Charleen's Fiberblog

Dyeing to Know

Where to start? Well, let's just jump right in! While my eye was recuperating I took the opportunity to wind some skeins and find some answers to my burning dye questions. While there were no real answers at the end I had a very pleasant journey.

I had two goals. One was to make what I think is termed a "semi-solid". Basically the same color but with subtle variations. The other was to make a yarn that had different colors but that blended together - there's that subtle again!

45% mustard, 15% violet, 20% blue, and 20% turquoise
So this was my starting point. I put water, citric acid, and dye solutions into my oven roaster and then added the presoaked skeins and moved them gently around to make sure the solution was getting through the skeins. Then I brought the roaster up to a simmer and left it for an hour or so. Then I turned it off and let it alone until it was cool. Pretty - but really subtle.

60% mustard, 20% blue, 20% turquoise

With these skeins I followed the previous plan but poured the dyes over separately and then stirred very gently to allow only some of the dyes to blend. I like the results but thought it was going to be a bit blotchy. I used enough yarn that either one of these could be knitted into a shawl. I thought this yarn would end up being warp but then Marie talked me into trying it out.

Good call! I love the way it is knitting up. Seraphim is the perfect pattern for lots of mindless knitting and then the big show-off border!

So then I decided to try more colors. I wound one two yard skein, 146 grams. I used the previous two recipes, along with dull orange, dull red orange, and dull mustard (adapted from Deb Menz's Color in Spinning) I thought I would soak one fifth of the skein and then I would get some blending, but for some reason I decided to spin out the presoaked skein in the washer. The yarn was a little too dry and didn't wick the dye.

I like it - the addition of the cream colored yarn to the mix adds a bit of kick. I'd still like to try the more blended style but this is going to make a pretty cool hat and gloves set.

Twist and Shout

My Minimalist cardigan is getting closer to the end. I have 1.75 skeins left and both fronts to do. Yikes! I'm finding that the moss stitch is really torquing but I can pull on the diagonal and it looks good. I'll block the pieces first and then the seams should hold it all in place. The picture is from last weekend, I finished the back last night.

I also started on my last fiber from Anne. This is Oberon - 40% gray alpaca, 30% gray angora bunny and purple/blue dyed angora, and 18% purple/blue dyed silk, 2% purple angelina. I'm spinning this in a laceweight.

I didn't spin when my kids were young. Now that Jackson can get around more I'm learning a few things!

You'll be happy to know that he pushed that car right behind the wheel without actually hitting it!

A Little Bit of This.....

I've been planning a couple of weaving and dyeing projects for the summer. Thanks to Marie's suggestion I visited the COLOURlovers site. What fun! I loved the Orangetip, Bintree Woods. What's really cool is that you can download the palette and you can also click to have the palette presented in a pattern. The plaid shows all of the colors of the palette, some will use two or three colors.

Speaking of Marie, take a peek at the lovely cheese that showed up at my house last week. Even before I opened the package I could smell the smokey scents of the Montasio. We had too much company last weekend (I didn't want to share!) so I held off trying it out.

I got back into quilting last fall, only to pack it away for a few months. I pulled it back out last week and got to work quilting. I'm using a hoop because it's small and I don't have the room to set up the big quilting frame.

I think my thimble has seen better days. Of course, sitting around for all these years waiting for me to start quilting again might have added to the problem. Luckily I found one of those leather ones with the braided elastic to see me through until I can get another.

I'm going to outline quilt all the white on white blocks and then crosshatch the border. I'm starting to get my quilting rhythm back. I'm picking up a little speed but I'm actually trying to get this finished for Jackson's first birthday, but who knows?

Get At It Girl!

Holy crap! I just looked at my MT menu and I've got more draft entries than I have published these last few months. I've actually been doing things but getting the pictures, writing, etc. together just hasn't been happening! So let's see if I can get rolling.

With two weeks left before school started I decided I better do some traveling! I drove up to the Funny Farm and did some trichromatic samples with Marie. If you read Marie's blog you know that I was just a little clumsy! We're trying to work our way through our Sabracon dyes.

