This morning as I lay in bed trying to motivate myself, I could hear two of my daughters, Megan (12) and Sam (9) talking in the next room. Megan has the top bunk, so without getting up, she can see out the window.
Sam: Hey Megan…Meg….look out the window. Did it snow more?
Meg: Yeah, it’s still snowing
Sam: Is there a lot of snow?
Meg: Yeah.
Sam: Is there…..enough?
Sorry kids. No snow day, but there’s another 10cm (4″ or the size of a gauge swatch) to come today, so hope springs eternal.
Tuesday is my spinning day. I take a class that’s on Tuesdays and I make a point of spending at least this day of the week in spinning pursuits. Today I’m compromising (I’m determined to finish the sweater that shall not be named). I dyed some Romney x Corridale wool last Tuesday with koolaid and I didn’t love the results.
I carded it up anyway and I’m going to give half to my kids to spin and half to my nieces in Cape Breton. I didn’t like the “candy” colours, but it’s perfect for the kids. I especially wasn’t happy with the blue, so I tried again using paste food dye, that one from Wilton. I carefully dissolved it in water, added some vinegar for acid, put in the wool and microwaved it for a while. I stirred gently every once in a while. Even though this is sort of a crappy picture, you can see what happened.
It’s a dark turquoise blue in the tips, a light purple in the middle and baby blue at the cut end. It’s nothing like what I wanted at all, but I really like it. I’m going to spin it up today and see what I get. I did some research and I think what happened is the dye “broke”. If anybody knows how I did that, how I could do it again, or how to avoid it in the future…I’d love to know.
Yarn Harlot
If you used real dye, which is actually a lot less expensive than using Koolade, you would be much happier with your results. Just a thought.
I’m with you Cindy. I’ve done some before and I really did like it better (sort of a no-brainer eh? Dye intended for dying fibre would be better than using a drink?) I just didn’t have anything better on hand. I appreciate the suggestion.
Well call me tasteless, but I kinda like those happy colors. You could maybe combine them with something sludge-like (as Kaffe Fassett would say), and have a toned-down happy wool.
Don’t worry, Meg, I’m not trying to get your ma to send me the wool she doesn’t like.
Well, not too seriously, anyway.
I rather like those bright colours, especially on a snowy day like today. Blending the coloured fibre with gray wool or adding little bits of it to chocolate fleece/roving helps to tone things down. Also you could try overdying the koolaid stuff.
I hope you will share the spun results from your wilton experiment. I have had the colour go weird on me when using proper dyestuff. It was due to the dyestock being well past the “due date” and so I got a similar effect. Also if the fibre is not clean (as in truly clean!! via synthrapol or an equivalent) the dye will not take evenly. If you start with stained wool again the colour will not be constant along the length of the fibre.
I hope that the younger set have fun with the colours.
Regards,
Wow, just found your blog through FRS, and I think you are a kindred soul! I spin so badly and so infrequently that my boyfriend asked me if it was supposed to look like rope. Um, yes dear, it’s a *specialty* yarn. Hell, I don’t even know where or how to buy more stuff to spin with (roving, is that what it’s called?) But I do knit, much better than I spin. AND, hopefully I will have my own blog soon, so you can see just how great all that spun rope actually looks!
Theresa, I specialize in rope-like yarn. I am still “plying challenged” so I only do two ply if it’s at all possible. This adds to the ropey qualities. Can’t wait to see yours.
You can get subtle colors out of the KoolAde if you mix them. The lime and the black cherry make a particularly subtle green. Being impatient and cheap (i.e. stuffing a heck of a lot of wool into one dyebath and not letting it soak too long) also work. I’ll try to post a picture of the possibilities on my site.
Whoop. Sorry. The URL is http://palimpsest.typepad.com/frogsandravens
I WILL NOT SPANK OTHERS
I WILL NOT SPANK OTHERS
I WILL NOT SPANK OTHERS
I WILL NOT SPANK OTHERS
Bart Simpson on chalkboard in episode 8F14
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Look at him. Scrawny, like most wizards, and clad in a dark red robe on
which a few mystic sigils were embroidered in tarnished sequins. Some might
have taken him for a mere apprentice enchanter who had run away from his
master out of defiance, boredom, fear and a lingering taste for
heterosexuality. Yet around his neck was a chain bearing the bronze octagon
that marked him as an alumnus of Unseen University, the high school of magic
whose time-and-space transcendent campus is never precisely Here or There.
Graduates were usually destined for mageship at least, but Rincewind–after
an unfortunate event–had left knowing only one spell and made a living of
sorts around the town by capitalizing on an innate gift for languages. He
avoided work as a rule, but had a quickness of wit that put his
acquaintances in mind of a bright rodent.
— Terry Pratchett, “The Colour of Magic”
prozac I WILL NOT SPANK OTHERS
I WILL NOT SPANK OTHERS
I WILL NOT SPANK OTHERS
I WILL NOT SPANK OTHERS
Bart Simpson on chalkboard in episode 8F14