Weekend fun

Well after doing all that dyeing, getting it into the shop, and finishing the pattern for Craft Leftovers this week I neglected to name the different yarn color ways.

So now I have renamed them, done drawings for them, and all but two are up and ready.

I picked the color names from Field Book of American Wildflowers by F. Schuyler Mathews. It's a book I have had for a long time and have always enjoyed imagining what the flowers would look like just by reading the passages. I have spent many hours day dreaming about colors and floral types. It seemed appropriate to name the color ways after what has inspired my own color sense: flowers. More specifically wild flowers.

This time around, because it was an after thought about naming them, I picked selections that matched the colors. From now on I'm going to do it the other way. I will pick a plant and interpret the colors that the discription brings into my mind's eye. Then look up the plant in color to see what it really looks like after I dye it. All of the dye lots will have illustrations of the images on the tag as well as an excerpt of the passage.

For example, this is the passage that I found for Monarda Didyma:
"A brilliant and showy wild flower whose scarlet-red color is strongly relieved by its usual background of shady woodland. Commonly found beside streams on the border of woods." - Field Book of American Wild Flowers by F. Schuyler Mathews

Here are one of the drawings I did today:

This is the yarn:

And this is what the flower looks like in color:

Now about natural dyeing and why I have decided to slow down on it and start dyeing with acid dyes. Basically what it comes down to is that handling heavy metals in my kitchen isn't something I feel comfortable doing on a regular basis. And unfortunately heavy metals are something required for natural dyeing. So less often, smaller batches, more control, less danger of breathing it in or spilling it. Also, it's a long processes, and while I'm still in school, I don't have many full days off to spend dyeing. Acid dyeing is easier to fit into my schedule. Next year though, Jason and I, are planning on building a dye shed outside for me with really great ventilation and not around my cooking surfaces.

So for now, more acid dyeing, less natural dyeing. More safety in my home.

I've also been thinking about some other things to make for the shop to round it out a little. I've been thinking about making some stitch holders and maybe some needle clutches (like the pattern over at Craft Leftovers for this week). We will see. We will see.

I'm also playing at spinning more and want to get my hands on a wheel.... sigh. Where would I put it though? I would have to toss some more furniture. I mean seriously, who needs that stuff anyway?

Jason came up this weekend and it was oh so nice. It had been awhile and we mostly just lazed around all day.

Well I'm going to play at spinning a bit, so I'll see you all later.