You get a lot of muddy neutrals - which I actually like - working with 10s so I'm thinking about trying a similar triangle but using 100, 80/20, 60/40, etc. Would save on dye and I think give a very good result. Of course I haven't tried it yet. So stay tuned.

The next week found me heading up to Marie's Monday night and Tuesday morning we pulled into ....

After a short detour at Southampton Quilts, more about that later, we arrived at WEBS!

I love their Eight Twos, a really great warp spun cotton, very similar to the 2/8 from Maurice Brassard. It doesn't shed like other unmercerized cottons and has a wonderful hand. I bought 3/2 perle for a blanket for Jackson. I also picked up several different cottons, spiral, 8/4 rug warp, etc for dyeing.

Once home there was major shopping at Countrywool. I picked out some Heilo for Eunny Jang's Tangled Yoke Cardigan and Cascade220 for Ruthie Nussbaum's Minimalist Cardigan.

Some Fixation for Claudia's top down Wee Raglan (scroll way down) for Jackson fell into my bag too.

I've already finished the neckband and the short rows at the back of the neck. Now It's smooth sailing down the yoke, increasing every other row.

Sure, there were Margaritas and yarn, but really, can you beat a scene as peaceful and idyllic as this?

I'll let you in on a secret. I have a nifty new camera with a digital video setting and, just between us, I have plenty of material to make a few people squirm.....

Depending on how the blackmail proposal goes you might get to hear Marie singing selections from The Sound of Music as she models Claudia's new hat pattern.

What a great way to finish up the summer! School started this week for teachers, ninth graders come for orientation tomorrow, and after a four-day-weekend school is open for everyone.

Squeezing in a Little Time for Dyeing

We had off on Tuesday due to elections. We never used to but I think the parents of younger children aren't happy with the number of people coming in to vote while their children are there. In November we had a professional development day but Tuesday was ALL MINE! After spending a lazy morning doing a little spinning and a little knitting I decided to dye up some onesies from Dharma for "the kid" as he is affectionately known for now. After soaking in a soda ash solution I wrung them out and started to work.

Left: Using syringes I squirted bands of color diagonally.
Right: I twisted and rubber banded and then soaked both ends in dye and left it wick up for about 3 minutes.

Left: I squished the whole thing into the dye hoping for a mottled effect.
Right: This one was done with lots of twists, a more traditional tie-dye.

Left: I wanted to keep the bands intact so I put a big piece of plastic wrap over the onesie and wrapped it up like a jelly roll.
Right: I batched overnight in plastic bags. I kept it outside where the temps were in the low 80s until evening and then stuck them in the laundry room.

Ta da! I gave them to Dan and Laura last night. They loved them! Dan was laughing because Laura had bought some little sandals and he asked if she was going to dress him like a little hippie - no question about that now, is there?

The second from the left was the one that wicked. After a few minutes I realized that it wasn't going to completely wick and blend so I squirted in some blue. I think that there was less blending one these because the soda ash was already in the fabric and the dye struck quite fast. The solid blue is slightly mottled but not as much as I thought. I thought it was low immersion but because it's so tiny it sopped it right up.

Coincidentally when I was leaving school on Wednesday the advisor for the GSA (Gay Straight Alliance) asked if I was still interested in helping them tie dye, so we'll be doing that Wednesday afternoon.

Gratuitous glowing spinning picture I'm loving this Crown Mountain superwash! Each day I come home, make a decaf espresso and pull off about 2' of the thin roving. I attenuate into a soft nest and sit down to spin. What a nice way to relax.

Dye Day Details

Some people have an idea of what my dyeing was about. Well, at least half of it! The blanks were from Machine Knitting to Dye For. I'm going to unravel and ball the yarn and make a hat using the pattern that came with the two blanks.

Now for the roving. I've been mulling over ideas about blending different colors of dyed fiber to get a color that I can't get by dyeing alone. I have about 100 grams of each colorway and I'll sample different ways of blending. Two I've done already are stripping the roving and blending by attenuating, which Deb Menz explained in during the SOAR retreat classes a couple of years ago. She also explains blending on a carder in Color in Spinning. I've tried a couple of times, but not with any planning or forethought. This time I want to take the dyed roving, try several methods and then knit up small samples. That way I can refer back to something I've done myself which always helps the learning process. After reading Deb's book and taking a dyeing workshop with Sara Lamb I came home and started my own samples to help me understand a little better.

