Dying Some More

I've had a couple of days off this week so I decided to do some dying. I wanted an effect where there was one colour at one side and an other at the other and they would merge in the middle. I wanted the colours so be strong and saturated so I mixed up more dye then I usually do and poured away. The colours that I wanted were the emerald green and a navy blue. I don't have navy blue so I mixed some russet into the sky blue to see if the colour would be close to navy. I learnt that even if you put just a bit of red it really overpowers that other colour. I had to add half as much more blue again to get it to the colour I wanted. Also even though when the fiber cooled the water in the pot was clear it took many washings to get all the extra dye out. I think there is still some in the fiber but I got tired of washing and just laid it out to dye. Here is a pic of the fiber in the dye pot.

The blue looked quite purple even though I added half a cup of blue dye on top but it merged well when it set in the oven. The end product is pretty close to what I was aiming for. There are a few areas that are not completely saturated but that's ok. Next time I think I'm going to try to actually paint the fiber. That way it will have the colour exactly where I want it. Here is a pic of the finished roving.

On a different note I think I'm really getting the hang of spinning with a spindle. Drafting finally clicked in my head. Before I would have to do a lot of pre-drafting and then spin it with very little drafting to get the thickness that I wanted. Now I'm able to do a little of drafting to fluff up the fiber and then seperate it in fourths instead way thiner and then draft as I'm spinning. I still don't have the yarn perfectly even but it is still a huge improvement. I feel as though I'm spinning way more then just putting twist to something. Yay for me!

Dying Test no. 3, Random Picture of FO's

I finally got a picture of my latest dyed roving! Had some issues with my new digital camera and had to go exchange it. Ended up up-grading to next model up from the one I bought. Love it! I've had no problems with it so far. Here is my roving.

The fiber is superwash merino/nylon. I presoaked the fiber in a water/vinegar solution then arranged the fiber in a spiral in the dye pot. Poured and splashed the dye in a random pattern. Set in the oven at 250 for 30 minutes. The colours I used were russet, sky blue and brown. I added a few drops of russet in the blue to change the colour a bit. I really like the effect.

I've started to spin it on my spindle. I Pre-drafted it pretty fine so the singles are more consistent.

The next dye test I'll try will be blue and green I believe. I'll also try to saturated more of the fiber so that there is no white. I think that I'm scared of wasting my dye so I under dye. The effects have been wonderful but I have to get over it on just pour more dye on.

On a different note I have recently joined Ravelry.com and I took some pictures on some Fo's that I have knitted in the past. I have a bunch more but have not taken any pictures yet. So for now here are the first two.

The first is a pattern from Victorian Lace Today. It is called Scarf with the No. 20 edging. The title is actually longer but I shortened it to that. I knitted it with Roving's hand painted 100% Polworth wool in Brick. It was my most complicated project ever but so worth it. I could not memorize the lace pattern even after repeating it 50 times. But I love it.

Here is a close up of the scarf.

The scarf is really wide. It could also be used as a wrap. I feel glamorous when I wear it.

The next project is the Brea Bag from Berroco. It's a free pattern on their website. I use this bag all the time. I knitted it with South West Trading Company Bamboo yarn. I doubled up the yarn to get closer to the gauge. I also knitted a strap instead of buying a leather one like the pattern suggests. I lined both the purse and the strap with a red Asian themed fabric. The button is from AB Originals who makes hand made buttons. Here are some pics.

The lining inside the bag.

Handmade button by AB Originals.