Lofty Fibres: Spin Out and Dye

Well, the postal strike may make this pointless...

2011-06-15T19:13:00.000-07:00

But I have more pretty fluff! For those who know me, Waterloo locals, you're welcome to inquire about any of the below. If you're distant, let me know if anything catches your eye, and we'll figure out what to do - hold, courier, guerilla mail... we'll figure something out.

Thanks to Waterloo Wools' generosity letting me tag along on orders, LoftyFibres is experimenting with some new and patriotic fibre lines - Lofty Canadiana. We have a supplier for 100% Canadian breed-specific wools - raised, sheared, milled and of course dyed entirely in Canada. My first few experiments follow. All are $20/braid if purchased off the blog, please email loftyfibres AT Gmail dot com if interested at all.

Lofty Canadiana 100% Corriedale wool braids: 4-oz/~ 11o gram braids. This is a lofty, woollen and sproingy fibre, but still drafts nicely and could be spun moderately fine. Right now, supply is small depending on how it takes, so each braid is unique.

Corriedale 1: 3-Way Stop (red, red, and more red!)

Corriedale 2: Dark Heart - Red, Indigo, and violet-purple
Corriedale 3: Copper Rainbow - everything muted, but a range from orange to red-violet is tucked in here somewhere.
Corriedale 4: Copper Roses - a semisolid pot/kettle dye, the rosey-brown coordinates with the previous braid. They would be lovely spun together.

The next breed I tried out is California Red. Despite "California" in the breed name, also from sheep raised 100% in Western Canada. This wool is a little coarser, and has a natural light tan colour that mutes the dyes a little. There is a small amount of kemp fibre - longer guard hairs that don't take dye as well, so you will find a few black or brown-black fibres - this isn't stray pet hair, it's part of the wool! This fibre is even more woollen type than the Corriedale and won't spin as fine, but will be VERY warm, snug and bouncy. While I wouldn't suggest it for next-to-skin projects like a dainty lace cowl, it would make a heck of a winter sweater, toque, or mittens (thrummed, maybe!) for outdoor wear.

Cali Red 1: Seawater - a medium blue with the slightest greenish tone.

Cali Red 2: Dusky. Think late sunset, just before full dark. A hint of mauve-pink still in the sky, fading to midnight blue and deep purples. The lighter blues coordinate with Seawater.
Cali Red 3: Not Quite Ripe: Raspberry pink the day before they're really ready!
Cali Red 4: Berry Blend - take the Raspberry, add some Cherry, totally ripe Strawberry, and a touch of Blueberry, toss a Blackberry in the blend.

And, of course, everyone's stand-by fave, I can't keep this fibre around much. Seawool!

Seawool 1: Deep Teal - This was actually a handpaint experiment in blues and greens that melded beautifully, so it looks much more semisolid.

Seawool 2: Nature Dyed! From a 2nd soaking of Logwood bark that I had on the go. It produced a medium-pale, but very distinct purple semisolid. The photo grays it a little, but it is definitely lavender-purple.
Seawool 3: 3-Way Stop: Same dye lot/handpaint as the Corriedale of the same name, but the dye strike is very different on the different fibres. The Seacell keeps its sheen and takes less dye than the Merino, for a paler/brighter colour.
Seawool 4: Nature Dyed too! This time from a 2nd soaking of Cochineal powder, which produced this beautiful shell pink. Please keep in mind for the nature dyes: while I use materials and mordants that are moderately light- and wash-fast, nature dyes WILL fade slightly in time. If cared for well, this won't be a concern over the life of your end product.

There's your fluff du jour! There are actually quite a few lovely new yarns ready as well, I hope to blog those before departing, or possibly while on the road.

How I Spent The Rapture

2011-05-23T19:04:00.000-07:00

In addition to being the Victoria Day Holiday weekend, and a rather bizarre circus in the weather department, this weekend was SUPPOSED to be some big event, according to west-coast radio preacher Harold Camping. Well, I was pretty sure I wasn't going to bodily ascend into the arms of Jesus anyway, and if everyone else did, well, I might need some more yarn to keep me entertained while waiting for the End of Days. So... on we went to the dyepots.

Here's my little, quick-snappish, not incredibly well lit slideshow. Tell ya what I'll work for ya this time. All my available stock has to go to a class with me on Saturday, and a small show in Burlington (Halton Waldorf School's MayFair, if you're around those parts) on Sunday. But, until Friday, if there's anything here you'd like to scoop, send me a note to LoftyFibres AT Gmail dot you know the rest. Tell me what you'd like & I'll set it aside and we'll discuss how to get it to you.

First up: Some batty-ness. These are Juniper Moon Cormo, an absolutely divine fibre from the 2009 CSA share. There was a mishap that resulted in the top felting on me - still not sure what it was. So, they've been carefully combed back out and carded into batts. This make the fibre a little more "woollen" in character than it was, but it is still yummy and you could spin a nice semi-worsted. Batts are all ~ 50 grams, $10/each.

Something new I am playing with, thanks to Flanneberry Fibres (who is marketing it) and WaterlooWools for letting me get in on an order - Lofty Fibres Canadiana. All-Canadian specific breed wools. These ones are ~ 100 gm each of Canadian raised, sheared, milled and now dyed Corriedale wool. They are each unique dye lots, but the pairs are complementary. Each braid is ~ 4oz/100+ grams, $20

Everybody's favourite, a 4-in-1 shot: The Seawool! As usual - 100 gram or 4 oz approx. The pink is Cochineal dyed, the purple is Logwood, the red is a handpaint of 3 different reds, and the blue-green is a semisolid pot dyed. Seawool is $22 for this week.

LoftySocks BFL Yarn: 100 gm skeins, 387 m/420 yards approx. This is the last of a lovely, tightly spun, British-raised BFL sock yarn I have. It is "light fingering" weight and makes a fine sock, or excellent lace. I've dyed some of it in pairs, so same dye lot, to accomodate lace knitters. $25/skein.

1) dye lot matched

2) not same dye lot, same dyes - coordinated:

Finally, LoftySocks+ Merino/nylon blend, a really "boingy" sock yarn with lots of loft. Socks, light accessories, or lace too, if you want a warmer, springier fabric. $20/skein, each is ~ 387 m/420 yards also.

1) Single red handpaint

2) Dye lot matched, very similar to the wine colour in the BFL above.

3) One-off handpaint, but coordinates with the wine colour

4) And, these two skeins match the Seawools in pink and purple above. Pink is cochineal, purple is logwood.

Stay tuned a bit later this week for the 2nd dye day (because there was no rapture, I was bored) and check out the California Red roving, and some more BFL pairs in lace-sufficient quantities. I'll post 'em when dry.

A little bit of uploading...

2011-02-08T19:03:00.001-08:00

I'm procrastinating for "School" just now and decided I should get my butt into better gear about business. So, if you peek over there on the right, the Etsy mini has a whole heap of new fibre. Everything I presently have dyed and ready to go (in fibre) is now listed.