This time I wanted to take two sets of 5 colors, each set would blend well together and one color from each set would blend with one from the other set. (Keeping up here? It's so hard to type out your thought process. Or maybe that's just me!) The magic will happen when the experimental blending starts. So here are the dye results.

For those of you who like to start with something concrete and then add your own touch, I've included my formulas. The color key is below.

5	1	2	3	4
MU10 Y10	WFR 100	MU20 S10 Y60 WFR10	M20 S10 MU30 Y20 WFR20	MU80 Y20

1	2	3	4	5
Y80 T20	V50 B30 T20	MU20 V5 B65 T10	M30 V10 B50 Y10	MU50 V10 B30 T10

MU=mustard
Y=yellow
S=scarlet
M=magenta
b=bright blue
t=turquoise
v=violet
These are Sabraset dyes from ProChem. I also used red from the Washfast line (WFR=Washfast red). My basic palette comes from Sara's handouts and Deb's book.

Snow Day = Dye Day

Sometimes pictures are worth a thousand words! Details to follow.....

Has it Been That Long?

While I was pulling out the dyeing equipment yesterday I tried to remember the last time I dyed. That's one reason why I blog. Just used my search tool and found it was over a year ago!

I have some roving I want to dye, along with two blanks from Machine Knitting to Dye For's self-striping hat. I had in my mind a blue-green, red-orange, and some shade of violet. I looked back at the samples I did a couple of years ago to use as a starting point. In fact I still had some of those 2 yard lengths of 2/8 wool I used back then.

I like to use the clear measuring lids from liquid detergent to mix up the 10ml samples. After putting a few drops on a coffee filter I sopped up the rest with several yards of yarn and dumped it into a ziplock freezer bag. I steamed the bags in the roaster oven using empty tuna cans to keep the rack above the water level. I need to turn it up to about 450 to keep it steaming nicely. I worked on the three sets separately because I wanted to let the paper dry to help me decide in which direction I needed to go.

After letting the bags cool overnight I wrote out Tyvek labels with the dye formula and then slit the bags - they tend to look like they've been shrink-wrapped - and immediately slipped them through the hole in the label before washing.

What I like about this method is that the uneven dyeing of the yarn gives me an idea of what DOS I want to use.

Where the yarn sat in a puddle of dye gives a good prediction of a 3% DOS while the lighter shades would be accomplished with .5%DOS.

I always need to slip in a little green!

Who would have thought that I am getting the best color representation when I take pictures in my basement? I think it's the combination of the cheap flourescent shop light hanging to the side of the table, an incandescent tree lamp to the other side and non-direct natural light coming through the patio door. The colors, at least on my monitor, are spot on. Now I think I need to work on some golds to spark it up a bit.

Kimono

I painted this warp at a dye day hosted by Claudia in 2003. After I realized how short and narrow the warp was I knew I wouldn't be able to use it. So I dyed some more raw silk and made this fabric to coordinate.

Now almost three years later I finally cut into the fabric and started making the kimono featured in Sara Lamb and Molly Freeman's Warp Painting video. The rather plain fabric was a good choice for the test drive. No stripes to worry about getting straight. I got the sleeves attached and after three tries got the neckline the way I want. I cut a band from the violet/scarlet/golden yellow painted warp. Tomorrow I'll interface and attach it. I didn't put any pleats over the shoulders but it's apparent that I need to.

I was able to wrangle some spinning time too. My new Lendrum Saxony can really spin up a storm. In just a little time I was on my second (big) bobbin of lovely grey corrie. This is from the stash c. 2004. I decided to spin it before dyeing as I'm waiting for Claudia's new design - a Norwegian sweater done in natural yarns.

A Change of Mind

As I was attenuating the roving I dyed a couple of weeks ago, I started to think it might be better as a soft spun single.

I'll knit up a swatch but I'll give the Navajo plying a try too. I could change my mind. I'm still planning on mittens... at least for now.

I still haven't put a warp on. I'm back in Penn State's Technology Integration program, so my fiber time is being challenged again. At least this time it's through the World Campus so I can go to class in my jammies!

