Archive for June, 2008
And yet another crocheted soaker (The DH calls soakers “Cave Man Shorts”) for the Wee Diva (Can a Wee Diva ever get enough of these??). Different pattern, this time… One woman said she could crochet this soaker in three hours, so Crochet Diva took on the challenge that ended up being more of an all day project — Perhaps if it was a soaker for a newborn, instead of a toddler. Either way, this was an easy pattern to work up. 
Crochet Soaker Pattern Link
June 24 2008 | Yarn and baby and crochet and green and pattern links | 5 Comments »
Crochet Diva & Family have been finding four-leaf-clovers everywhere…
Yes, more cell quality pics :-/….
June 23 2008 | Family | 8 Comments »
Lanolizing is a process that waterproofs woolen soakers. Lanolin can be found in the baby section of most stores. It is often used by breastfeeding mothers. Crochet Diva bought some at Wal-Mart. The brand is Lansinoh. All that is needed to lanolize woolen soakers is Lanolin, a bowl, hot water, and baby shampoo. First, run hot water in a bowl (Bowl should be big enough to fit soakers in). Then, squirt one spoon of lanolin in the hot water and a squirt of baby shampoo. Mix the solution with your hands (This makes hands really soft :)). Solution should become white and milky. When solution is milky, this means that the lanolin is emulsified, and ready to lanolize the soakers in.
Soak over night in lanolin solution. Take soaker from solution and push water out gently. Lay wet soaker on a dry towel and roll to wring excess water out of soaker. Hang to air dry (This could take a few days).
Getting the Wee Diva to hold still long enough to model her new soaker was not easy, but finally she relented:
June 22 2008 | Uncategorized | 4 Comments »
After the Kool-Aid dyed soaker pieces dried, Crochet Diva crocheted the pieces together and crocheted a ribbed waistband and leg bands.
Voila, Finished Object:
June 21 2008 | Yarn and baby and crochet and green and soaker and wool | No Comments »
The Wee Diva needed more wool soakers, so Crochet Diva crocheted her latest soaker out of White Lamb’s Pride 85% Wool/15% Mohair. Then, Crochet Diva soaked the soaker in warm water with one squirt of dish soap for about 20 minutes.
While the soaker was soaking (hehe), Crochet Diva prepared everything for the dying process. Some people dye their wool before they crochet with it, but Crochet Diva only wanted to dye the exact amount of wool, so she opted to dye the soaker after she crocheted it.
Here is what is needed for Kool-Aid dying:
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2-3 Packages of Kool-Aid or other drink mix (Depending on how deep you want the color to be)
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2 TBSP White Vinegar per Kool-Aid Packet
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2 TBSP Water Per Kool-Aid Packet
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Plastic Wrap (Crochet Diva ended up using a ziplock baggy)
Mix Kool-Aid, Vinegar, & Water in bowl and stir until your drink mix is fully disolved. Lay Plastic Wrap flat on work area. Put wool or soaker on top of plastic wrap. Gradually pour Kool-Aid mixture on your wool or wool item until entire surface is colored. Then wrap in plastic wrap and sit in a glass dish (This is where Crochet Diva put the soaker in a plastic baggy, and then put it into a glass dish). Put dish with wrapped soaker in microwave for three minutes. Check your baggy, and the water should no longer be colored, but should be clear:
Notice in the picture, the water in the corner of the baggy is clear, and no longer purple like grape Kool-Aid (Be careful not to burn yourself, it will be VERY HOT). When the water is clear it means that the Kool-Aid has completely absorbed and set into the wool. Rinse wool item in cool water. Then, take wool item and put onto a dry towel and roll to wring excess water from wool item. Notice how after the soaker is taken from towel, no purple residue is on the towel. The dye is really completely set into the wool.
All done, now hang dyed item to dry!
June 20 2008 | green and soaker and wool | 5 Comments »
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