I have been productive, but I have been sick. That kind of sick where you have no motivation and you go through 10 boxes of kleenex and can’t talk for days. It probably doesn’t help that at the beginning of this sickness I denied it, and kept chugging along. That leads us to Tuesday’s projects.
Its dye time.
I decided it was about time to do some dying. I bought the sock blanks and dye back at the Wisconsin Sheep and Wool festival the beginning of September (info here). PLUS, I have a bunch of plain white merino that since I have the dye out, I may as well make pretty colors.
Pre-soaking
I had found instructions somewhere online that I printed out for hand-painting yarn, and I just followed that technique. First, you have to pre-soak the fiber you want to dye. Then you mix up the dye. These are acid based dyes. The mixture was 1 cup hot water, 2 tablespoons strong vinegar and 1/4 teaspoon dye. They recommended good containers with locking lids blah-blah-blah. I found some un-used paper bowls. Whatever.
Dyes ready to go
I then laid plastic wrap out and placed the sock blanks on that to dye. I decided on a diagonal stripe for the pattern and I went at it, dabbing the stripes in alternating colors.
Front sock blank dyed, back one in preparation
Up close and personal with my sock blank
After the dying was done I rolled up the blank in the plastic wrap like so.
After that I put it in an ice-cream pail with water and micro-waved it for 12 minutes. I took it out, let it cool, and then rinsed all excess dye out.
I repeated the same process for the merino roving except I braided it before hand and did not striped but rather just dyed colors where I felt like it.
Finished sock blanks and merino roving
I am pretty happy with how they turned out. Now they will go back into storage bins until I find time and energy to knit and spin them. I have a lot of respect for the people that can dye rovings so beautifully. It is hard to get the dye in and keep it bold and brilliant.
Then, that evening I went and began teaching my hairdresser how to crochet. Story: I always bring along knitting projects (or 1 crochet when I was doing a super cute baby blanket, see Ravelry) when I go and get my hair done and my hairdresser is always telling me how she has wanted to crochet but has tried to follow a book and never can get it right. So I told her we would sit down and I would teach her. When we finally went to sit down I discovered the hooks she had were either teeny tiny (for crochet cotton doily-tiny) or she had a big huge one (I found online what I think she had which is size P, 11.5mm). Plus she was using that big honking hook with boucle yarn. Now I know why she couldn’t learn crochet. But, with a reasonable size crochet hook and normal worsted weight yarn look at her go!
Go Hairdresser Go!
Her assignment was to practice chaining and single crochets, and we are getting together again next week for lesson #2. I hope she does well and maybe I will have progress to show! Now that I am feeling better I want to do some spinning and decorate for Halloween, yay! Happy Friday everyone!
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