginnings

I have put my kool-aid dyed yarn to use! Here are the beginnings of a baby blanket. I wrote a while back about wanting to make a Babette Blanket for myself. Well, I haven't done that yet, but am using the pattern for a baby blanket. I think I am going to keep it to one size of the squares, probably the 4 round size. I love these colors and can't wait to dye more to add to the mix! I kind of jumped the gun and added pink in hopes that one of the pregnant ladies I know will have a girl. I'll let you know how that works out.