Dye Day is never long enough

 Dye day never seems long enough. No matter how much wool I have prepared, I always end up wanting more.
This time I split up a skein of Cascade Eco Wool in natural and tried to make approximately the same amount in each skein. The yarn took the wool beautifully and I was glad to add a chunky yarn to my stash of hand dyes.
Once I get enough colours, it will perfect for a fair isle baby sweater or something. Maybe a log cabin blanket...the possibilities are endless.

Colour makes Felting Fun

Felting has become part of my daily routine...along with my knitting. I spend  at least a few minutes in my studio every day playing with fiber. Sometimes I just make pieces of flat felt...because I can...and don't always know what I'll do with them. Sometimes I make vessels as I love the 3 dimensional aspect of forming the wool into shapes. I approach my felting practice very much like I do my painting practice and I laugh at the results as they are very often similar.                      

I am teaching a felting workshop on June 7 & 8 which is for both the beginner and the advanced felter

Vesseles: A Felting Workshop....see the facebook page for details

Pillows made from my felted work

Summer Weather is Upon Us...Yeah

 The summer burst through clouds and the weather hit 30 degrees...how can it get any better than that?
My dyepots called to me and I cleaned up the garden and my dye space, washed the dusty pots and filled with dye.
I am using up the last of my dyes. I have dyed all these colours 2 times with different fleeces and really don't need any more in those colours. So I bought some white wool and thought I'd experiment with yarn and try and create some nice variations. I used three colours and dipped them quickly in different colours.

The yellow is just pure sunshine it was so magestic, a pity to dilude.
Can't wait for tomorrow...that's going to be a red day.

What is a Fibre Addict to Do?

Morning Madness Mohair Locks 4 oz

I purchased a mohair fleece from Vancouver Island and I have been spending my days dyeing it one pot at a time. I like vat dyeing...I begin with one colour, dye the fibre, then add another colour, then another, then another...I end up with way too much.
Right now, I have 21 acid dyes and I am almost finished the set. I have had to refrain, of course, from purchasing more colours....I decided I would finish this set and then I was free to experiment with different colours.
I actually take notes and samples and I have found that the colours are really consistent.
I have realized that the dyeing part is what fascinates me the most...its like magic...you fill a pot of water, put in a powder...add your
wool...and voila...colour.
The colour witch is alive and well and living in Kelowna...ha ha.

The mixtures pictured here are available in my etsy store
ColourSparks on Etsy

Dawn's Finest Hour Mohair Locks 4 oz

Perfect Hair Mohair Locks 4 oz

Blue Danube Mohair Locks 4 oz

Here Comes the Sun

 Now that the sun finally came out for a few minutes, its time to get the dye pots going.  I purchased 2 BFL fleeces this year, along with my left overs from last year and the mohair, silk, icicle and all the other bits and pieces that I have.
Actually it began with green because I am planning on making Luka a blanket in the fall and I decided to over dye some of my plant dyed yarn with chartreuse because he wants a green blanket. That dye pot kept me on the green journey.
First I used emerald green (left side) and when it more or less was used I added more wool and it absorbed the blues left in the dyepot. Then I added yellow and got the middle colour. Since i have already dyed all these colours once, I thought by mixing and adding to existing dyepots I would get new colours...Looks like its going to work. The next colour choice is blue. Luckily the weather report says the sunshine is finally about to arrive.