Single or Double

I don't have much to play with here, so I've got to make my decision after just throwing a few picks of the single and doubled 8/2 purple. I think it's going to be a pain using two strands. I have to wind a ball off the cone and then two threads want to go their own way when I'm winding the bobbin.

However, I do think that the doubled is the way to go. The weft is going to shrink more than the warp as it didn't go through the same dyeing/washing cycle. Speak now or forever hold your peace. If I can knock this sinus headache I want to start weaving tonight.

I was finally able to get a pretty good representation of the colors in the roving.

The close up is even better.

Now, Sara, about my neat sewing area ..... sorry, I had to catch my breath after laughing hysterically. No one has ever this Gemini a neat worker before. Pictures really can be deceiving. Turn a few degrees to the left (did you see your warp painting video on the chair?) or a few degrees to the right and you can see the mess that always surrounds me.

I do clean up after each weaving project, running the shop vac around the treadles and picking up all the little pieces I tend to toss every which way. And truthfully, I do like clean windows. Unfortunately, this basement slider with its broken vaporlock always seems to lose out to another home improvement project.

New Hoodie

I made the pullover hoodie last weekend (this picture is a little too dark).

After my iPod caught on a kitchen drawer pull, unceremoniously ripped out of my ear, and dropped to the floor (not for the first time), I decided I needed to make a slight alteration to the pattern.

I added a buttonhole so I could snake the cord under the shirt and out the neck (this picture is a little too bright). The next time I'll add the buttonhole before the pocket sp it will be completely out of view, but this fabric was super thick and I couldn't get into pocket far enough. Too bad I'm not Goldilocks and I could show you a picture with the color just right!

I haven't got around to getting the zippers, so the others are still not done. I did, however, get a little more organizing done in the studio. Four racks to hold my thread. Two I had but they were taking up room on a shelf in the FSR (fiber storage room). I need to get some more brackets to hang my speakers and free up some more floor space.

The roving is dry and it looks great. A little more reds than I planned but I can live with that. I tried pictures at night and then again this morning but the sun was a little too bright. I won't complain about that and I'll just try pictures again this afternoon.

I got halfway through threading the heddles for the painted warp baby blanket. I'll finish it up and sample both wefts tomorrow, but according to the comments the dark purple will be the way to go.

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.

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.

This is What Happens ....

when you are used to working in cluttered, tight places.

I was so used to having my serger control hitting something under my table that I didn't even remember what I pushed under there. Dude! I had stash from SOAR 2004!

and some gray roving.

I haven't weighed the roving, but I know there's plenty for a pair of mittens. I have been wanting to improve my Navajo plying technique for awhile but didn't want to ruin any of the painted luxury fibers I want to use it on. Dodie Rush, no website but you may have read articles by her in Spin Off or met her at SOAR, is an expert at no-bump Navojo plying. I watch her at our guild meetings and she's given me tips, but sooner or later I've got to actually do it. Strangely, I could do it when I first started spinning but when I tried recently hands and feet were not in sync. SO - the plan is to dye this roving, spin fairly thin, and then Navajo ply, keeping the colors distinct. Since the old Sabracon dyestock experiment went so well I'll give the old Sabraset dyestock a chance to shine!

After returning from SOAR I packed up and headed for my first (and only) Rhinebeck festival. In my haste I see I only alluded to the silk spree I went on. I spun up the Indigo Moon Brushstrokes and the Lambspun fiber, but these gems never made it out of the box I brought them home in.

This is Nancy Finn's Chasing Rainbows Dyeworks. On the left Merino top and on the right Bombyx top, both in the Arroyo colorway.

I think my original plan was to spin both separately then ply together, but I'm open to any suggestions. (no, I won't send it to you)

This is carded tussah from Carol Weymar - The Silkworker. The colorway is Toad Hall. It's not as pink as it looks. There is more pale gray and pearl in there.

This is also from Carol, it's top but it doesn't say on the card whether it's tussah or Bombyx. I think Bombyx, but what do I know? I love the colorway name - Tatooed Lady. It looks so much better in person. The color is very richer and saturated.

This is way better than finding money in my coat pocket.