Here are a few more things coming up, that will be heading for the shop shortly. However, I've yet to label and name, so... you like? Let's do a you buy it, you name it discount, until this weekend (ends Friday, midnight). Just count down from the top, I've added number labels for ease. Email me, loftyfibres AT gmail dotcom, first come first serve.

First: Twisted Pairs yarn/fibre braids. $30 no tax no shipping, so a little savings off the retail. The ones you see below are a half-braid (2 ounces) of BFL top, accompanied by and absolutely yummy hank of LoftySocks Luxe cashmere-merino sock yarn.

Pair-luxe-1

Pair-luxe-2

Here are a few from a previous lot, 2 oz BFL fibre paired with a dye-lot-matched skein of LoftySocks BFL sock yarn. I did in fact name these few, but hey, buy before listing and rename if you like!

Pair-bfl-1

Pair-bfl-2

Pair-bfl-3

Next up, for you sock/glove/shawl/babystuff knitters - Some re-runs from the last post, as I still haven't named them. LoftySocks+ Superwash Merino/Nylon yarn. I haven't listed too much of this yet as it's a newer base - $20 if you take it off my hands before I name it! I apologize for the blue cast of the photos - they need to be re-shot, it was a dusky late winter afternoon.

plus-1 (there are two in this dye lot, and that gold colour is quite a bright orange!)

Plus-2

Plus-3

Plus-4 (also two in this dye lot)

Plus-5

Plus-6 (2 in the dye lot, this is not as flat and brown as it looks - it's a dark copperish colour, and there are miniscule flecks of precipitated dye - kinda neat I think, but be aware if you don't like the effect)

A Yarnery Sort of Post

2010-12-11T09:39:00.000-08:00

It occurs to me that dyeing all this yarn & top, then failing to show it off is not really good for business. So, with an aim of improving that habit, for your spinning or knitting pleasure, some as-yet-unnamed, soon to be on Etsy, yarns and fibres.

If interested, inquire by email to LoftyFibres AT Gmail dotcom, or LoftyFibres on Twitter - we'll catch up! Just tell me something like "third braid from the top", as I don't have names for these yet!

All fibre braids are ~ 4 oz, unique dye lots, and $20 Cdn (shipping can be done if needed, will be extra).

Merino-Seacell top:

First braid is sold! Sorry (but I have to leave it here to show off!)

Blue Face Leicester Top:

All the yarns in this batch are LoftySocks+, the super-boingy merino-nylon blend that makes great, washable socks, gloves, fine garments, or lace. Each skein is 380+ metres (over 400 yards) and about 110 or more grams, enough for a pair of socks. Skeins are $20 if bought off the blog (contact me if shipping is needed), no tax no fees.

This next one has been claimed:
This one has been claimed:

MacGyvering the Katie, Episode 2

2010-09-19T14:59:00.000-07:00

So, if you have a look back to my August 27 post, you'll see Episode 1, with a bit of background explanation of why I feel the need to hack my beloved JourneyWheel, or, more specifically her bobbins (yes, my wheel is a girl. I don't know why. Her name is Monique). Can't tension the bobbins for plying.

Episode 1 resulted in a quick-and-dirty improvised hack that did the job, but not completely or with any finesse. Frictioning the bobbins on my Lazy Kate (I'm not sure I've ever heard why the device is called that) does work to a point, but it's not precisely controllable or adjustable the way a proper tensioning system is. My brain kept noodling away on the problem, and I've spent the last couple of weeks collecting the pieces it came up with to build a truly tensionable adaptation for the JourneyWheel Bobbins.

Here are the materials:

Of course, my Lazy Kate and JW bobbins.
Some "treaded" toy wheels from Lee Valley. I found these in their online catalogue, item #41k01.68. Since my gene pool lives in a city that has a Lee Valley retail outlet, my sis picked them up for me. About $0.80 each.
This interesting substance known as Sugru, which, when contemplating this problem I remembered reading about online somewhere, and went back and looked up. Now, I didn't know much about it other than what the Sugru company themselves were promoting, but it sounded darned neat, and was not a huge investment to buy a Smart Hacks Super Pack. Having played with it now, I can say it's a unique and quite fun substance, and certainly did this job well. Imagine a hybrid of plasticine and rubber cement, in pretty, bright colours.

Here was the basic idea. Use the Sugru to mold a "plug" that would connect into the locking end of my JourneyWheel bobbin, which is where the bobbin clicks into the flyer. Stick that plug to the flat side of the unfinished wood toy wheel. Let it cure (bobbin DISconnected while curing), to result in a toy wheel that could tightly "plug in" and "unplug" from the bobbin, and then be put on the Lazy Kate, with the tensioning string run around the "treads" on the rim of the toy wheel.

Notes:

I chose to use the orange packets of my Smart Hacks Super Pack first - thinking, if they worked, fine, and if I had to scrape it off and start over, orange was my least favourite colour. It turned out to be the better choice for a different reason. I noted that the colour in the Sugru will slightly stain the wood. I scrubbed most of it off the bobbin with no trouble, but the orange dye was probably closest to the natural tone of the wood for the bobbin - the blue or green might have left a more obvious stain.

So,while the little 5 gm lump didn't look like a lot, and I originally broke out two packets to mold the first "plug", it turned out I didn't need two, and I redistributed for the 2nd and 3rd adapter so those actually had less than one packet each. I'd already got the molding right for the first, so didn't want to peel it all off.

In order to mold the plug, I pressed the Sugru onto the toy wheel, then used the bobbin end to push onto the lump and mold the right shape.

This led to a few trial-and-error attempts when the Sugru stuck to the bobbin and came off the toy wheel, but I tried a few times and found that pressing the bobbin lightly and pulling away quickly made enough of a mold for this to work - it wasn't necessary to press the two pieces together very hard. One thing that I was going to resort to if I still had trouble was buffing the JourneyWheel bobbins with my waxy/oily Wood Beams polish, which would probably protect the wood from sticking, while the unfinished toy wheel would stay more adherent. I didn't need that in the end.

I used a wide soda straw through the centre of the toy wheel and the lumps of sugru, to keep a hole open, as the whole thing in the end has to fit over a thin rod on the Katie. Rolling the straw around the inside of the molded lump opened an even hole in the Sugru of the same diameter as the toy wheel hole, which is 3/8", which should be adequate to fit over the posts of any Lazy Kate model I've encountered yet.

So, after a little bit of fiddling, and then 48 hours to cure (it cures to 3 mm in 24 hours, according to product info, I left it longer as it was bigger lumps), I tried connecting it all up.

"Plugged in" the bobbins, loaded the bobbin-plus-wheel assembly onto Kate, and ran the tension string around the grooves in the wheel. Ta-DAAA! Adjustable, tensioned JourneyWheel bobbins for your plying pleasure. Now I just have to get the time to ply all these bobbins of yarn I have.

