One Hundred Dollars a Month

A big THANK YOU to everyone who has sent in their photographs and stories. I hope by sharing other people’s hobbies here on One Hundred Dollars a Month we can all find unique ways to spend our down time in creative and enriching ways.  Keep them coming!

Hi Mavis!

Long-time reader here! I love following along on your adventures and can’t wait to see where this next chapter of your life leads you!

I’ve had an almost lifelong love of anything that has to do with yarn. I’ve been crocheting since I was 10-years old (my aunt taught me) and knitting since I was 12 (I taught myself). I’m 61 now. After so many years of knitting, about ten years ago I finally got up the nerve to try knitting a pair of socks. All those sharp, tiny knitting needles sort of scared me, and surely that very thin yarn would take much long to knit than I was willing to spend. Well, I was really wrong about that! Since my first pair, I haven’t knit anything except socks (except I just remembered the bacon scarf I knit for my son, but I’m pretty sure that’s the only thing except socks that I’ve knit).

I’ve also had a lifelong love of color. I can never decide on a favorite color – I love them all! So a few years ago, I wanted to combine my love of color and my love of knitting socks and decided to give dyeing sock yarn a try. Since then, I’ve probably dyed hundreds of skeins of sock yarn.

Because I’ve always dyed in my kitchen and always have pets and/or grandchildren around, I’ve used food coloring exclusively for dyeing. I’ve also used Kool-Aid, with some fun results. Because everything I use is food safe, I don’t need separate pots and utensils to dye, and I don’t have to worry about breathing in the harsh powders of professional dyes. Food coloring and white vinegar are all I needed to get started, and once I dyed my first skein, I’ve never looked back.

My family are all crafty nerds. When we go on family vacations, we always have crafts that we’ve brought to share with everyone else, and we usually end up dyeing yarn as one of our craft activities. Then I spend the next several months knitting up everyone’s yarn into socks. We all have lasting mementos of our vacations, reminding us of the beach and our love for the family members we spent time with.

The technique is simple. Soak some skeined and tied wool yarn (this technique only works with yarn made from mostly protein fibers, such as wool or alpaca) in hot water with a generous amount of white vinegar added. While the yarn is soaking (for about an hour), mix up the dye colors by putting some gel food coloring in a squeeze bottle and then adding hot water to dissolve the dye.

After all the colors are mixed, remove the yarn and squeeze out the excess water. Lay it on some plastic wrap on a table or counter covered with trash bags (to prevent stains from possible dye splashes). Squeeze or drop the colors on the yarn until the desired depth of color is reached) then wrap the yarn in the plastic wrap it is lying on. Microwave it four or five times in two-minute increments, then let cool. Some techniques call for steaming the yarn on a steamer rack over simmering water. I’ve used this technique, but most of the time microwaving works for me, so I only steam the yarn when I’m trying to achieve a certain look, such as speckles created with powdered drink mix or food coloring (which I never knew came in powdered form).

Unwrap the yarn and give it a little wash in the sink in cool water with a few drops of dish detergent or shampoo added. Rinse well and hang to dry. Yarns dyed with food coloring are just as colorfast as yarns dyed with professional dyes, as long as the colors are heat set. There are many detailed videos on YouTube for dyeing yarn using food coloring or drink mix packets.

I’ve recently starting crocheting sock yarn blanks in order to create a yarn that will stripe when knit. Blanks can also be knit, but for me crocheting is quicker, and the results are similar. If I double the yarn when I crochet the blank, I can unravel the crocheting after the dyed blank is dry and be sure that both my socks will have the same stripe pattern. Making the blank is an extra step, but it is much easier to make self-striping yarn in this manner.

I’ve recently branched out with using up my sock yarn since I have so much of it now. I’ve started crocheted sock yarn scrap blankets. So far I’ve made nine and haven’t really made a dent in the amount of yarn I have. I choose the color randomly, and I love how combining all the variegated colors in random stripes. Each blanket is entirely unique!

In summary, knitting and crochet are my hobby passions. No matter what other hobby I’m working on, I always have a yarn project (or several) in the works. Dyeing yarn satisfies my love of combining colors, and I love being able to use the finished yarns for projects that show my love of my family and friends!

Warm regards,

Vicki

Bracelet by Kathy from Artful Accents

If you would like to have your Hobby featured on One Hundred Dollars a Month, here’s what I’m looking for:

1. Your hobby has to be submitted as a well written post. A one sentence “I make homemade kites” will not do. Now, 4-5 paragraphs about how you got into kite making, how long you’ve been doing it and the different types of kites you make WILL DO. That’s what I’m looking for! How long have you been doing it? Do you make money off of it or is it just for fun? Can you teach me how to do it?
2. Be sure to include a little information about yourself, like your hobby’s backstory and how you got into it. Also, please include your first name and what state or country you are from.
3. Your submission MUST have 5 HIGH QUALITY photos attached. You do not have to be a professional photographer, but your photos do need to be clear and well lit or I won’t be able to use them.
4. All photos must be original, and they must have been taken by YOU. All photos you submit may be used on One Hundred Dollars A Month once submitted.
5. Sadly, I might not be able to use every submission if I am overwhelmed by responses. A $20 Amazon gift card will only be awarded if the submission is published.
6. If you have a blog and would like me to link back to it, please let me know, I’d be happy too.
7. Although you must submit at least 5 pictures per submission, you can always include more. The more the merrier just in case I do not select them all.
8. One submission per person.
9. Send submissions via email to onehundreddollarsamonth @ gmail.com {remove the spaces} and be sure and put Show Me Your Hobby in the subject line.

I can’t wait to see all of your fascinating hobbies! Might just encourage me to take up a few new ones.

Hobby on,
~Mavis