More Dye results

We went from this>

To this>

Spot dyed dark gray Coopworth roving from Mocha Blue turned into a Navajo ply yarn. What fun!

and then today.........

 

 More of Sierra Silver dyed Myrtle Green. Straight from the dye pot, hung to drip.

This is also Sierra Silver. I think I am going to call this one Embers.  It was a combination of orange, peacock and magenta. Mixed and added to the dye pot. Then the soaked roving was added. The colors split and I like the effect.

Another Great Retreat and improvisation

The past weekend was spent with wonderful friends at our annual retreat. There was lots of spinning and knitting and some really great food. The weather was very cool and we had wind and rain. Perfect for wearing wool socks and woolies. Although a bit cool and damp for spinning on the deck. So many laughs that my sides are still sore. My cheeks hurt too come to think of it. My daughter in law tried her hand at spinning using a crochet hook to get the feel of twisting. I did not have my twisty stick with me nor did Cheryl. So I improvised with a tip from an oak branch tip that I found on the deck while Cheryl made some hook sticks from a coat hanger. It is from plastic coated wire and about 8 inches long.

Kelley soon decided to try with a spinning wheel. She borrowed a Lendrum and got the hang of things pretty quickly. In a short while she  had a singles skein to take home. It is wonderful that my daughter in law wants to learn to spin. However, I may be creating a monster. She is a massage therapist and does massage during our retreat weekends. The gals may be upset with me if Kelley  would rather spin than do massages. Ha.

Played with dye again today

 I dyed Coopworth wool that was originally  pale to dark gray. First  Sierra Silver is now dyed plum.

 Next is Sierra again and this was a  pot of some mixed roses and a bit of magenta.

 Mocha Blue is a dark gray. This was done with dyes dropped in spots all over the damp roving and then steamed. I used peacock, teal and magenta dyes. The mix created some dark purple. All photos are of wet fibers, they will dry a bit lighter. This one was just playing around. I think it will make an interesting yarn.

 Garry Coopworth is pale gray and this was done in the pot after Sierra had been dyed. Exhausting the dye.

This is also Garry done in a lavender pot. I think this one is my favorite.

All dye pots have come out with variations in the roving. I like it that way. A solid color all the way through is nice, but a bit boring.

More of the same

The dyeing continues.

                   Close up of the skeins from the other day. They are drying in the house now.

 The Jacob is dry and into a ball again.

             Silk cap dyed with greens and a bit of yellow. Yellow and rose cap in the background.

                                                          Silk cap spotted with plum.

Dyeing has started

The dyeing is coming along, although not much of a dent has been made in the stock solutions. Will  do more soon. So far it has been wool, silk and a combination of wool and llama. I have more silk caps and roving planned as well as a lot of the natural colored  Coopworth and Shetland. They make such lovely heather colors.

 Hand spun 3 ply BFL blended with nylon sock yarn. I dyed in ball form. Half in purple and then turned the balls over and dyed in forest green. The green shows mostly gray.

                                                      Hand spun in various combinations.

                                Silk cap, silk, silk, baby alpaca and silk sampling. Jacob in the back.

                                         Silk roving in shades of pink and rose before rinsing.

Color Color Everywhere

Today I Made stock solutions. Will be dyeing on  Monday. I have been putting this off for a while. Not as much fun to do it alone so I have asked a friend to come play. I had a lot of dyes on hand that are various colors. After these are gone I will only use primaries and can mix whatever colors I wish.

Will be playing on the back patio. This was taken when I had some of the dyes mixed. We are going to dye wool and silk. Hope to post successful results next week.

This is after all are mixed and waiting. Chopsticks work well for stirring. Lets you know what the colors are too.

New look

Hello Blog.
I have neglected you for a while so today I gave you a new look. Hope you like it. I have been busy taking pictures and putting things into my etsy shop. http://etsy.com/shop/TheLaceShepherdess Here are just a few things.

This is a busy time of year with the holidays coming and lots of gifts to make. Looking forward to cooler weather and more spinning and knitting time.

Went to Lambtown USA on October 1st with some gals from my group. Had a great day and the weather was wonderful. I was good and only bought one alpaca fleece.