One thing remains to be discovered. I'm not sure how to pronounce Sugru. Soo-groo? SUG-roo? Or is the SU as in "sugar" - Shug-roo? Let me know.

Getting Tense, or MacGyvering the Katie

2010-08-27T09:26:00.001-07:00

I'm in Haliburton this week, hacking my way through the classroom part of the OHS Handspinning Certificate Year 3.

Those of you who know my spinning know my only wheel is a Bosworth JourneyWheel, and know that I love it - it's an exquisite piece of art and engineering, and an incredible tool. There is only one aspect of the machine I would consider, well, slightly sub-optimal, and that is the bobbin design. There are only two ways in which I would articulate this, one of which has not bothered me much so far. The first is the bobbin size. They are small, it's a challenge to pack on more than 50 grams of yarn. This is OK, I knew this when I bought it, and I'm not a production spinner (yet!). I'm content to make 50-60 gram skeins of yarn, for that's enough for one sock and a common size in commercial yarn balls.

The second shortcoming, though, wasn't apparent until I got the wheel and has only become an issue, really, since starting the OHS course, but it needs some redress. The bobbins cannot be tensioned for plying. I know Mr. Bosworth believes they don't need to be, but I respectfully disagree. There is some frictional "drag" on the bobbin when it just rests on a Lazy Kate, however, this is not enough if trying to ply high-energy singles which will ZING off the Kate at a first pull of take-up then coil back on themselves.

As we are required in this year's class to work exercises in 3-ply yarns with tension on the bobbins, I'm struggling with this. The bobbins needed more resistance, but it's not possible to do so with tension. So, I turned to increasing the friction between the bobbin end and the surface of the Kate. I tried some different materials, and now have a couple of different options for this. Here's the how-to for what I ended up with.

Materials had to be sourced from what there was, but a trip to a grocery mart and dollar store procured a few possibly helpful substances: non-slip shelf liner, a thin plastic cutting mat or placemat, and a variety pack of little stick-on feet like you'd put under a plant pot or something to keep it from marking surfaces.

I used my bobbin as a template and traced and cut out circles of the shelf liner, and the plastic sheet.

The shelf liner circles alone provided TOO MUCH resistance, and the bobbins could not spin - somewhat expected. Note in the above picture that the little stick-on feet came in two sizes in each of two materials - cork, and a non-slip rubber similar to the shelf liner.

I cut plastic disks, and tried both sizes of both types of feet on either side of a disk.

After trying each version out for spin and drag, I felt that the smaller rubber feet on one side, with the larger cork on the other, provided the best resistance for the 3-plying I was doing this week. Note that the disks can be flipped, and because of the type of Lazy Kate I have, they will drag differently depending on which side is against the bobbin and which against the Kate.

Here's a better view of how it fits. Black dots up - less drag, I think, as the black will stick to the bobbin and the cork will slip, with some friction on the Kate. Cork dots up, the black will stick to the Kate, but not as much surface is in contact, and the cork will have all its surface in contact with the bobbin.

Or maybe these work out the same - I obviously haven't calculated all the physics of it.

Here's the final set up with one bobbin. Still not perfect - for example, tension in spinning changes dynamically, and there's no way to "adjust" these. They can still tangle, or if the drag is too much, the Kate comes flying forward. However, it did the trick for now, and I have another idea in mind for a mod, though it's going to require some woodwork to do it.

Off to adequately ply some homework, for now.

Batts in the Shop!

2010-07-25T13:42:00.000-07:00

So, it's been a bit of a breather this weekend - not quite sure what to do with myself, it's been a while since I had a real "downtime", and two days in a row, even!

I celebrated but updating the Etsy shop (look right) with my latest creations you saw previewed here last post. Half a dozen batts are up, some more have been sent out to local spinners for testing, and there's more to do with the carder. I'll be mocking up a banner for next month's Ravelry listing shortly.

Here's a couple more creations. This is another batt now up in the shop:

Purple-Black Batt

It's a little hard to see the colour subtlety there - it's a batt of black Merino and purple-dyed Romney locks, lovely and subtle. I have more of this black merino, so look for some more dark & jeweled blends.

Here's a little tease, and this one's NOT going to make it into the shop:

Icy Polwarth

Close Up - looks like marble

That was a one-of-a-kind, took every scrap of some long-staple Polwarth leftovers, to which was added little drips-and-drabs of seacell in various pale, cool colours, and then the tiniest dusting of Angelina for sparkle. It's not going up in the shop 'cuz it promptly went here:

Into the drink?

It's busy with my Purpleheart Bosworth Midi - I'm working it into a worsted-weight single for some fluffy, warm, winter yarn. The Scotch container (and similar wine/liquor bottle gift tubes) turned out to be a perfect spindle project case - I'm probably going to knit some bag handles for them, if I ever get through my current heap of projects.

Lofty's Going Batty

2010-07-06T10:48:00.000-07:00

Popping in here for another "It's about time!" post. This one - it's about time for BATTS!

A year ago I invested in a very nice Pat Greene drum carder. The small model - Deb's Delicate Deluxe, hand-turned. It arrived, and I had a plan to use it at May workshop on carding/blending which got cancelled due to low enrollment - and there it has sat, for a year and more.

This weekend, I had a few friends over, put out some snacks, and organized a kick in the butt for myself. The drum carder, which I have now named DeeDee, was duly christened. Here's the first production run!

Batt(s) 1: Superwash merino mill ends, handpainted in a mesh bag and now carded into this lovely, streaky, "Beachy" watercolour-way:

Those are in fact the same dye lot - the color layering pulled out differently. A spinner could be quite adventurous in how they work up, mix'n'match, or keep separate and coordinate.

Batt(s) The Second: A blend of the SW merino mill ends and some lovely soft Romeny lamb locks. I have dyed bagfuls of each, and when it came to blending picked adjacent colours (blue-green/green, yellow-green/green,violet/magenta-red) to make more monochrome but beautifully rich, heathered batts.

Batt(s) the Third: Using the same adjacent-colour blending, these last two are 100% Romney lamb. The dyes were bright jewel-tones, but on gray fleece. Made some lovely toned colours.

I have to show you a close-up of the last one:

I like that one enough that it might not make it into the Etsy shop.

More fluffy adventures are to come! There may need to be more dyeing, but I've begun rootling the fluff stash too for some little add-in goodies like seacell/silk fibres, angelina (sparkles!), and some lovely blending bits of mohair, alpaca, and llama.

Socks on Circulars 101 - Lofty Fibres class coming up

2010-06-21T18:02:00.000-07:00

And isn't it about time?!?!??

