Archive for the 'Dying' Category

Crafty Weekend

Published on July 27, 2009 in Craftiness, Dying, Etsy, FO, Fiberlicious, Knitting and Spinning. 0 Comments Tags: fiber, handdyed, handspun, kettle dyed, Knitting, project bags, sewing, Spinning, Yarn.

I’m sure you noticed the Etsy banner on the top of this page. I’ve decided to revive my Etsy shop! I enjoy crafting just way too much, and sometimes just the joy of making things (even if it’s not something I’m going to use) is enough. Of course, that just leads to an overwhelming collection of crafted items laying around, so the etsy shop is back!

First, I finished the Impressionist Colorway spinning project, and honestly I love it! It’s 3-ply and about a sock weight yarn. It’s so soft, bouncy, and shiny! There’s 425 yards in this skein, so it could easily become a pair of socks!

031

Another one that I finished is Boot Cut Barbie. This one is 2-ply and also about sock weight with 346 yards to the skein. I love this one because the way the plying brought out a contrast of colors is just amazing to me! The barber poles are contrasts between the black and pink, khaki and lighter pink, khaki and black. It’s just too cool! This would knit up to a really interesting object, and it’s so smooshy!

029

A while back I decided to throw some fiber in my crock pot and play with how the dyes would take under certain conditions. What I came up with are these two rovings.

017 007

The blue one is called Falling Tears and the red is Bleeding Heart. The blue one has areas of darker blue and even purples, and the red, as you could see, is missing areas contrasted by darker reds, and both are superwash.

Honestly, I hate to see this any of this go, but I honestly don’t know what to do with it all, and I need the money. Grad school starts in a month and I could use the extra income. I also decided to play around with my sewing machine this weekend and some fabric that I had laying around and created these cute little bags.

il_fullxfull.81920100[1] il_fullxfull.81877062[1]

They’re the perfect size for a sock project! I kept one for myself. I also want to experiment with different bags to see what I could create and what I could come up with. That will come later.

There’s another single sitting on a bobbin that is just waiting to be plyed and I may just do that tonight or tomorrow, depending on how crazy my night turns out to be.

I’m amazed at everything I did because I did all this plying, spinning, sewing, and still managed to clean the house, do 3 loads of laundry, and cook a meal worthy of a king! I was a busy girl this weekend and am happy at how everything turned out. Let me know what you think!

—————-
Now playing: Duran Duran – Ordinary World
via FoxyTunes

Share and Enjoy:

My Weekend

Published on December 21, 2008 in Dying, Fiberlicious and Spinning. 0 Comments Tags: handspun, kettle dyeing, Spinning.

I actually did a lot this weekend. There was a lot of spinning, dyeing, and knitting to be done. I got some stuff spun and plied that had been sitting around for a while. This blog post is going to be more of a pictorial to document what occurred this weekend.

Firsly, I plied the Rosebud singles that I had spun up before the fall semester started, so the twist was nicely set before I plied it.

Then there was Flowering Weeds. This was another fiber that I received from the Spunky Club. I finished spinning the singles Friday night and plied it today.

Then there is this one that I’m still working on. I actually started spinning this about 2 hours ago. I dyed this a couple months ago using some Merino fiber I bought in bulk a while back. Now that I have time to spin and knit, I’m spinning this one up and am calling it English Garden. That’s the first thing I thought of when I saw the way the colors were coming out while I was spinning it.

Now for all the dyeing. I’ve been putting back to back 4 oz worth of fiber in my crock pot today. I’m going to post the pictures chronologically from early morning to what’s cooking now.

I did knit some more on Abby, but I’m not done with it yet and I haven’t taken another picture of it, so I’ll put it up later.

As you can see, I’ve been busy, but I feel incredibly fulfilled. In between all of this, I actually did get some housecleaning done as well, and now I’m tired and hungry, so I’ll stop here so I can get some food on the table.

Share and Enjoy:

The latest Spun stuff

Published on May 1, 2008 in Dying, Fiberlicious and Spinning. 2 Comments Tags: dyeing, fiber, Yarn.

This is the yarn that was misbehaving with me so horribly the other night. It’s still on the bobbin. I’m probably going to turn it into a skein tonight. I have a real bad habit of under-plying, so I’m hoping that this one did not do that because I gave it an extra couple of spins as I was plying to avoid that, but then I reached the areas that were fighting me horribly and I lost track of the extra spins, so I’m not sure if it’s under-plyed, over-plyed, or what. I’ll find out tonight.

This yarn has been a dream to spin up! This will be part of the Miami Collection at Deco Handspun, once I’m done with it, and there’s a batt that I’m still working on that will be part of the collection, along with the fiber that I dyed last night that is a dream! I left it drying by a window when I left for work this morning, so I haven’t seen the colors pop yet, but I know when I get home I’m going to be pleasantly surprised. When I pulled it out and cleaned it the colors were already starting to show beautifully, and I’ve noticed that after kettle dyeing the colors don’t really come out until it’s fully dried. I know this is going to come out gorgeous.

