TGIFF! I have some yarn to show off today. The first one is a bright combination of purples and blues 2-ply superwash yarn measuring 356 yards! You read that right. 356 yards. It weighs about 10 oz. I can't remember exactly what it weighs because it's not here. It is one of three yarns I entered to the homespun division of the LA County Fair... (UPDATE: See more of the Fair yarns on Sopranospinner's Progressive Purls blog! Have you seen her socks? Yeah!)
The truth is out, I didn't exactly spin it this week. But this is the yarn's debut in this blog and that's good enough for me. By the way, the yarn on the right in the same photo is a polar inspired 2-ply superwash skein measuring 204 yards. Lots of blues in a tweed fashion. It's funny, 204 yards would usually be something I'd brag about, but next to the 356...eh?
The next trio of pictures demonstrates a process. First you see the pile of natural colored roving. It's 85% wool and 15% mohair. Sometimes I dye the roving before spinning, but in this case I spun it up au naturale.
It's not the finest skein on the planet but I admit to being bored with the lack of color and spun it as fast as possible. It's 128 yards in all. Actually, I spun this particular yarn on the first day of the Tour de Fleece and put it away for about six weeks! Why? I didn't know what color to dye it. That's the short answer.
I also want to say how much it bothers me that the worst photo of the lot is by far the largest one on display here in this entry. It's HUGE! Grrr.
Anyway, I knew the dye could be a challenge because the yarn had it's own color to it and I would be overdying, which is an art form all it's own. I technically have a degree in art, but it had nothing to do with dying wool in my kitchen using cake dyes and kool-aid!
The dye hits naturally colored wool differently than it does white wool. Just imagine coloring on white paper with crayons. Now imagine coloring on tan construction paper. See how the colors are muted? If you're still with me, I present to you the finished yarn. It reminds me of a rainbow in a puddle at the gas station. You know what I mean?
5 comments:
The overdyed yarn would look nice with yesterday's cherry, from the pictures on my monitor anyway.
Would you like me to send you the photos I took of your yarns before I took them to Pomona?
I got out some cotton yarn this morning for bands. If M will pick colors, I will go for it today!
Oh that's okay. Thanks for the offer. I forgot you took pictures! I will edit the post to link to your post now.
I can't wait to see the cuffs! I can't believe you are making time to do them actually :)
I love the last one! (all of them are, of course, wonderful, too!) I love the muted colors. and yes, it totally looks like something I try really hard to get the kids NOT to step in at the gas station :)
Oh your yarn is just awe inspiring.
I tried dying with Wiltons and I wasn't too crazy about the results, I guess I like my colors to "pop" more.
I am in the process of spinning up some natural brown wool which I plan to over dye later. It's taking forever because I don't have a wheel (my poor little spindle) but I just plan on spinning and spinning until my spindle can't hold any more. Hopefully I'll finally break that 100 yard mark, I mean I've barely spun 50 yards once plied with my spindles.
OK, I guess I'm rambling, let me leave some room for other people to comment too.
I kno wyou probably said this already but wht kind of wheel do you have? Babe?
Thanks weaver and harlem! Your nice words cheered me right up! It's funny, when I think of oil slick rainbows I think of being a kid!
I have a Louet S10. I bought it off ebay and I'm really happy with it. It's a simple wheel which is good for me. Before I had my wheel I used a spindle for 6 months and I think I could get about 100 yards on it if I was careful (gets pretty heavy, right?). The wheel is WAY faster and holds more too. You'll love it if you get one, any of them, it's worth it. Hang on to the spindles though, they're great for traveling, etc.
I want to explore overdying darker wools more. I like the results. The bright colors I've seen of yours are great!
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