knitting stripes

It is fun to knit something that has stripes in it- why is that? I think because it breaks the knitting down into chunks, so one has more the feeling of making progress on the item. Plus, there is the motivation to see how the next stripe will look.

Designing with stripes is very interesting, because there are so many possibilities. One that I like is taking three colors, one a neutral (or neutral-ish), one a bold accent, and then one inbetween, a nice pretty color. The colors can be worked in a pattern such as: neutral 6 rows, pretty 4 rows, bold 2 rows, pretty 4 rows, repeat from beginning.

Something else that is interesting is to take two light colored balls of yarn (of the same color) and overdye patches of one for a coordinating look. For example, a ball of light green yarn can be overdyed in patches of blue and yellow, with undyed patches inbetween. Worked with the undyed ball of green, this produces a very subtle stripe.

Sometimes an accent can really change the effect of a stripe. I made a backpack with variegated red and kettle dyed green, and realized after starting that it might end up looking less summery (what I intended) and more wintry (Christmas colors). After finishing the bag, I found two little ladybug buttons, and attached them to the bag. Then I made the shoulder straps in the shape of strawberries. Those two elements together made all the difference.

Silk: painting vs dying

Perhaps the biggest difference between dying and painting silk is in the setting process. Paints are set by dry heat, either an iron or in the dryer. Dyes are set with wet heat. This can be dying a solid or kettle (mottled) scarf in a pot of simmering water to which the dye is added. It can also be a scarf decorated (painted) with dyes, then wrapped carefully and steamed- either in a vegetable steamer or in a specially made steamer.

One can use techniques such as serti with either paints or dyes. Serti involves drawing lines with a resist (called so because it resists the dye or paint, forming a barrier) One first draws the design with the resist, and then fills in between the lines with color. The resist can be black, metallic, colored, or clear (which is removed after adding color, leaving behind lines of white). When coloring in the design, one can blend colors together, shade, and apply salt to alter the appearance of the color. One can find inspiration for designs from stained glass windows, to quilts, to children's coloring books.

For a less structured design, one can also apply random patches of color to the silk, then sprinkle with salt for a lovely effect. The salt really makes the effect, drawing color into intricate patterns as the dye or paint dries. The finished effect can be like a sunrise or a swirl of mist.

I prefer paints over dyes for working more intricate designs (ie serti), just because the steaming process seems a bit intimidating. I have read many warnings about how it must be done just so, with no droplets of water forming on the silk, and no dye seeping through the wrapping. The one thing dye does have over paint is that it does not leave a feel on the silk, while paint does- the transparent paints only slightly, but the opaque paints, noticeably.

Many artists use silk to paint on, and the effect is really spectacular. The artist in the video is using the serti technique.

starting something new

This year, I am starting something new- a new business specializing in hand crafted items (like hand painted yarn, silk scarves, felted bags, etc). I am calling it Penguin Feathers. The name came from a 14 hour flight over the Pacific Ocean. The airline kindly offered some entertainment to keep the passengers from going stir-crazy. One of the movies shown was Happy Feet, an animated film about penguins. At the end of the film, as the credits were showing, there were feathers floating down the screen. Since it was a movie about penguins, they must have been penguin feathers, and the sound of those two words together just tickled my fancy. When I got home, I told my husband that I had the perfect name for a little girl. Imagine my surprise when he said no way. Then my mother said the same thing! But the name was so cool, I had to use it for something. When I decided to start a business, no other name would do.

So now I have my business license (and reseller permit) with the state of Washington, and am working on getting started. It is slow going, but I hope to launch officially in the beginning of August. I have an Etsy account, and will be listing items there in the near future. I also got a tip on a cool site called cafepress, and have set up an account with them too. They do personalized t-shirts, bags, mugs, etc.

I plan to use this blog to write about fun and creative crafting ideas, whether they end up being used in the business or not. It will also be a place to write about the ups and downs of owning a small business.