Done Batching

After 48 hours in the roaster I rinsed the warps. The violet is not as bright as I hoped but the turquoise is brilliant - as are the reds. Despite being taken in the dark basement under fluorescent lights the colors are pretty true.

Yet another use for the roaster! Just set the dial for about 100°.

A Little Experiment

If you can't beat 'em .....

The pool table is still here but I was able to get most of it cleared off during my studio cleanup last week. So here's the start of my little experiement. Ever wonder how long fiber reactive dye solutions last? I have dye stock from last winter's sampling. So I wound what was left on a cone of 3/2 perle cotton into 6 bouts and started painting. Scarlet, magenta, golden yellow, turquoise, and violet. What? No earthtones and muddy greens? Sounds more like Sara colors to me!

The heat goes down 62° at night and during the day (and the basement's always cooler). In the past I would turn on the little heater in the bathroom but this time I thought I'd see how the roaster works. I set if for 100° and put two warps in each of three ziplock bags.

I've checked on it several times and it is only slightly warm with no chance of the bags melting. I'm going to batch for 48 hours and see what I get.

My Three Day Vacation

What do you do if you know you only have three days between the end of school and the beginning of your summer classes? Make a list! The last two days were spent doing things in the house and garden. Today I'm going to get projects started so that I can have a little fiber fun in the evenings.

I have the tables and pots ready to go in the garage. There are a few Sabracon projects (as soon as I get the 10/2 cotton warped) and some warps and rovings I want to paint.

This afternoon I'll card up some more of the corrie tweed. I finished the nugget gold plying - next up is the rust. (For those who commented, the rust is just plain Rust right out of Cushings' envelope)

I'm getting close to the toe decreases for the Chutes and Ladders sock. That's going with me to school for knitting breaks. I've got to clean up around the sewing machine before any kimono work.

Thanks to June's suggestions I was able to get a true picture of the nugget gold yarn. I found the smaller tripod stashed in the bowels of a closet. Then I changed the white balance and suppressed the flash.

I still need to play around with the settings to get a true picture of the tweed yarn. Every picture shows it much greener than it really is. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

I Didn't Just Fall Off a Turnip Truck

Yeah, send the fleece to you. Good try!

I carded and combed a sample of the white coopworth lamb. It spins like a dream and I could see no noticeable difference between the two preps, so carding will be easier. I think I'm going to spin this all before dyeing. As pretty and glossy as it is, I don't really need another sweater that can't touch my skin. Too bad I've never done tapestry, because this is crying out to be woven. Hmm, I did have a private lesson in cut pile in the SOAR parking lot, so that's a possibility too. Maybe I should actually figure that out before I spin.

Now the corrie - that is baby soft and I'm dyeing this before spinning. I started dyeing 200 gram batches of fleece in my oven roaster Saturday night. I sat down with my sample book and picked out some recipes. I thought using 2% DOS would be better since the fleece ranges from almost white to charcoal gray. What I didn't think about was that my samples were done on white 8/2 wool yarn. My dye stocks were a little old, too, so that might have made a difference. Nevertheless, I'm happy with the results.

I did a preliminary run through the Louet roving carder, which has coarsely spaced teeth, to open the locks. Next weekend I'll blend them on the Duncan. I sampled the gold, rust, and blue separately then equal amounts of each blended together. I added varying amounts of the undyed and made little sample skeins and knitted up a few. It's too dark for a good picture of those.

Starting on the left is red orange (25% Washfast Red/75% Yellow), gold (50% Yellow/50% Mustard) it has a greenish tinge to it, blue (30% Bright Blue/70% Mustard) I expected olive according to my samples!, and in front was supposed to be reddish brown (25% Violet/75% Mustard) - what was I thinking dyeing a gray fleece this color? Oh well, it adds to the blend. There's 200 grams of that too, but I wanted to get a picture before it got too dark.

Keep the song suggestions coming! I'm gathering them all and I'll go through them one by one this summer.

Delayed Results

I was hoping for some nice natural light to show you the fabric I dyed last weekend, but I'll settle for this!

I'm reskeining the Brushstrokes today, but with the blizzard conditions outside, natural light's not going to be great. I'll use my clock reel with the yardage counter so I can decide what I'm going to do with this.