This coming Saturday, June 26th, I'm looking forward to getting back in my yarney groove, and hopefully corrupting some new soles for my next offering of handknit sock teaching. I'll be offering my basic Socks on Circulars at All Strung Out in Guelph. Class is a 6-hour, two part workshop, the first part 10 am to 1 pm this Saturday, and part 2 at the same time, July 10th. You have two weeks between for lots of practice and progress on your socks! Head over to the link above, or call the shop at 519-772-6807 to book a spot (if any are left! If not, be sure to leave your name for the next offering.)

The class covers a basic architecture for a toe-up sock. Knitting from the toe up has many advantages. For one - no risk of running out of yarn with one toe left to go! You can knit as long a leg as you like, being sure, as your foot is already done, you'll have enough yarn (a shorter sock still works - a toe-less sock maybe not!) There are no stitches to pick up on the heel flap, no uneven sides. We'll cover a straightforward formula for gusset increases that works well for most feet out there, and discuss a few modifications for when it doesn't.

The class is aimed at the ambitious beginner to intermediate knitter, whether you've knit a sock before or not. Those who have knit socks may wish to turn things a new way up, and those who haven't - well, this is a great method to start.

A pattern "recipe" as well as book and pattern references will be provided at the class. I don't teach to one specific pattern, as this is a class about structure and technique, which will enable the student to pick up any toe-up sock pattern and work from these basics. You're welcome to bring books and patterns if you'd like to discuss, or try them out.

Required Materials:

Yarn: 40-50 grams of DK to worsted weight yarn, in solid, light colours - leftovers are fine! This is for practice/test exercises.

Needles: 3 mm to 4 mm needles

- 2 circulars, 16 to 24 inch, OR

- 1 long circular, 32 to 36 inch

- for test exercises, can also use straights or two DPNs as straights (heel turn practice)

Clip-on stitch markers

Scrap yarn or string for holding stitches if needed

Writing materials for notes.

Nice to have: (we can improvise or share if students do not have everything):

Crochet hook or "stitch saver"

Darning needle

Small scissors or yarn cutter

Optional:

Finer sock yarn, for those who wish to start a kids or full-size sock.

Extra needles of the size required for your DK/Worsted yarn

Finer needles for your (optional) sock yarn

Stitch patterns, sock patterns, or sock books you wish to discuss.

Required knowledge: The workshop assumes the participant knows a knit stitch, purl stitch, and understands the idea of an increase or decrease (lifted increase, kf&b, ssk, k2tog). A very enthusiastic new knitter could cover these basics shortly before the class.

Staying Warm and Fuzzy in the Winter

2010-01-26T11:09:00.000-08:00

Well, I've finally managed. Look over there, on the right, the Etsy Mini....

Yep, I have some fibre up. New to the Etsy store (as wholesale has been picking up all the fibre I could dye so far!) - handspinning fibre braids and a neat new twist - the Twisted Pairs.

Twisted Pairs are a full hank of sock yarn, combined with a half-braid of handspinning fibre, dyed in the exact same lot so they'll match. Why? Why not? Thrummed mittens/socks. Socks with a handspun & embellished cuff, or toe/heel/cuff. A shawl with handspun trim or accessories. And though the current stock is all superwash BFL, I'll consider a feltable fibre for embellisment in future lots, what do you think?

Part 2 of today's update is someone's mistake, and someone else's good fortune. With my last shipment of stock, I ordered a few pounds of a wool/seacell blend which, unfortunately, does not seem to resemble such a blend, much. So - it's on sale! $16 (braids are regular $18-$25) . It's definitely wool, superwash, and lovely and bouncy, combed top which drafts like a dream. I just don't know EXACTLY what blend it is. So - take a chance, make something new.

Warm and Woolly for the Holidays!

2009-12-28T15:40:00.000-08:00

This fibre blog business is slow, mainly because all my other fibre pursuits are keeping me busy.

However, I got out the pots, and the inventory from the closet, and did a bit of experimenting yesterday. Now, if you followed me here from Twitter or Ravelry, here's the buy off the blog deal. I've not divided, wrapped, or done the proper glamour-shots and retouching yet, but if you save me the trouble of making things pretty on Etsy, you save a bit.

If you like any of the below (shots are in pairs, one with flash, one late-afternoon winter light), send me a note at LoftyFibres AT gmail DOT youknowtherest... and tell me what you'd like. The deal is $20 Canadian per 4oz braid, + $5 shipping (any amount). I will send you a PayPal invoice, so please use a valid email. Local pickup can save the shipping. Usual pricing would be $20-$25 in US funds on Etsy.

Please note: The fibre pictured is in 8 ounce/225 gram braids, approximately. They are usually divided into 4 oz braids, let me know if you want all of one braid (2 x 4 oz = $40 Cdn).

Blue Face Leicester: WaterGreens - Water Greens has been purchased as of about 7:45 tonight! Natural light:

Camera Flash:

Blue Face Leicester: Rusty Paint Bucket. Natural Light:

Camera Flash:

Blue Face Leicester, Copper and Steel. Natural Light:

And Camera Flash:

Blue Face Leicester, Early Winter Sunset, natural light.

And camera flash:

By the way, my BFL is a superwash-treated fibre.

Here's the last couple. 70% SW Merino, 30% Mulberry silk, Winter Seas. Update: Apologies, Winter Seas found a new home about 10 minutes after posting!

Natural light:

And with the flash:

Finally, these last 4 shots are the same bump of Merino-Silk. It's a really speckled, random dye so I took two different sides of it. Icy Splash, natural light:

And with the flash:

New Inventory, Tidying Up, Small Milestones

2009-11-01T19:01:00.000-08:00

Well, it's been a busy stretch, and not much has turned up in the Spinning sense.

If you look over there, ---> though, you'll see a few updates in the Etsy ticker. More to come in the next few days.

Finally, while not a knitting/spinning thing, I FINALLY got the binding on a quilt I started 2.5 years ago, that was professionally quilted almost a year ago. Procrastination, anyone? But "Sprout's Disaster", the working title for my Tile Tango quilt, is almost on the bed. Or, well, it IS on the bed, but folded in a heap right now until I finish stitching the binding to the back. That has to be done by hand, it just doesn't look right if you punch it all down by machine.

Here's what it used to look like:

Better photo to come after we get some daylight on it.

A Mix-and-Match, Annotated Sock Recipe.

2009-10-17T15:30:00.000-07:00

Hi, Sock-buddies! This post will be primarily of interest to my current workshop group who joined us at All Strung Out this morning, but if you're a knitter browsing by and interested in starting with socks, do read on. I will perhaps work in the future to make this post a permanent document of an annotated Sock Recipe. This is not a "pattern" per se, but my notes and references to good demonstration materials for each structural element of a Toe-Up Sock.

Part 1 of my workshop was about our "exercises" to get you started - cast-on options, and turning a heel. HOWEVER! The goal is indeed to get a sock out of this, and many of you want a pair of them by Christmas, of course. So this is a quick list to tutorial materials either to review what we did in class or point you to some options.

