Here are the pictures from the Chestnut plus Iron modifier dye bath and the Walnut dye bath, which I did a week or so ago. The Chestnut picture is on the right. The light DOS skeins are on the far right of the picture and the dark DOS on the left. The skeins that were modified with an iron bath are the greenish/grey ones on top. The pictures don't do the colors justice. It is really hard to capture the richness of the colors, even dull (in my opinion) colors such as these.
The Walnut dyed skeins are in the picture on the left. English Walnut hulls dye a tan color. This is a cotton yarn that I scoured before dyeing (see older post). The walnut hulls had sat in a bucket of water since last fall. The lighter skein on top is the unscoured cotton yarn. Not terribly exciting to someone who likes more intense colors as I do but interesting. I am thinking of overdyeing the skeins after the Earthues project is done.
I forgot to mention an additional note about water yesterday. I used distilled water to dye with the Chestnut. I took note of how much water I used and did some calculations and about fainted when I saw the cost. Let's just say that the cost of the distilled water would cost more than the dye extracts and yarn...together! I have decided to use filtered water from my local food Co-op. I have used this with Earthues extracts before and was quite pleased with the result. The cost is reasonable too.
I have also added a new link to the Fiber links list. It is for Whidbey Weavers Guild. The website is still under construction but I will let you know when it is done.
Yesterday I started spinning the Twill fur/alpaca blend that I carded on Monday. The fibers spin quite easily. I am spinning the fiber using a woolen technique. I believe I heard it called American Long Draw. I will have to check my notes on that one. I am spinning it fairly fine and am still deciding what to make with the yarn. Perhaps I will do a SIMPLE knitting project with it, inspired by Elizabeth and Mike.
I also spent part of the day working on the Dream Skein Winder v. 1.1 (see older posts). It is almost done, just a few more parts to get and put on. In the meantime, I can still use it manually and it does save me a bit of time winding.
Tomorrow I will be heading out the door first thing to go to the Seattle Weavers Guild meeting. The program is none other than Michele Whipplinger of Earthues herself so I naturally don't want to miss that. We will be making a flying stop at the Weaving Works in Seattle before heading back home. So now off to wind and wash skeins for the Cutch dyebath.
Do you belong to a fiber group or Guild? If so, what inspiration do you get from your fellow members? -Renee
1 comment:
Wow, you get so much greyer chestnuts and walnuts on that yarn than I do on my cotton and linen fabric. I would love to get that grey-green with iron. Was it a 2% bath? I have so much iron in my well water that I just use it from the tap for cutch and chestnut because I like its effect on those dyes. It is death on anything bright like cochineal or madder. I know what you mean about the distilled water. Ouch! I am lucky that the water in the town system here is so pure, like the tap water in Seattle. I carry my water from the town laundromat when I don't beg some from my in-laws. I don't feel bad because I then must use the laudromat to wash out what I dye. Its not a problem for small projects, but large ones are an expensive pain.
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