Now to finish grading tests and assignments. A fact of life I picked up in childhood - if you put off homework you will have school the next day!

Productive Day

I did another Sabracon F color triangle. This time I used scarlet, turquoise, and navy. It was rather a sedate group, the scarlet is much softer than fuschia, but it gave me a good range of blues.

Since I was going to do fat eighths, along with the watercolor paper strips, I had a little more prep work. I scoured the white muslin with synthrapol and soda ash. Then after drying I tore 9" strips across the width, then tore that in half, giving me 9"x22" rectangles. I put them back in the washer and filled up the rinse cycle, spinning most of the moisture out. While it was spinning out I started numbering plastic 9 oz cups.

I poured out the 1% solutions into smaller cups (from liquid detergent) and got the syringes, paper towel stacks, rinse water, etc. ready.

I mixed 10ml of solution for 6 cups at a time (since that's how many blocks I have on a strip) and painted the strip. Then I added 30ml water to each cup and added a piece of fabric (seen below).

I put the cups in cardboard boxes and held them for awhile.

I added 30ml of soda ash solution and stuck them in the basement bathroom where I kicked up the heat to 75° and left them to batch overnight.

Here are the strips, you'll have to wait a day or two for the fabric.

I also got one of the three bouts wound for the two block twill. I think I'll call it a day.

Lovely Shades

Here's what I started with (all Sabracon F dyes from ProChem):

	Blue F-42
Yellow F-11		Fuschia F-35

The yellow is not showing correctly on my monitor - it is definitely a clear yellow, not gold. The blue and fuschia look true to me.

Here's the results:

The left column are 1%DOS; the right are .5%. I switched to a smaller brush after the first few rows and there weren't as many blotches. For the next samples I'm going to have to keep an eye on how much dye I'm laying down. I guess there's a limit to how much moisture the paper can absorb!

On the back of each strip:

I'm not sure how I'm going to store these. Maybe page protectors or maybe punch a hole on each end and keep them on a binder ring. It's heavy watercolor paper so it should be sturdy enough for that.

Something for you to ponder - why did finding this make me so happy?

Fingerless Mitts

Claudia inspired me to make a pair of fingerless mitts. So much faster than fingerless gloves, and they'll serve the same purpose. My purpose? I wanted them for weaving in the cold basement.

The herringbone tweed was looking fine, but the singles wool I was using for both warp and weft was a little too soft. Duh, Charleen, you have heard of the snap test. After a yard or so, I decided to cut if off and wet finish. It was feeling mighty scratchy and I was hoping it would soften up. If so, I was willing to work with those end threads to keep them strong. No such luck, it felt like sports jacket material, not next to your neck and face scarf material. But all is not lost, I can sample different wefts and have plenty for my twill exchange. When I get bored I'll cut the rest off.

Here's what I did this afternoon. A three color triangle - that's 66 samples. Actually 132, since I did 1% and .5% DOS. Today's colors were: blue, yellow, and fuschia.

How much CAN I cram into the next five days???? Stay tuned.

April 16, 2003

I can imagine Mother Nature with this rather maniacal laugh "Ha, they liked 85 degrees, let's throw them for a loop!" We are struggling to stay in the 40's, in fact the high of 49 was in the early hours of the morning. But when I look out my window it still looks like spring. And we could have the ice storms that people to the west and north of us are getting.

I'm dyeing some of my natural Bartlett yarn for another blanket. I know it seems repetitive, but I've been really into my spinning lately, and I can't think of anything else to do (that doesn't require leaving my house to search out more materials). This will be quick and it has the added bonus of getting tons of worsted weight wool out of the stash bins. I threw a small sample of the different colors I had on hand into the dye pot and was pleasantly surprise by how it turned out. Being a beginner dyer I had heard about overdyeing yarn but didn't realize how I could use it.

On the left are four of the colors used in previous blankets. I threw a sample in to a pot with Cushings' Egyptian Red - those are the four on the right (in the same order). This could be a really easy way to use a bunch of leftover yarn. Yes, I know, everyone else knew this already, but it's fun for an old dog like me to learn new tricks.