Last fall I experienced ice dyeing with friends. I have been asked to share here. 

This can be a piece of cotton fabric, a cotton bag, etc. Also silk scarves were done. Fiber reactive dyes were used. Container to catch the melted ice with a metal grid and netting on top. The piece to be dyed is placed on the netting and then crushed ice is placed on top of the piece. The powdered dye is sprinkled in tiny amounts over the ice. Then you wait for the ice to melt! That is the hardest part! 
Gloves and masks are worn for safety. You do not want to inhale the dye powder. 

You can use one or many colors of dye powder depending on the effect you wish. 

The two above show the ice mostly melted. After the ice is all melted, the items are rinsed and dried, then heat set with an iron. The final step is to wash, dry and re-iron. 

Many items were done that weekend. 

Three silk scarves that I did.

Moving forward to last week..........More ice dyeing with friends. This time I took apart two silk jackets and a skirt. I  Have not worn one jacket in a very long time,  and the suit was never worn. I thought they would more useful made into other things. Project bags maybe. I also dyed some silk scarves. Two of the scarves were from last fall. I was not totally happy with them so I over dyed them. This shows before and after.

 Not happy with this set of pockets. Will over dye them this summer when doing an ice dye workshop.

The silk scarves in the photos are still very wet. That is why they appear shiny. 

When ironing the silk scarves, interesting things were revealed. 

                                     I see a couple of faces                                                   

                                                 Wolves

                                                   Alien

                                       Long legged sheep

                                             Dragonfly

                                  Goat head on alien body 
                   A couple

                                                  Bird

                                             Rock Band

                                     Happy monster face

                                            Hedgehog

Can you see the images as I do?

Now I want to dye lots of things to see what can be reviled!

Spindle love is growing

My collection of support spindles has grown again. I have not settled down to a large project with them as yet. Just playing with small samples of fiber. I purchased a TwistedGrain Wee Bee from a lovely gal that could not stand the smell of the wood. It is Tamboti and I love the smell. Reminds me of Sandalwood. Then I stumbled upon someone that is just starting to make and sell spindles. Hipstrings. This little dynamo spins cotton like magic. I think there will be another with a larger whorl in my future. The whorl is laser etched and the shaft is carbon-fiber. The first photo is most of the support spindles. Some are homemade by me. Always sticking a bead on a knitting needle or a bamboo skewer to see *what if.*.... The following photos have more information. Looking at the spindles like this makes me think I should settle down and get some spinning done! I do have some sock yarn in progress on one wheel. I have been spending a lot of time knitting and making bobbin lace. Just not enough time in a day!

Dervish and Pu Yok with bowl by Malcolm Fielding. Merino and Merino/bamboo.

 Some I have made. Carved jade, carved bone, ceramic bead, two glass beads. All on double point knitting needles. Pink is silk. The others are cotton.

 Two that my special friend made for me. The one on the right is what pushed me down the rabbit hole of support spindling. That is Shetland and Alpaca. It is a drawer pull with a glass donuts. The other is felted around a bead.

 Texas Jeans ebony and birds-eye maple Russians. My Coopworth on the ebony and Shetland on the maple.

 MaryBearsOsoCrafty made these. The left is oak and the right is cedar. It smells wonderful!

 My friend Alden Amos made this coin spindle for me. Yak

 Great cotton spinner by hipstrings. Laser etched whorl with carbonfiber shaft. SHARP tips. Spinning some natural green cotton.

 Bristlecone twindle that I won in the Earth Day giveaway. It is such a wonderful spinner! The focal is green and there is wood burning on the shaft to look like birch bark. Bristlecone can be found on Artfire.

 This Spanish Peacock Russian is made from Holly. It was a trade for one of my knitting bags. I think I got the best of the deal! Spinning some Bombyx silk that I dyed.

 Phil Powell of Custom Wood Designs made these two wonderful spinners. They have metal tips and spin like crazy. The left is Holly with some wool/silk/angelina, and the right is birds-eye maple with the same fibers. I blended both.

 Enid Ashcroft Russian. Cocobolo

 This is the Wee Bee that Julie could not keep. The shaft is carbonfiber and the whorl is Tamboti wood. Made by Twisted Grain.

Lisa Chan of GrippingYarns made these two spindles. They are the Rose which is a hybred of a French and Russian spindle. . The left is A. Lignum Vitae and the right is Purpleheart.

My Birthday gifts from me to me.

This year's birthday gifts from me to me are two spindles by Phil Powell of Custom Wood Designs. The Birds-eye Maple weighs 21 grams and the Holly weighs 18 grams. Love them both. The fiber is from World of Wool. It is botany Lap Waste that I have blended on my Richard Duncan drum carder. I added some Firestar to the greens and silver Angelina to the purple. Just a wee bit of shine. I have only been spinning with support spindles for about a year. Drop spindles for a few years and 30+ years on wheels.Wonder why it took me so long to discover support spindles? Loving them.

Birds-Eye Maple

                                                                                           

Holly

I won a Twindle!

I won!

On Earth Day I won a support spindle from Bristlecone Artisan Heirlooms. This is a Twindle. It is called Birch Tree. See the lovely green focal? See the wood burning that made it look like a Birch Tree? This spindle makes me very happy.

 Two very talented people create these magical tools. Here are some photos of  the * unavailing*.

The packaging is special. 

There is always candy and a fiber sample.

Can't wait to sample.

 The spindle is fast and the fiber is lovely.

Finished sample fiber. What will be next? Maybe some cotton...........or silk.........