Friday 1 April 2011

KCBW: Where Are They Now?


"Whatever happened to your __________?
Write about the fate of a past knitting project. Whether it be something that you crocheted or knitted for yourself or to give to another person. An item that lives with you or something which you sent off to charity."

I enjoy knitting gifts, so I actually give away quite a few of my knits. Below are the items I knit in 2010 that were given as gifts to friends and family:
There is one item though that has had a slight red wine mishap:
What kills me is that this was probably the most labour intensive knit I've ever made. it's a longer style pullover, plus long sleeve, plus a full hood... on small needles. I must have spilled some red wine on me, didn't notice, and then (oh, the worst!) put it away for the winter and didn't notice until I pulled it back out again in the fall. So it's really sunk in there, right on the stockinette portion so there is no missing it. I've washed and treated it, but it's not budging. I'm thinking that since it was knit with undyed wool to begin with, I'll dye it a new colour. I was looking at the dyes on Knitpicks, and they have quite a few beautiful colours... any suggestions?

26 comments:

Carmel said...

I think a nice deep red wine color would be perfect based on what has caused you to have to dye it in the first place! Plus I think that color would be lovely on you!
It's a beautiful sweater!

CelticCastOn said...

I was going to say a wine colour too lol
It looks nice in a chocolate brown as well.

Anonymous said...

maybe lilac? you seem to be drawn to purples in general and it should absorb the red wine mark...

Brenda said...

Before you dye it, you should try sunning the stain out. On a warm, sunny day leave the sweater outside all day. I don't know how it works but it usually does.

Susan said...

Wine color for sure. That should help hide the stain. Who knows, maybe it will be a happy "disaster" if it comes out nicely.

kingshearte said...

I was seriously about to cry on your behalf until you mentioned the idea of dyeing it. I have no particular suggestions for colour (although a wine colour would certainly be a propos), but I'm just happy there's a good way to salvage it, because it's a beautiful sweater.

MartyR said...

By "stockinette portion" do you mean the wide band at the bottom? If so, could you take this portion off, and use the yarn to reknit another band?

Melissa said...

What a shame about the gorgeous sweater! I have a suggestion that might be worth trying on a swatch of the yarn first. About 15 years ago I moved into a new apartment and the prior resident left a big red wine stain right on the living room floor. I thought for sure it was embedded for good, but I decided to try to clean it anyway. I used Simple Green, and with a little scrubbing the wine stain was gone! I know that this product can be kind of strong, and also has a green tint to it, but you might want to try it - (on a swatch, of course, in case it actually damages the wool). Probably a diluted version of this would be best. Good luck! And if not, I agree with the others; a nice plum color would be pretty.

Peppermint Mocha Mama said...

I was going to suggest Merlot

Teresa said...

That's a sad story about the lace hoodie! But, I think your idea to dye it is great.
If you're thinking of a neutral, then I'd suggest a dark brown. I think you (and it!) would also look lovely in a purple (be that a reddish or blueish purple, as long as it's a deep, rich shade. That would cover wine best!)

Ashley said...

It depends on how dark the stain is. If you can get away with it, I think the Lilac would look lovely on you. And it's still light enough to show off the lace pattern nicely. I also love Vermillion or maybe a slightly darker brown.

That sweater is absolutely stunning. You've given away a lot of beautiful gifts.

Kara said...

Oh that is heartbreaking! It couldn't have happened to a lovelier sweater. I hope that the dye job works. I have never tried it before, so I have no advice. But it sounds like the say to go.

margaux said...

Oooh wine mishaps, been there! I go with Peppermint - go with Merlot or a Cab! With extra for yourself! ;-)

Kristen Rettig said...

Oh to bad! I have not dyed yet but I have a few things that could use the dye pot. I hope you keep us posted on how it goes.

Voie de Vie said...

Hey, at least it was wine - let's hope it was good! Nice hoodie, and you've gotten great suggestions on either dyeing or still trying to get the stain out. I'm certain you'll do what's best for you and the sweater.

Post pics of the outcome!

Kristi said...

dye it! Dharma has really great dyes. Red is quite tricky to use and is hard to get just right. You might want to get a brown and red mix and give you some definition to the color. Good luck! It is so amazing that it is worth dyeing!

Jacey said...

Yes, you should definitely try to dye it. Ack! I hate that it happened. The Apres Surf Hoodie has been in my queue forever, and it is such a lovely knit. Although I do love the natural color on you, it deserves to be saved!

I tend to give away a lot of knits, too.

Jen (pieKnits) said...

Oh that's so sad about the spill! But at least it's a nice plain color and easy to overdye with whatever you pick!

Maryse said...

These are a lot of nice gifts! I hope you find just the right red wine dye to save your sweater! It deserves it!

Caffeine Girl said...

That sweater is definitely worth saving! I vote for a wine color, too.

Monica said...

Those are great gifts, and a great pullover. It certainly would be a shame not to wear it again because of the stain, so a wine color would be nice, but I am sure that the are numerous possibilities out there. Maybe you can share the whole process with us??

Unknown said...

White wine take out red wine. I've used this method many times successfully.

Michele Saunders said...

That is a major shame - that sweater is beautiful. I agree with the others about a nice violet color. I am very interested to see how it turns out.

Heathwitch said...

I love the lace hoodie -- I do hope you can salvage it :-) What was the original pattern?

Anonymous said...

The hoodie looks awesome. I would love to know what the original pattern was :-)

Julie said...

It's the Apres Surf Hoodie by Connie Chang Chinchio! Interweave Knits.