Knitting Season

Almost finished knitting up my scarf

During the warmer months I don't tend to think very much about knitting.  For me, I always reach for my yarn when the first sign of fall hits.  As always, I have a long list of projects on my brain especially this close to Christmas.  Let's face it though, my dream of knitting everyone in the family a hat and scarf set is probably not gonna happen at this point.

My Crocheted Beret
Completed last year

For right now, I'm finishing up a replacement scarf for myself with a neat little yarn I picked up at an estate sale a couple of years ago.  Once that's done, I'm moving onto knitting Harry Potter themed scarves* for my kids.  The twins are in first grade so I can get away with knitting something a little shorter in length but I'm sure my oldest would like his full scale.  His will be in the colors of Slytherin house.  I guess my Griffindor scarf will have to wait until after the holidays because I'll be really busy until then.

This leaves me with very little time to knit or crochet up a nice beanie for when my hair is still in braids on cold mornings.  Whenever I do a braid out my hair is sometimes not completely dry until the afternoon.  For this reason I just keep it braided up while I take the kids to school.  For now, I'm using the beret I crocheted last year but I want to change it up a bit.  Also, it would be nice if I could just wear french braids as a protective style under a cute beanie a few days each week until I reach my goal length.  I'm really pushing for APL (still!) by New Year's but I've got to start wearing my hair up more.

Up Close

Luckily, I just found out about a good deal on crocheted beanies at Forever21.com from NaturallyObsessed.net (natural hair blog by Kinky Curly Queen of YouTube fame).  She mentioned that some hats on the site were priced as low as $5.50 so I'm gonna jump on it before they're gone.  As far as crafting goes, it looks like it'll be a cup of tea, a movie and some knitting needles every night until the holidays if I want to get those scarves in.  Happy Crafting!


* CLICK HERE If you want to find out more on How to Knit a Harry Potter Scarf

Henna and Indigo Results

I finally got around to ordering my indigo so that I could cover my burgundy hair color with something a little more modest.  I'm sure the bright red henna'd hair I had before is appealing to some but it was not my cup of tea.  I wasn't quite ready for the lengthy two step process where you henna first, rinse out and then apply indigo for a jet black result.  Instead, I mixed one package of Godrej Nupur Henna (50g) with 100 grams indigo.  I ordered the indigo powder from Butters-n-Bars.com which is the same online store where I get my raw unrefined shea butter.

I kept the henna mix pretty simple as always and just mixed it with a mug of strong green tea to help the dye release.  I added enough water to give the mixture a smooth, almost pancake batter consistency and let it sit overnight.  The next day, when I was ready to apply it, I mixed the indigo into a paste with just plain water and added it to the henna.  I don't add oils anymore because I read that it can slow the dyeing process.  I applied the "Hendigo" to my hair like a clay mask and covered with plastic wrap.  Then I waited for four hours before rinsing and then co-washing several times to get it all out of my hair.

The application took very well to the majority of my hair but left my grey strands with just a tinge of color.  I'm planning on doing another application to the roots and grey hairs sometime this week 'cause I don't need everybody knowin' how old I'm getting.  If my greys are still too obvious afterward I may reconsider dyeing my hair all black with the two step process.

My stubborn grey strands are still noticeable 

I like the reddish brown tone in the sun