Casting On:
While there are many ways to cast on, I primarily use two. The simplest is the Turkish Cast-On, also called the Eastern Cast-on. The most popular tutorial on this top (based on Google's top listings!) is by Debi, aka FluffyKnitterDeb on Ravelry and Blogger. Debi's Turkish tutorial is a great presentation of an old technique and puts my photo insert from the class notes to shame.

The second method is known as Judy's Magic Cast-on, developed by Judy Becker and published in Knitty in Spring 2006. This looks more complicated (it isn't really terrible!) but provides a slightly more reinforced toe, and is recommended if you are a sock-wearer whose toes will wear out first.

TOES - Increasing

A sock toe has two rows or "rounds" when we are knitting in the round, a round where you increase, and a plain knit round.
I use a kf&b increase, that is "Knit Front and Back". A YouTube video presenter known as TheKnitWitch has a super, short, easy-to-see tutorial on this increase for you to review.

Remember while working that a "round" is worked across both your needles - make sure you increase a total of FOUR times, that is, at both ends of both needles.

Round 1: Kf&b, knit to last TWO stitches, Kf&b in the second last stitch, then K1. Repeat on bottom needle, which is your second half of the round.
Round 2: Knit all stitches, Top needle and Bottom.

Repeat rounds 1&2, until you have the correct number of stitches for your size of sock.

There are other increase methods you can use, and if you're feeling adventurous, head to Google or YouTube and look up "knitting lifted increase" or "LLinc and LRinc". You'll see these next week in the workshop.

FOOT:

Now, this is the EASY, but time consuming part, which is why it's homework. Just knit around. Knit all stitches on both needles, and the tube which is the foot of your sock will grow out of the toe you have just finished. The experienced knitter can add stitch patterning on the Instep (top) needle if desired.

Knit until the sock, including the whole toe, is 3 inches less than the total foot length you need. Total foot length is from the tip of the longest toe to the back of the heel, while you are standing.

GUSSET:

The sock gusset is the part of a sock where it gets bigger to accommodate the anatomical structures of heel, instep, and ankle all meeting.

The gusset is another set of increases, using the kf&b increase as we did on the toe, BUT, you work these increases ONLY on the sole stitches. This is where it becomes important that you know which needle is your instep/top needle, and which is your sole/bottom needle. Use a stitch marker, loop of scrap yarn, or even a paperclip, slipped either onto the needle or through your knitting (but don't snag it) to distinguish one side.

The gusset also has only two rounds, which repeat.
Round 1: Knit all the stitches on the Instep needle. On the Sole needle, kf&b, knit to last two stitches, kf&b, K1.
Round 2: Knit all stitches, instep and sole.

Repeat THESE two rounds until the Sole needle is carrying twice as many stitches as the Instep needle. For those in the workshop, you will have doubled the number of stitches on the Sole needle only, and you will have 16, 30, or 36 on the Instep needle, and 32, 60, or 72 on the Sole, for a total of 38, 90, or 108 stitches all the way around.

Finish with a Round 1, do not yet knit the last Round 2. We will pick up here on Week 2 of the workshop.

If any of you are keen and want to go ahead and turn your heel, Make sure you read the "Set Up for Heel Turn" part of the notes, and place your stitch markers. The set up basically involves spreading a few extra stitches through the gussets to provide extra room and flexibility. If you ARE going on to this part yourselves, you might want to look at Cat Bordhi's YouTube video on LLinc and LRinc, as we want to use a different method to increase those extra stitches.

Cheers ! See you next week.

Experimenting with Mother Nature

2009-09-27T19:04:00.000-07:00

While an Etsy update is still pending, I did update my Gallery (look over there -->) with the September yarn and fibre photos. I've also added, and will show below, some of my Nature Dyeing exercises from the OHS class this past summer.

I have to hand in a detailed assessment of this, but here are a couple of photos of what you can do with wild-gathered weeds and berries.

First, a batch of samples dyed with Elderberries:

Left to right, the different treatments are:

Pre-mordant with Oxalic Acid
In-Pot mordant with Tin and Cream of Tartar
In-pot mordant with Copper, citric acid rinse
In-pot mordant with Copper, ammonia rinse
Post- mordant with Alum and Cream of Tartar

And, a batch dyed with Goldenrod flowers:

Left to right again, the treatments are:

Pre-mordant with Oxalic Acid
In-pot mordant with Copper, citric acid rinse
Post-mordant w/Alum and Cream of Tartar
In-pot mordant with Iron

Though not many of these are "my colours", and the one I thought I'd like because the dye bath turned royal purple is still pretty brown, I'm impressed with the range here. While samples have to be mounted and handed in, I think I'm going to come up with some sort of stranded work to show these off together.

These were all done yesterday with a classmate. I spent today mucking around with the spent dyebaths, and have some fainter colours on full-size hanks of yarn. The Goldenrod exhaust produced greens, and the elderberry started with a purple that browned down to a mauve, and ended with a pale green as well.

Holiday Dye Deals!

2009-09-07T14:05:00.000-07:00

Happy Labour Day! To make up for some ongoing delinquency in blog updates, I am posting below all the yarn and fibre dyed this weekend. While more will be coming soon, and hitting the Etsy shop & my wholesale spots, I'm going to make a deal for those of you who took the trouble to look me up.

You see, if you buy my yarn or fibre at an LYS, you're paying a markup, though I think a perfectly fair one, to a second businessperson who takes the chance and the trouble to stock my goods. And if you buy on Etsy, great as I think that service is, I am only able to charge you in US dollars, and a portion goes to Etsy.

So here's the deal. See something you like in this blog post? You have until 8 pm Eastern Daylight Time on Tuesday September 8th to email LoftyFibres AT Gmail DOT com (you know how to put that together, right?) with what you would like, and your paypal-enabled email address. I will invoice you in CANADIAN funds, at $20 even per 4 oz braid of fibre or 115 gram sock yarn, plus $5 shipping.

This is a 24 hour deal only - after that, you may find the new items (and lots more) through Shall We Knit in New Hamburg, All Strung Out in Guelph, at the Waterloo County Knitters' Fair (with SWK and ASO) or on Etsy.

Fine print: Please note the fibre photos are of 8 oz or 2 full braids of fibre - 2 of each colour are available, price is per 4oz braid.

Lisa & Karen Special (Seawool, 70% Superwash Merino, 30% Seacell):
Harvest Veggies (50% Superwash Merino, 50% Tussah Silk):

Autumn Splash (50% Superwash Merino, 50% Tussah Silk):

Another Purple Accident (Seawool, 70% Superwash Merino, 30% Seacell):

Watercolour Clown(Seawool, 70% Superwash Merino, 30% Seacell):

Sun Through the Storm(100% Superwash BFL):

Pumpkin in the Pond(Seawool, 70% Superwash Merino, 30% Seacell):

Moody (100% Superwash BFL):

More fine print: Sock yarns may be re-skeined before tagging and shipping. The below photos are "out of the pot".

