Good News/Dyeing, Part One

It’s strangely quiet here tonight. The boys are asleep and for once I don’t have the radio on. A few cars driving by, that’s it. So different from our loud, loud days of late. Giggles from Spinner, his first real baby laughs that are so sweet to hear. A constant stream of facts from Little Man: the habitat of squirrels, black bear food, Venus and Mars…he is a constant fountain of information lately. And then there is this dear child:

Caught in a moment of quiet here (it lasted about 5 minutes) my dear Knittykid is, well, in that very rough transition stage. Ending up year two, getting ready for year three. It’s huge, and hard, and made even harder by the addition of a new little brother and a favorite big brother who has to go off to school every day. We spend our days glued together (he is sleeping next to me as I type) and I must hear, “Mama, I want you!” at least 50 times a day. That, and the meltdowns about paint and fudge and  not being able to eat in the living room. But wow, is he sweet, so sweet. And when he says things like, “I’m so excited to be having Christmas!” as we get ready to set up the tree, my heart totally melts and it makes up for the screaming about paint from earlier this morning.

I’m excited to share a good report on Knittykid. He had his annual visit with the cardiologist yesterday regarding his coarctation of the aorta. If you’ve been reading awhile, you’ll remember that we discovered this defect when he was two months old, and were told that heart surgery was imminent and to prepare to have it done within the next year. Terrifying, absolutely terrifying to think that they would be cutting into my baby’s heart. But as we had tests done and doctors conversed about his case, we were told it was a minor coarc, that we could wait and see for awhile, which we’ve been doing for the past two and three quarter years.

So the good news now? His coarc is staying minor, his aorta has not gotten any more pinched and his heart and blood pressure are great. So great that his doctor is thinking he may never need surgery. No promises, of course as things could change. But for now, it looks really, really good. Needless to say, we are thrilled!!

So the dyeing? Well, this Christmas I’m trying to keep my gift making simple and inexpensive. But I also want to do some stuff with the boys. Enter iDye and Dharma Trading Company’s great deals on t-shirts and silks.

Freezer paper stencils and playsilks. That’s where it’s at this year for us. (And knitting. There is also secret knitting!)

I am in love with the iDye. It works brilliantly and is so easy. Toss in the washer with some salt. Dry. You’re done. I dyed a bunch of new shirts for gifts and I also dragged out all of our older, stained and worn looking shirts. They look brand new! The only odd thing was that while the cotton shirts came out nice and bright, the silks came out more pastel-looking.

Here’s the scarlet and kelly green on the silks:

I wanted them brighter for my nephew but I was out of dye. What next? Koolaid, of course!!

One pack per silk, one cup water, microwave 2 minutes, (watch carefully!) cool, and rinse.

The green turned out great. The red is still not to my liking. I might try kool-aid round two.I’ll have the finished gifts up in a few more days, if certain small people choose to cooperate!