Charleen's Fiberblog

Which Weft Wins?

Originally I hoped to make this blanket warp dominant, but I ran out of 3/2 with 430 ends wound, so balanced weave it is. Had my original idea been possible I contemplated using the 8/2 deep purple. Now I think I'm going to use two strands of the 8/2 violet.

I have the warp spread in the raddle but it's too short to try out the trapeze. I'll put it up for the next project, tentatively planned to be rep weave placemats.

I've had a few requests for roaster dyeing instructions. I don't think I've used it the same way twice, but I'll try. These are great for low immersion dyeing, fleece or roving, as well as steaming painted warps, roving, and yarn. Now I know it's great for batching Sabracon projects too. Sara Lamb wrote a great article in the Spring 2002 Spin Off about using crockpots for dyeing that is very helpful. Think about it, these are just crockpots grown up.

170 grams of gray roving, processed by Ohio Valley from several different Romney leftovers

17 grams of citric acid dissolved in about a gallon of warm water. I put the dry roving in and gently pressed it down. Then I let it sit for ~30 minutes.

Since this is gray and I want rich color I went with 3% DOS. That translated to 170 ml each Sabraset turquoise, Washfast red, and Sabraset mustard, applied with big syringes to get the dye down to the bottom layers.

Set the dial for 175° for three hours. Turn it off and let it cool. It's probably cool enough now, but it will give me something to look forward to tomorrow.

Posted by Charleen at January 15, 2006 03:20 PM