LoftySocks Wave, (SW Merino/Seacell Blend), "Skies Are All Kinds Of Blue":

LoftySocks Wave, (SW Merino/Seacell Blend), "Green and Jeans 1":

LoftySocks Wave, (SW Merino/Seacell Blend), "Forest Canopy":

LoftySocks Wave, (SW Merino/Seacell Blend), "Green & Jeans 2":

LoftySocks Wave, (SW Merino/Seacell Blend), "Hrmph":

LoftySocks Wave, (SW Merino/Seacell Blend), "Faded Violets":

Can't Keep Up!

2009-05-18T13:19:00.000-07:00

Hello all, from the fibre-ful Loft.

Been quiet again, but busy. If you check the sidebar over there on the right, you'll see I finally got some updates into Etsy today.

I'm also reviewing inventory. There's LOTS of stuff available - Merino sport-weight, merino sock-weight, lots of mix'n'matchable 50 gram skeins. I don't want to load up Etsy just yet due to the low volume, listing fees, and the fact that it's still a difficult way for Canadians to buy right now, but there's much more available than is listed. If anyone is interested, comment or drop an email to LoftyFibres AT Gmail... yadda yadda, we can chat!

In-stock and either just dyed or ready for dyeing are some yummy yarns. LoftySocks + is a great merino-nylon sock yarn that blows most commercial yarns away and has great bounce. LoftySocks Luxe is the name I've given to a real treat - merino-CASHMERE-nylon yarn, super-soft but still really durable and lovely.

I have some fibre ready to dye, but unfortunately, most of it got snapped up and is at Shall We Knit, but more will be coming. Here's a sample of the handpainted Seawool top:

And, when I work up the nerve to try her out, my little shop has been joined by a Pat Green drum carder - so Lofty's going a bit batty, pretty soon!

Daily Fibre

2009-04-27T17:38:00.000-07:00

Been a busy couple of weekends here at the Loft. I've had a very helpful friend with me, and have now managed to dye every undyed item of stock I had left. There will be some new stuff heading Etsy's way soon.

In the mean time, partly due to the time-intensive nature of photographing and uploading everything and partly due to the fact that I'd like to give my fellow Canadians a break if I can, I'm going to start using this blog for sneak peeks, previews, and if you want them - scoop! I'm going to pre-post new items for sale here, and if you catch me before they make it to Etsy, you can purchase the items in Canadian funds. Contact me at LoftyFibres AT Gmail dot com, and if you're the first, you get to scoop!

Here's a couple projects from the latest batch.

Superwash Merino top, approx. 1/2 pound braids, $22

Superwash BFL top - approx. 4 oz per braid (it's really puffy stuff!) but there are two of each - $15/4 oz.

Two yarns I'm hoping will become pretty standard bases. LoftySocks Plus, a Superwash Merino/Nylon blend, is a great deal at $22/hank:

And LoftySocks Luxe, a Superwash Merino/CASHMERE/Nylon blend. Yum! That tiny cashmere content makes this just dreamy. It is a premium yarn, though - $26/115gm skein.

There are many more to come, I just wanted to get some up to show off.

Finally, a little teaser... if you check my other blog, you'll see the new toy I got in the mail. And with several pounds of loose fibre and mill ends around, and more on the way, well, you might guess I'll be going a little batty in the future.

Sock Yarn coming, to a club near you!

2009-04-05T17:50:00.000-07:00

Well, today has been long, but productive. I've just finished my first-ever wholesale dye project, for a an upcoming Sock Club installment with a small vendor. I won't give too much away and of course there will be no pictures until the yarn is off to its new owners, but suffice to say I've been thrilled to be picked, and really appreciate that another small businessperson has put enough faith in my work to pick me to do this! I'll be able to spill the beans sometime next month.

A couple more things went in the pots today, as I hate wasting dye, and have discovered that no matter how pale the shade, Jacquard Fuschia really won't exhaust entirely. So once everything's dry I can show off my heap of peachy-pink fleece mill ends, and a skein of something that turned out remarkably purple when all I meant to do was cold-pour a little purple on parts of it. Oh well.

Here, for your yarn-voyeur pleasure, is the result of a little rescue effort recently. A friend was gifted with a yarn which, while very nicely dyed, was in a colour completely not to her taste. So she asked if I could tone it down a bit with an overdye, for it was in fact a brilliant shade of somewhere between bubble gum and pepto bismol. So on sample-day a couple weeks ago, off it went into a pot with a partially-exhausted sky blue.

Stirring the Pot Again, Finally!

2009-04-04T14:15:00.000-07:00

Well! A wholesale proposal has now come underway and a selection has been made from a range of samples, which has freed up a few more samples - for sale!

I'll be loading the following up to Etsy shortly. If anyone actually checks here - if I hear from you before they're listed, you can reserve one & I'll see if I can sweeten things for saving me some fees.

Everything below is in a new base I'm trying, 80% New Zealand Merino/20% nylon, and a touch more economical than some of my past experiments. $23 per 110+ gram skein.

Not Dead, Just Spinning!

2009-03-09T19:05:00.000-07:00

Ah, life. How it gets in the way of our real passions.

I have neither abandoned nor given up on this blog and the pursuits that led to it, but the beginning of this year has been packed, with things both textile and non.

Most of a final spinning project for my OHS Spinning Certificate level 1 got handed in on time - and the rest is glaring resentfully at me from the pile of rolags in the corner. Hopefully I have passed despite the late penalty, as I've just paid for year 2, coming up in August.

The dye pots, however, are going back on the boil some evening this week, indeed, I'm tying up yarn as I write this. I'll be cooking up a range of samples/one off based on some of the colours captured in photos of my recent trip to Cuba to test out for some spring colourways. I have one wholesale order to get to then hopefully can restock retail and Etsy.

See you soon!

Kitsched Out for the Holidaze!

2008-12-14T10:50:00.000-08:00

I'd like to post a short, but heartfelt THANK YOU to all patrons of the last 2008 Stitch'n'Kitsch yesterday. What a great crowd to brave the freezing rain and pelting... slush? Ice pellets? Whatever that was - I think it depended on what moment you stuck your nose out as to what was flinging down from the sky.

Special thanks of course to those who checked out Lofty Fibres' tiny little table, bought yarn, and even tried out my handspun or the Learn To Knit kits! (New knitters - email me to let me know how it's going, loftyfibres AT gmail DOT... you know the rest.)

As a token of some ongoing thanks, and to give all my knittin' pals a holiday break, stay tuned to the Etsy shop (Over there --> on the right....) for the next couple of days. All 2008 yarns remaining are being reduced!