Speaking of dyeing fiber, this was the last one I dyed. I finally snapped a picture of it yesterday and put it up at Deco. I’m calling this Mango Milkshake, because the muted yellows with the red/orange and pinks reminds me of mangos. See…

It’s not perfect, but it’s a close resemblance. I’m hoping to have Key Lime Pie done tonight and hopefully plyed as well. All I have left is a little bit of fiber to spin, so that should be ready to go real soon, and I’d also like to put Twilight (which is the fiber I’m playing with) through the drum carder a couple of times tonight to smooth out some areas that are still a little lumpy. This is my inspiration. This is what I see every night on my drive home, when I’m relaxing on my backyard with a Mojito.

Maybe not so much the beach and palm trees, but the way the sky looks. I’ll try and get a picture of this batt tonight.

Share and Enjoy:

Fun with a Crock Pot

Published on April 29, 2008 in Dying, Everything Else and Fiberlicious. 1 Comment Tags: dyeing, fiber.

This is one of my latest creations! I learned to use my crockpot to kettle dye fiber and I’m having a blast with it! This fiber came out so absolutely beautiful with the mild variations of greens and yellows, and it’s so soft and fluffy. There’s another fiber that I dyed that I have been unable to photograph. This one I’m calling Glades Gator and will be part of the Miami Collection on Deco Handspun. Why Glades Gator? Well take a look…

This is an image I took while in the Everglades, and I think it’s very fitting name for this fiber. Be on the lookout for the next fiber in the collection, and I’m thinking I may be dyeing some tonight as well.

In other news, UPS left me a really nice package on my doorstep yesterday and inside was this

I’ve been wanting this Lazy Kate for a while, because plying and winding things onto balls with the Lazy Kate my wheel came with is nearly impossible! The thing just spins out of control and drives me nuts, so I dished out some cash for this. Of course, this wasn’t the only thing in the box. There was also this…

I’m already having fun with this. That will be another fiber that will pop up soon on Deco and it’s looking beautiful so far. I’m thinking of calling it “Bayside Twighlight”. You’ll see why soon. I’m also in the process of spinning up some great yarn in Superwash called Key Lime Pie. Wait til you see it! I’ll try to get pictures of it from the bobbin tonight.

On a more personal note, since I’m in between semesters right now I have all this time for playing with fiber that I’m taking advantage of it and I’m learning as much as I can. My best resources thus far have been the internet and trial and error, and I’m looking into some books as well. I’m excited because this is something I’m really enjoying. Playing with fibers, dyeing them pretty colors, spinning them into luscious yarns, and then turning them into something wearable is so incredible to me. I like being a part of this creation process. I like knowing that I can take something like raw fleece and turn it into clothing that will keep me and my family warm or comfortable, and I hope that I’ll be able to share that with you guys through my blogging.

Share and Enjoy:

What I did last night

Published on April 16, 2008 in Dying, Fiberlicious, Knitting and UFO. 3 Comments

Yesterday was boys night out, so I had time all to myself to do this. I dyed up two 4oz rovings and 5 skeins of superwash, sock weight yarn. My inspiration was my home town, Miami, with it’s bright lights, bright colors, neons and the whole Miami Vice feel. Check out this page for more pictures. Once I’m done with this, it will be up on Deco Handspun as well so I would love some critiques, good or bad. Let me know what you think . There’s some that I know I need to redo because the colors didn’t completely take, but you get the idea.

On top of this crazy dyeing project I also decided to pick up Frost Flowers & Leaves again.

That’s right. I have FINALLY finished ripping back to where I completely screwed up (which was an entire chart repeat, about a months worth of work) and I’m going to start working on this thing again. I need to go through it before I start knitting again and fix all the live stitches that are on there now to make sure everything is in order because I know when I ripped back there are some stitches that got twisted, some that lost a stitch and the yarn is dangling behind it instead of looped through it, things of the sort. Frost Flowers and Leaves has finally been allowed to come out after the massive time out it was on. I need to finish this. I want to finally start using it because every time I stare at it and grope it, it’s soft silkiness calls to me. It’s saying, “finish me! I’m soft and comfy and you’ll love the way I feel wrapped around you comforting you” so it’s time be done with it already. Besides, I started this thing something like a bazillion years ago and I think that’s just way too long to not have finished it already, and it’s taking up precious needle space. I could have cast on another stole or a triangular shawl or something by now, but I can’t because of FF&L.

All in all, I think that yesterday was a fairly productive fiberlicious day, between the W.T. socks, the FF&L ripping fiasco, and that dyeing that I did, I think I did a lot, considering I also pull down a full time job.

Tonight is SnB night, so maybe there will be another productive night as well. Maybe tonight I’ll finish seaming the Stepson Sweater from Hell (S.S.F.H for short). I have one side seamed (side and sleeve), now I need to do the other side, get the zipper sewed in, and sew down the collar and it’ll be done! I’m not too hot on mattress seaming the sides though. Actually, I think I suck at it. I’ll post pictures later on and you guys can be the judge of it.