New Yarn

So I checked out this book, "Spinning Novelty Yarns" from my local library, and learned more about making funky yarns, this week focusing on core spinning. The result is

this lovely creation, which in in the NEW novelty yarn section of my WEBSITE, which, for the rest of August, is featuring a killer SALE. Check it out!

website launch

My website is up an running! Anyone who reads this, check it out! Tell your knitting friends!
http://www.softspotyarns.com

dyed roving instructions

So I spent a good few hours last night dyeing new roving using food coloring. Here's how:

Items To Gather
-wool (or anything that was once on an animal)
-food coloring ($1 generic is fine)
-water
-white vinegar
-glass jars
-measuring cups
-pyrex casserole dish
-microwave (optional, can vbe done on stovetop, but I don't know how)
-saran wrap
-turkey baster (optional, if you're good at pouring)
-salad spinner (optional)
-food scale (optional)

1. First, I section the wool into one ounce clumps, using a food scale. Or you can just tear off pieces that are about 2x as long as the casserole dish.
This is my wool, blurry.



2. Next, mix the dyes. I put 1 3/4 C water in with 1/4 C vinegar. Then about 20 drops of food coloring to make the colors I want.



3. Lay the wool in the casserole dish. Squirt colors on it with the baster until you like what you see. I put a plastic bag on my hand and push down so the wool soaks up the liquid. Saturate as much as possible without letting the colors run together.



4. Cover the dish with saran wrap, poke it with holes, and cook in the microwave on high in 2 minute intervals. After each 2 minute chunk, lift off the wrap (CAREFULLY! IT BURNS!) and see if the water in the dish is clear. I usually will go for a total of 4-6 minutes, depending on the amount of liquid used. Now it looks like this:



It looks a lot like before we cooked it, no?

5. This is very important. Gently slide the hot wool out of the bowl and into a strainer. I use the one in my spinner. Let it sit in the sink until it is very comfotable to the touch. In other words, let it cool on its own so it doesn't felt. Then wash it in water that's the same temperature as the wool, with a little dish soap. I dunk it several times in the same temperature water to rinse. Then I put in in my salad spinner:



6. Spin.



Or, alternately, wring it carefully by wrapping it in a large towel and rolling it. Be careful not to felt.

7. Hang to dry:


blues and greens on white wool


blues and greens on brown wool

8. Repeat step 6, but with a spinning wheel rather than a salad spinner.

I know, you're wondering why the wool magically changed colors. But no, I dyed two different color batches!

blue meadows

Ah. Two beautiful singles together make one pretty yarn. When you take this:

(click for dog-less version)
and add them together, you get:





The green and white strand was hand carded by me. Also added was holographic flash. Sweet.
The blue variety strand was from roving dyed by David and myself. It originally looked like faded hippies. It has green, purple and orange bits alternating with blue left over from "blue jeans" (see below).

An added bonus: My homemade PVC niddy noddy, with the magnificent 160+ yard skein. (The niddy noddy measures generous yards.)

rainbow sherbet

This is the first yarn I have spun using wool that I have hand carded myself. Notice how frizzy and fluffy it is! I carded some orangey-peach fiber (left over from peach fuzz/ orange fizz) with some sparkly mylar (I think) flash for one of the strands. For the other strand, I carded a some purple, green and orange fiber with white wool. All of these were previously washed and dyed, but not carded. This skein is about 80 yards.

blue jeans

This yarn I spun a while ago, and it was my first (and, so far, only) attempt at Navajo plying. I think it turned out ok, all things considered, and I knit it up into a pair of hand warmers. One turned out bigger than the other, but it was just for practice, anyways.

click, and it's in my bed!

Peach Fuzz/ Orange Fizz

So I couldn't decide what to call this yarn. It was supposed to be orange, but turned out a bit peachy. I spun a single strand, and plied it with silvery, thin embroidery thread; the kind intended for an embroidery machine. It's quite pretty, and will knit up beautifully. Also, it's my longest skein, clocking in at 114 yards. It has its thick and thin moments, but, overall, is pretty consistent.

Alien Vomit- the sequel

So I got a chance to ply the alien vomit singles last night, and it turned out looking cooler than vomit, definitely. I also added some of the red single that was left over from the wicked overtwisted sister yarn from below. That is where the red streaks come from.

Cinderella and the Wicked Overtwisted Sister yarn

Here are the first 2 yarns I spun on my new wheel.
This is Cinderella:





Cinderella was the result of trying to compensate for the Wicked Overtwisted Sister yarn below. It turned out really soft and puffy, but balanced. It is plied with white crochet thread, and dyed after spinning and plying.

and this is the Wicked Overtwisted Sister yarn:





This yarn came out so overtwisted because I needed to slow the treadling down, and tighten the brake a bit. The fiber I used was dyed in chunks of yellow, orange and red kool-aid, and was plied with a red strand (dyed with red kool-aid).