My reasoning is two-fold: 1) It's the holidays, we all need a break! and 2) Etsy is great. It's a superb, economical, pay-as-you-go venue for the small crafter. BUT, for us Canadians, they don't yet have a Canadian currency option, which means with today's economy and exchange, it's harder for Canadians to buy on line. It's great if my US friends do because I win on that exchange but not so much for us in the Great Wet North (yes, still raining today).

So! All in-stock yarn will be reduced so I can make room for more! And the Canadian Economy bonus is, $1 per item shipping anywhere in Canada! US shipping is still a reasonable $5 on the first, $1 for subsequent, items, but the price reductions apply regardless.

Happy Holiday yarning, everyone.

Lofty Fibres, Live! Episode 2

2008-12-10T08:09:00.000-08:00

Please come out an join us at the Holiday Stitch'n'Kitsch! I'll be there with (of course!) yarn, but a couple dozen more local artisans will be showing off their best, just in time for Holidaze shopping!

It's Almost Spinning Itself....

2008-11-16T16:28:00.000-08:00

I'm in the midst of a bit of angst and tedium. Angst: OHS Level 1 project 2 is to first of all mount up all our dye work from the summer school week - and I'm sorting the dye-class box but still only have vague ideas about a good way to mount. Part 2 of project 2 is a dye gradation exercise - 11 steps from "undyed" to "full strength" at 0.1 increments. Not in itself a daunting task for me, I can do it all in one pot with a handfull of baggies. BUT - our instructor said that while she wasn't grading our spinning, she expected our dyeing to be on our own handspun. The Tedium, thus: Monique is engaged with a half-pound pile of plain old white Corriedale, which is a basic and sturdy wool, good for practice, but not particularly thrilling or motivating to spin for me just now.

So, of course, having developed some sort of attention-deficit problem due to extreme creative multitasking, I got into other things to take the edge off. I've declared this to be my Rhinebeck project:

It is the over 200 grams of Ocean fibre (seawool) dyed by the uber-colour-savvy Dianne of Creatively Dyed, and which you met a couple of posts back It is being spun on one of my family of 5 Bosworth spindles, this one the 39 gram Purpleheart I special-ordered, and picked up at Rhinebeck. Hence, the Rhinebeck project.

While I'm here, a quick pre-reminder: I'll be selling my handpaints at the last 2008 Stitch and Kitsch show in another month, on December 13th. If I do any more dyeing before then it will be very little. A few samples are up in the Etsy shop (see the right panel) and there are actually lots more, I just don't want to pay to list them yet if I'll be trucking them all out to a show. They'll go up after the 13th, though, and can ship for Christmas if ordered quickly.

Handspinner's Toolbox

2008-10-26T18:37:00.001-07:00

Just a little photo exercise I had to share.

Post-Rhinebeck Spin

2008-10-25T08:38:00.000-07:00

As you can see on the right, I did get a few new uploads to the shop. Life has been busy with spinning, knitting, finishing a quilt top, succumbing to the lure of new fabrics when I dropped the quilt off for quilting, and photographing the recent few months of stash.

My first Rhinebeck was a whirlwind, lots of fun, some confusion, and just an overwhelming amount of fibre fumes. I spent probably more than I should have on a beautiful Romney Hogget fleece - it was $55 for just over 2lbs, however, it had already been washed, skirted, and was very very clean. She's a beautiful pale gray and I've sampled a bit by just spinning a few locks right out o the bag on my new spindles.

Unfortunately, I somehow did something boneheaded and lost yesterday afternoon's hour of work photographing my spindles.

Here are shots of the very few - well, the only two, really - fibre and yarn purchases.

First, I had to go by The Fold's booth and check out the BMFA goods live. This one followed me home:

I am NOT really in need of more yarn, given the stash has long since escaped its closet, however, it will be a long time before I can spin silk this well, and BMFA's colour sense is something any dyer should aspire to. I love the way a brown/orange dye looks metallic on silk, and Amber comes out a gorgeous copper colour here. I could see this being a wedding shawl. The hunt for the perfect stole pattern begins!

This second purchase goes with the recounting of the repeated and slightly bizarre experience of walking around Rhinebeck with a Ravelry button on, and having "strangers" run up and greet me like they knew me - and I guess we were all doing it! One who did so was Dianne, "Creative" on Ravelry, the mastermind behind Creatively Dyed Yarns. Dianne is a really prolific dyer and I've not seen one single colourway of the hundreds she has posted in our dye group that I wouldn't love to have. I didn't make it to her tent with the cash until Sunday, when much was gone already, but it was still nearly impossible to choose amongst the glamour of what was left! I narrowed it down to a range of fibre braids that were really grabbing me and just closed my eyes and reached in that general area of the rack and grabbed one.

This is her "Ocean" fibre (wool/Seacell) and I love the way the different dye takeup makes it look like seafoam.

I have a feeling you may see this again once Monique the JourneyWheel and I are finished with it.

Not Dead, Been Dyeing! (and spinning)

2008-10-11T22:21:00.000-07:00

Check it out on the right! I've started loading the latest into Etsy. Sorry for the wait. Right after a moderately-successful Stitch'n'Kitsch, I dove headfirst into my spinning assignments for the OHS class, so the lag has just been in getting time at the keyboard to reload the online shop!

Here are a couple of my other ventures, not quite ready for sales yet:

Lofty Fibres, Live!

2008-09-22T07:20:00.000-07:00

Despite being a neglectful blogger, your humble yarnie has been busy, to the point where the loft is increasingly infested with yarn skeins - they have long escaped the stash closet and are starting to drape the railings. Because we need inventory, inventry, inventory in support of real-world ventures!

The Etsy shop will not go away, but there will be a slight delay in loading new listings, as I get ready for a couple of new in-person venues.

First, my thanks to Karen of Shall We Knit for her enthusiastic continuing support of the yarn and fibre communities in this area. Karen will be carrying a small selection of Lofty Fibres sock yarns, among other local specialty offerings, at the St. Jacob's Market shop which just opened this past week.

Second, I've been accepted into the next two 2008 Stitch and Kitsch sales at First United Church in Waterloo!

I've been a fan of Stitch and Kitsch for a while. It's an urban, young, fun twist on the ladies auxiliary "church bazaar" concept. Fun clothes and accessories, crafts, gifts, woodwork, textiles, and now, my yarn!

Now that a couple of my fall commitments are over, I'm going to be up to my elbows in the dye pots for the next week, getting set for October 4th. Look for new Etsy inventory after that time.

Off to Spinning School

2008-08-14T20:24:00.000-07:00

Lofty Fibres is off to a working vacation, in lovely Haliburton, Ontario. Yours truly will be taking Level 1 of the Ontario Handweavers and Spinners' Guild's Spinning Certificate.

I have no idea what I'm in for. Fellow Ravellers who are going have next to no experience, and years of experience.

Here's my latest, half-done project. I'm taking these along for some plyng practice.

