Saturday, October 19, 2019

Yarn intimidation

My local heritageweaversandspinners Guild received a huge donation of wonderful knitting yarns.

Not a great photo, is there a way to take a good picture though plastic bags,  should try the Museum setting on the camera.


There were about 50 bins of yarn from 2 donors.

We get donations quite often from members and non-members, yarn, fibre and equipment but this
was the biggest.

I bought more yarn than I thought I would, I already have stash beyond life expectancy.  But I could not resist.

 Who could resist Cashmere, I don't think I have ever knit with Cashmere before.

This is Casbah, a Merino, Cashmere, and nylon sock yarn.
Lovely colours, that's what attracts me first, and Noro always has the best colours.

I have two problems.  yes these are first world problems and it embarrasses me a bit to write about this.  But I can deal with these problems.  

First is choice,  I feel like all this yarn is surrounding me both mentally and on the bedroom floor and I can't decide what to do with it, starting with where will it go.  And it is getting pushy and demanding.  It's almost all in Raverly, with pictures.  So now I have to put it away and choose what I am going to start knitting.  there are a lot of hats, scarves and shawls in my future,  at least 3 sweaters.  I want a shawl/cowl/hat set for myself.

But I need to finish a plain black sweater,  I know I'll love this and wear it but it's a long dull slog. 

And the donor loved bright colours and multicoloured yarns.  Will I have to add neutral solids to the stash?  Fortunately I have kilograms of white and gray fibre to spin for neutrals.

This is an Alberta produced BFL from Rosebud River Fibremills
  

Olive, colour not tree

Last spring I took a wonderful course at Maiwa School of Textiles called Design Studio from Eleanor Hannan at which I learned all manners of interesting things.  Highly recommend and would take again.

But one of the things I learned, almost by accident, was how the mix Olive Green.  It's a mix of black and yellow, this greatly puzzles me,  I think it should be a dull yellow or an ugly brownish black.


Using several methods of dyeing and several types fibre I got all these different olive greens

The two rolled balls of roving were dyed in a crowded pot, a crock pot on the balcony.

The boucle on the left and the wool yarn in the middle were done in a jar, also on the balcony. Day one above, put black dye powder maybe 3 g. in the bottom, half filled with hot water, pushed 3 skeins, plain wool, wool boucle and some of world's ugliest mohair in, sprinkled yellow on to and added hot water to the top of the jar.


Day three of the jar dyeing, I thought it would all be quite dark but when it was pulled out, rinsed and dried, I had this.


I just left it in the sun on a south facing balcony until the dye was exhausted.  Never checked the water temperature, next time.


Then there is creating colour by blending on drumcarder, this is my favourite method


Saturday, March 9, 2019

Dyeing for similar colour blends

Sorry, can't think of a better description

About 18 months ago, I dyed this at the Heritage Weavers (my guild) dye day.  Thanks Ruth

wool boucle, a sport weight yarn that had been mothproofed, and roving

Dye on skeins







The bits where boucle was both warp and weft were particularly nice.






Saturday, January 26, 2019

Socks, yarn and feelings about same

I want to knit a pair of socks with this yarn.  It's from Red Fox Fibres who came to a fibre festival last year and they are coming this year.  So I had to find the yarn which involved digging though 4 boxes of sock yarn.