Three New Handspuns and Some Dying

I've been quite busy since I got my new Ladybug two weeks ago. The first thing I tried spinning was the polypay pencil roving that I had bought awhile ago. It was really boring to spin with the spindle but I figured that it would be perfect to learn how to spin on my new wheel. Here is one of the skeins that I made. It is really fluffy. Think I'll try kettle dying with it and knit a fulled bag with it. It is a little too rough to knit something that is close to the skin.

Then I decided to try spinning some of my superwash merino / nylon blend since I have so much of it. I picked a roving that was blue, orange and golden yellow to start since it was not my favorite colourway. If I messed it up it would not be so bad. It came out all right. Thick thin about 63 yards and chunky. No idea what I'll make with it. If anyone has any ideas let me know.

I also did some dying. Dyed about 25 g of silk hankies and some more superwash merino / nylon. Came out pretty good. The silk came out much lighter then I thought it would. Next time I'm going to use a stronger concentration of dye. and steam it longer.

With the left over dye I dyed a complimenting superwash roving. The red comeout more raspberry pink but still nice. I dribbled brown over the pink in areas and it turned a purply hue. Interesting. Can't get purple from mixing red and blue together but I can with pink and brown. The brown must have some blue undertones.

Did one more roving. I used emerald green, brown and leftover red. The experiment was to see how complimentery colours looked when next to each other and overlaped. The effect was very nice. There is not alot of red in this just drops here and there.

A couple of days later I started to spin the silk hankies. I must say the silk hankies are tough. They look all fragile but they really arn't. Had to use my muscles to draft. Spinning from hankies is probably not as smooth as from silk rovings but it has a nice textured and shin. I really like it. As I was spinning I realized that 25 g is really not alot and if I was going to ply it with itself I'll bearly have any yardage. I decided to spin and ply it with the merino that I dyed with the similar colours. I really like how this turned out. The silk is lighter in colour and adds a shin and softness to the superwash merino. I got about 165 yards of sport to worsted weight yarn. Propbably make a cowl or something with it and gift it for Christmas.

Well that was a pretty big update. I really need to get into the habit of blogging more often as a do stuff so when I do update it's not this hugh post. Hmmm it's up there like doing housework more often so I don't have to spend a whole day doing it. Oh well. One day I will have good habits.

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.

Russet, Sky Blue and Emerald Roving All Spun Up

My first hand dyed roving is all spun up!!! The thickness is a lot more even then my first attempt at spinning. Here is a pic:

I spun approximately 50 gr of merino and got about 56 yards. Not sure what category that makes my yarn fall into but I think that it is a bulky yarn. Not sure yet what I will make with it. Maybe a neck warmer or a purse. I'll wait till inspiration hits me.

Right now I am spinning the Polypay pencil roving that I got. I'm not liking it too much. I don't have to draft it since it is so thin already and the yarn is coming out very consistent. But it is too easy. Maybe I need a challenge but I don't think I'm learning anything when I'm spinning this fiber. I'm just going through the motion of spinning. Think I'm just going to spin a spindle worth and then ply it. I'll keep the rest for when I get my spinning wheel. I can use it to learn how to spin with the spinning wheel without worrying how to draft at the same time. Once I have the motions down I can try drafting and spinning at the same time.

On a different note the reason why I did not post my yarn last weekend it because I went out and partied! It was so much fun. We went out to celebrate my birthday which is tomorrow. I went out with my best friend and a friend from work joined us a bit later. We danced like crazy and had way too much rum and cokes and tequila shots. My feet were still hurting the next day.

It made me realize I don't go out nearly enough. I forgot how much fun it can be. There is no reason why I shouldn't go out more, I'm single and still young. Guess it's because I work evenings and every other weekend. My best friend is also married so I don't think her husband would appreciate it if she went out with me all the time. Oh well it was fun anyway.