A little gift for my hardworking wheel

2008-08-07T19:29:00.000-07:00

Was playing around at being crafty the last couple of days. My JourneyWheel, Lapis Monique, is the beneficiary of a crafty little brainfart, so she can now accessorize with whatever she is spinning.

Back At It.

2008-08-04T19:25:00.000-07:00

This roving makes me think of Cirque du Soleil's big tent.

The Lofty blog is not abandoned, but the blogger has been busy with life. Not much is moving on the Etsy store front so there's been no urgency about dyeing. Meanwhile, I did get Monique (the Journeywheel) out from where she'd been hiding from the painters for a couple of weeks, and we've made a start on Kit 2A of the Bellwether's Fab Fibre Clu

Made a small start on it, about 1/4 or a bit more.

Spinning Makes a Bad Week Better

2008-06-09T19:52:00.000-07:00

This past week included a birthday, but sadly, the loss of a much loved, if insane and very sick, kitty from our little crew at the Loft.

Spinning is soothing, though. LoftyFibres may eventually list some handspuns for sale, but these are still some learning projects.

First - the SW Merino from The Black Lamb that I started, oh, weeks ago, not too long after getting the JourneyWheel. I was going for sock-ish weight, but got waaaayyyy too thin. I'm going to Navajo ply this, and it *might* be lace weight then.

After 6 weeks on that one very full bobbin, my first two installments (first project) from The Bellwether's Fiber Club went zoomin' by. I think these are a bit thinner than called for, as I had a heck of alot of trouble not over-drafting after all that merino thread I made. They're also uneven, but I'll see it through and knit the socks eventually.

I don't know what it is with purple lately. It's not something I'd have said is my fave, but it's been stalking me. I finished scarf with alot of purple, the fibre kit was purple, my Ravelry Sockdown for may had some purple, and for June is primarily purple. Then the STR May kit showed up - very purple... AND on a whim, I picked up two skeins of complimentary purple colourways for the Goddess Mystery Shawl.

First Sale!

2008-06-02T16:32:00.000-07:00

My thanks to fellow Raveller Jerry, who spotted one of my yarns, wandered to the Etsy shop and bought it! Something of a rite of passage for me to make a sale online - so far, they've just been hand-offs at Guild meetings.

So, yay! Pelagic, or half of it, as it was a half-pound dye lot, is off to a new home in California. How neat, because the experience that inspired this colourway was actually my all-too-brief visit to the Monterey Aquarium last year. I was just entranced by the "Pelagic Zone" tank with the sharks and mola-mola. The deep, darkening cast of blue-green on everything gives that exhibit the most tranquil aura.

I am debating as yet whether to list the skein's mate on Etsy. I do quite love it - but realistically, if I want to make a go of being a marketable dyer, keeping even half of what I dye is not the best plan.

Fibre Fun

2008-05-26T19:07:00.000-07:00

Below, for your review, is roughly 2 pounds of superwash merino/nylon mill ends, dyed in various accidents and experiments over the course of this month.

From the Wellington workshop, May 10:

Garnet - dyed in a kettle in an onion bag!

Faded Jeans - ditto.

Switcharoo Blues - what happened when a classmate and I confused our fibres (so, this one wasn't really my dye job).

May 11th, I mucked about in the kitchen with some leftover Wilton's solutions:

Amethyst and Rose happened when a mix of Violet and Cornflower (I think) blue broke up.

Mossy Agate was a couple of different green solutions.

I finally broke out my Jacquard dyes, or at least half of them, and mixed stock on May 18.

Every Greens 1 is a handpaint, in a green-tinged black, teal-green, emerald, and chartreuse.

Every Greens 2 is a kettle job that occurred when the remains of all the greens in Every Greens 1 were mixed in a single pot:

Finally, I was so happy with one of my handpaint yarns from the Shelridge Farm workshop on the 25th, that I ran home to play in a pot again with the last yoink of the fibre I had left. The result was Sleet:

I'll show you Sleet the Yarn and its inspiration later. All these fibres are destined, eventually, for carding, blending, and spinning practice, possibly along with some mohair locks I have.

Been Too Busy to Blog

2008-05-18T20:16:00.000-07:00

A few new things have been cooked up in the last week-or-so. May 10 was spent out at Wellington Fibres,, getting a look at how proprietor and professional dyer Donna gets things done. While one can get the basics of dyeing out of books, Donna's scientific approach was incredibly informative, and you can't beat learning from the benefit of another's experience.

I'm not sure if I can let the blue one into the shop, but the mixed-berries colour will be (there are two).

I also learned some common sense about dyeing fibre - namely, onion bags. Keeps it from floating all apart. This roving was handpainted, but rinsed in the bag. Since I never eat enough onions to buy a whole bag, I discovered dollar-store zippered lingerie wash bags do the same job.

No, I didn't mangle a roving, by the way. Some of what I took to experiment on was some $5/lb superwash/nylon blend mill ends, which will eventually be for my carding, blending, and spinning experiments.

Yesterday and today were spent replicating the work in the kitchen. Today's results are still drying, but yesterday's were alright. One of two fibre one-offs obtained by dumping the unused Wilton's mixes from a couple weeks ago into a pot:

and this, done with the potentially messy technique of sprinkling dye powder onto wet yarn:

I could only do that with Gaywool, really, which is constituted more like salt crystals as the acid is in the mix. Do NOT try any such thing with Jacquard unless you have lab-grade containement for that flyaway powder.

We'll leave the spinning for another day, but I had to show this off, too. My dye studio.

Yep, after a few go-rounds of making a mess, shoving all the clutter into a corner of my room, then making more mess, I dug this tower of rolling file boxes out of storage. Everything but my big roasting pan fits in. 2 canning pots, 24 mason jars, 12 turkey basters, assorted spoons and syringes. The reason the lid is a bit elevated is inside the top bin is another bin I've made into an ersatz "glove box" in which dye powder can be mixed up (while I still wear gloves and a mask) with very minimal risk of mess or transfer or inhalation. I love that I can now put the whole kit back in storage, and roll it out when I need to.

Open for Business

2008-05-08T13:33:00.001-07:00

Here's my fave of last weekend's dye lots:

And while this isn't the most attention-getting colourway ever, it was a neat colour chemistry experiment - this yarn is dyed with black dye.

Only black. Two different blacks.

If you're interested, or just want to see more, check out the links over there on the right ---> . The Etsy store is now open, and the gallery is updated.

Coming soon: Result of dye workshops at Wellington (May 10) and Shelridge (May 25) - if I can bear to part with them!

Out of the Dye Pot, May

2008-05-06T10:03:00.000-07:00

Welcome! Pictures are still to come, but May has gotten started with another day of smelling up the loft with the aroma of pickled sheep - all for the greater good of Socks.

A starting point: Corrie 100

2008-03-15T16:24:00.000-07:00

As I begin this adventure, I appoint this my Mascot: Corrie 100, the culmination of my introduction to The Spinning Wheel (and some food-safe dyes).