Dyeing Day Part 3

Dyeing Day Part 3

Well here we go, I've just finished setting everything out.

Now to put the dye stock into the dye pot, heat it up, add the vinegar and then place the yarn, into the dye pot.  Today I'll be using my "Brown" Jacquard Acid dye, to dye up 2 more skeins of my handspun 3 ply whit alpaca yarn.  Well here goes!

Wow, the yarn absorbed this dye much faster.  Not that the other dyes didn't absorb fast, it just seems that this one absorbed faster.  It still has 15 more minutes left to soak in the very hot water, before I turn off the heat and let it cool down for 30 minutes.

Now I have 4 skeins to rewind and make labels for, while these 2 skeins hang to dry.  Hopefully tomorrow I'll have pictures to share and listings to post.



Dyeing Day Part 2

Dyeing Day Part 2

This is definitely a process and one that I truly have fun with.  Today I have my Jacquard Acid dyes out again, but this time just the one color "Sky Blue".  I'll be dyeing 2 more skeins of my handspun 3 ply white alpaca yarn.  I just placed the first skein in the dye pot and have one more skein to dye after this.  I dye each skein separate, so that there's plenty of room for each skein in the dye pot.

I still have 2 more skeins to dye, but I'll have to dye them another day.

 



Dyeing Day

Dyeing Day

 

Its a process of me adding color to my handspun yarn.  Dyeing my yarn is done with Jacquard Acid Dyes.  Today, I made up 2 dye stocks of Sky Blue and Brown, then I set them aside to cool.  I'll use these to dye 4 other skeins of yarn another day.  Today though I'm combining 1 part violet and 1 part scarlet dye stock to make a red violet.

This is the first skein of my handspun white alpaca yarn in the dye pot, I have one more skein to dye after this one.  This is my first attempt at blending 2 dye stocks together and it really looks terrific.

 



What does Spinning mean to you?

What does Spinning mean to you?

 

Some think it is a child turning round and round really fast, while playing, until they get dizzy and fall down.  Some may even think of a merry-go-round from their childhood, and how fast they could make it go, before they jumped on.When you type in spinning on the internet you get things like spinning bicycle wheels, tires, exercise bikes. 

However, to us Fiber Artists, it means twisting fiber, fleece, or wool roving, silk, alpaca, angora, mohair, flax, etc. into a continuous thread using either a spinning wheel or a drop spindle.  Spinners can spin their thread thick or thin, plied or un-plied, some will dye their yarns, while others leave it natural.

Fiber artists use their yarn for knitting, crocheting, or weaving projects.  I have seen people even use unspun fiber for knitting, crocheting, weaving and yes even felting.  I love seeing all these different ways of using fiber.

I love to spin my yarn into thin singles, 2 plied yarn and even a 3 ply yarn.  I knit a lot of different projects from my yarn, like socks, hats, scarves, boot cuffs, cowls and shawls.  I have even wove triangle shawls, scarves and overshot coverlet squares with my handspun yarn.  I have even dyed my own yarn too, its fun to watch the fiber absorb the dyes.

Spinning is a form of art and is done in a variety of ways, which makes it exciting, because no 2 yarns are the same.



The Call

The Call

A call came in this morning

to tell me some news.

News that has sent my mind

on a whirl wind.

I've had this call a few other

times, but I worry regardless.

I know you are in good hands,

and there's really nothing I can do.

I'm 3,000 miles away, so all I can

do is wait.

I try to knit, but my mind wanders

and I loose track of my stitches.

I try to do some spinning, but the

fiber is getting over twisted and sometimes

under twisted.

My mind is nothing but a whirl wind.

The phone rings, I jump and I hear

that you are resting and tests were being done,

and the results will come back in a hour or so.

The whirl wind of my mind is slowly dying

down, but its still whirling.

It will not stop until I know that all is well and

you are home.

Get some rest, I love you Mom!



Do you have enough Fleece or Roving?

Do you have enough Fleece or Roving?

Can you answer this question, or is it hard to admit, or are you aware of what you have in your spinning room?

How much is enough FLEECE or ROVING anyways?

I suppose that if you had 7 big tubs filled with carded batts from 1 Alpaca fleece, 2 small buckets of dyed carded alpaca locks, 2 small buckets of dyed carded mohair locks, 1 small bucket of natural silvery mohair locks, 1 small bucket of Wenslydale Teeswater locks, 8oz of Icelandic roving, 2 bags of border Leicester/Corriedale cross (each 2.5 oz)

Wouldn't this imply that you had enough?

Probably not if you spin daily.

But then.....when you see some new fleece or roving, that's been dyed by the owner of the sheep, goat, or alpaca and it really grabs your attention.

Then you've just got to buy it right?

Think about this for a moment -

Do you have room for more fleece or roving? Is it something that you will be spinning up right away, because you have a project in mind?

Sadly, we all have a tendency to buy things in the spur of the moment, often without thought of where we'll put it, when we'll get to spin it, etc.

So...

Always look in your spinning room first before you buy anymore fleece or roving.

(sigh)

Remember, you can always get more fleece once you find room or need it for a special project, you just don't need to over do it.

Beware fleece and roving is very addictive for spinners!

Happy Spinning

Virginia

aka Spinning Ginny

My Website – http://www.spinningginny.com