From the dyepot, 5/28/10

From the dyepot, 5/27/10

Looking at these pictures, I realize I really need to get a better camera for taking yarn pictures.

Or, perhaps if I were to actually set up the light box I could get better pictures from my point and shoot.

Truth be told, I wanted to get these out there so you could see what's been bubbling away in the dye pot these past couple of days.

From the dyepot, 5/23/10

Pictures soon

This week has just slipped by so quickly! It's not like I've been goofing off, as much as I'd like to do. More yardwork, household chores, etc, have kept me from dyeing any wool.

However, yesterday I was able to get some fiber into the pot and try something new (to me). I'll have to take pictures later today to show.

I've got one skein in the pot right now. Another experiment with colors. That may be all I get to do as I've got to buy a pet showerhead today, then give Monster a bath. She needs a lion cut too. I've never done that before either, but it's gotten so expensive to have the mobile groomer do it. I figured I could learn how to do it and save that money for other things (more yarn).

Will I see the inside of a dyepot today?

I sure hope so. There are things to be completed first, such as a small mountain of pots and pans from last night's dinner, laundry, groceries, etc. Those must be done as I put off so much while skeining last week.

Ah, finished winding

Wow! It takes a lot of time to skein yarn! I have a much greater respect for the indie dyers whose yarn I've purchased over the past few years.

I've now got three 64 quart tubs of yarn skeined mostly in 100 gram hanks. I do have some short skeins for which I diligently recorded the yardage, except for one. I have some skeins with knots in them (ugh!), but that was to be expected.

I've started knitting with one of the yarns I dyed last week. It's very close to a colorway that I'd been thinking about. I've got the best, most wonderful butterfly bushes in my yard. I love when they're blooming, filling the air with an elusive fragrance and attracting both butterflies and hummingbirds. I think the flowers are very beautiful. They are a luminescent lavender with orange centers. They almost glow under certain light conditions.

You'll be able to find it at my etsy shop when it goes live very soon.

I'm still looking for a graphic designer for my logo. I've looked at a lot of them on etsy, and I've found a few that seem to have the aesthetic I want. It just all takes time.

Winding, winding, and more winding

On Wednesday morning I remember that Gale (of Gale's Art) had mentioned that she knew someone who was selling off all her undyed sock yarn. She had been making kits, but she'd found another knitting related product that was working better for her. Would I be interested in buying the yarn?

To be totally honest, since I'm waiting to get my sales and use tax number from the state, I've been hoarding the little bit of yarn that I have until I can order more. The opportunity to get some more was too good to pass up.

It turns out that the seller had 20 cones of sock yarn. Each cone is approximately 1 kilo. 20 kilos of sock yarn. Wow!

I did purchase it, leaving me with how to wind it all into dyeable skeins. I had to borrow Gale's skeinwinder, and yesterday afternoon I started winding.

By about 8 last night I had wound 4 cones. I'm about to get started winding again for today. I've got to return the skeinwinder tomorrow, so I have to wind as much as I possibly can before that.

Yes, you bet I've been looking at them online. Until then, you can find me babysitting this one, winding one skein at a time.

Dodging a migraine

There are days that don't work as planned, aren't there?

I woke this morning with one eye rather swollen, probably from all the pollen, and feeling pretty stuffed up also. I really thought I could get some dyeing and other things done today, but sometimes what starts off as a normal headache tries to morph into a migraine.

That happened today. I was feeling light and sound sensitive, so I retired to the darkened bedroom to go back to sleep for awhile. I'm lucky in that I know what sets off my migraines, and also since I recognize the signs that one is coming, I can ward off the full-blown ones.

So look here again, probably Thursday, for new pictures.

Yay Michael's!

I found that I wanted to use squeeze bottles to see if that helps with dye penetration, but I wasn't quite sure where to get some. I figured one of the craft stores would have them, so yesterday I went to Michael's.

I'd been on the phone early in the morning with a knitting comrade. She has a very distinctive car that is a lime green with a cryptic bumpersticker on it, and there it was in the parking lot. It's easy enough to find knitting friends in Michael's - just go on back to the yarn department, which is right next to fabric paints and dyes. There she was, choosing some solid colored yarns to make amigurumi sushi. We visited for a minute, then off on my search for squeeze bottles.

In the dye department, there wasn't a squeeze bottle to be found. I'd decided my next stop would be a restaurant supply store when I remembered that Michael's has supplies for cake decorating and candy making. Hmm, perhaps they would be there?

Yay! They were. I cleaned them out of one size and bought a package of smaller ones also. Today I'm mixing up more dyes and trying them out to see what results. There is so much to learn! I find I'm very grateful for the nights I actually sleep and don't wake up at 3:00 a.m. with dye ideas or knitting patterns.

Experimenting with dyes

As you can see, I'm working on my colorways. Dyes act quite differently from acrylic paints, and they almost always do something unexpected. I know it's just a matter of learning how they behave, and that takes time.