Faulty Phone Lines and Distractions

There is something wrong with our phone line and service comes and goes. As a result, I am not able to get online as often and sometimes am forcibly ejected when the phone goes out. In addition to this challenge, we have also started painting our house. I didn't get to do any dyeing today as my dye kitchen got moved away from the house to paint. That said, I do have two new dye batches to share.


Both of the batches used yarn mordanted* with alum sulfate. The first batch is Cochineal and Weld. Somewhat different than the batch mordanted with alum and Cream of Tartar. I really like the bronzed purples I got with this combination. The Cochineal/Weld with the Cream of Tartar is pinker. That seems to be consistent with my results for Cochineal in general.





This batch is Madder and Weld. The colors are exquisite. The orange is a rich beautiful orange with the other two skeins being more red/orange. Again, slightly different than the Madder/Weld batch with the Cream of Tartar.
I am out of Weld extract so the next batch will be Lac and Weld flowers. Stay tuned for more oranges golds, red/oranges, and bronzed purples.
Posting will be a bit sporatic this week but the dyeing will continue! -Renee
*see glossary

Lac + Weld

I am about in the middle of the dyeing process for this project. The middle can be challenging as the excitement of the beginning has worn off and the end is still a ways away. This is where I need to really lay on the rewards and incentives. I must admit I am more than ready to see some blues and greens too. Ah well, I will get there, I promise. This is Lac and Weld. They appear more toward the Burgundy color, with a slight brown undertone, than what appears in this picture. Again, the camera has evened out the shades. Even though I do my best to adjust it in Photoshop there is only so much that can be done quickly. Tomorrow will be a day of washing and mordanting the next batch of yarn. I am slowly getting down to the end of all the skeining. The long term rewards of this project will be great, I know. In the meantime, I need to figure out a short term reward. Stay tuned!
I will ask you all the following question today; What rewards and incentives do you give yourself to keep yourself moving when in the middle of a long and consuming project? -Renee

Madder + Weld

Fiery, No? Madder is a nice warm orange-red to start with. Add a yellow, even a cool yellow/green like Weld and you get glowing red/oranges. There are actually three lovely shades in this picture. Unfortunately the digital camera evens them out. So why try Weld with all the reds like Cochineal, Lac, and Madder when I know I will get orange or red/orange? Just as when you mix cool yellows with cool reds and cool yellows with warm reds to get different shades and tones of color, mixing these different reds gives you different shades. The differences are distinctive and I find that exciting. I could happily spend another couple of years getting all the different shades.
Today I dyed with Lac and Weld. I am getting yet another shade of red/orange. Definitely more on the cool side as both Lac and Weld yield cool colors. Tomorrow I need to replenish my water and propane supply before washing and mordanting the next batch. Remember, all the color mixes I have done so far are with yarns mordanted in alum sulfate plus Cream of Tartar. The next batch will be mordanted in just alum sulfate and I will try the different colors again as long as my Weld holds out. It will be interesting to see the differences. Can you see why it would take a few years to try out all the possibilities? Years actually. This project will merely give my a starting point. It will be an excellent base to draw from. Now to get another section threaded on the loom. -Renee

Weld + Cochineal

Here are the results from the two dyepots that didn't burn the other day. This is Weld/Cochineal color mix. I got a lovely burnished copper and an orangy-pink that looks like it could be from India. The dyebath that burnt was the dark DOS* Cochineal and light DOS Weld. I will have to repeat that one. Today I used Weld and Madder. I am liking what I see so far. I have already said several times that Madder is one of my favorite red dyes and it hasn't disappointed me yet.
I am almost through getting the next warp on the loom. It is the last warp in my Great Yarn Stash Challenge and it has been a problem to get on the loom. I have set a date for getting back to sewing and I have several spinning projects lined up. It is time to get busy to finish items for all the guild sales. July is almost gone! -Renee
*see glosssary

Dye Disaster!

In case you are wondering what you are looking at, you are looking at a burnt-to-a-crisp dye bath. Sigh, well there is a first time for everything. I am usually very attentive to the dyepots. I keep a timer clipped to me at all times and it goes off every 10 minutes. I call it my beeper. I had finished the dyeing and turned off all the burners to let the yarn sit over night, or so I thought. Apparently in my haste, I did not turn one of the burners off all the way. I went out before bed to make sure the propane tanks were closed off and that I didn't leave anything important out when I was confronted with an ominous stench. Stench it was too. The smell of burnt wool, cochineal, and weld was hideous. Needless to say the yarn is ruined and hopefully my pot is not. This was sort of a freak accident but you can bet on it that I will double check the burners next time I turn them off! Tomorrow I will be starting a new color combo and will have what is left of the current color combo posted. -Renee