New Fiber Hobby - Handpainting/Dyeing

So, I decided that I wanted to dye up some of the plain roving that came with my wheel. I researched how to handpaint roving using Wilton's Cake Icing Dyes and jumped in...

I soaked the 4 oz. twists of roving in hot water and vinegar...












I mixed up dyes with water, vinegar, and the Wilton's in five colors (Violet, Teal, Brown, Copper, Golden Yellow)...

I set up my station with newspaper, glad plastic wrap, and laid out the roving (after gently wringing it out)...

I used a turkey baster to apply the dye to the roving in segments...

I rolled up the plastic wrap around the roving and placed in glass bowls, and then microwaved them rotating 2 min on 2 min off for 6 total "on" minutes each...

After they cooled a bit, I took then out of the plastic wrap and let them set over night...

In the morning, I rinsed them in cool water to make sure that the dye wouldn't bleed out and hung them to dry...

And Voila! The one is called 'A Midsummer's Night Experiment'. I intended it to be purple and green, but the Teal turned more blue than green...

This one is called "Mason's Earthy-tones' because Mason picked the colors for it. The brown turned out a bit more red than expected...











All in all, I am very thrilled with them. After they have set, I will experiment spinning a small section to see how easily they draft. I fear that they may have felted a bit. If they draft nice, I may try to sell them on etsy.

My baby is 8 months old!

And today he cut his first tooth!

Spinning Adict

Hi, my name is Liz and I am a spin-a-holic.

I am LOVING my new wheel. Here is the latest finished yarn.

Now I just have to try to reign in my fiber spending...

Charity Knitting

I was told about a charity called Knit A Square that you can knit or crochet 8 inch squares to make blankets for children orphaned by AIDS in South Africa. I couldn't resist making a few.

Ariadne's First String

OK, the myth says it was red, but the first yarn I spun on Ariadne was Beach Glass from Uniquely Yours on Etsy.

Meet Ariadne

I got a new spinning wheel! She is a Kromski Fantasia and I have named her Ariadne. I'll explain why:

When I was younger one of my favorite parts of Disney's Fantasia was the Pastoral Symphony which depicted the wedding of centaurs. At the festivities, several of the Greek gods made appearances. My favorite, when I was young, was Dionysus, the god of wine. I thought that he was so funny stumbling around happily spilling his wine.

So, it seemed that my Fantasia should have a name from Greek mythology. Ariadne was a mortal born woman. The myths about her vary and contradict each other (as most of the myths do). Some say that she was granted immortality when she married Dionysus, but others say that Artemis killed her with her bow because she hurt Dionysus. The most famous myth about her, though, is the help that she gave to Theseus in navigating the Labyrinth and killing the minotaur. She gave him just two items - a sword and a ball of string. The ball of red yarn that she gave him was a special ball that she had spun that would help him find his way through the confusing and changing Labyrinth. The spun string made her name proper for a spinning wheel. So, here is Ariadne, my Kromski Fantasia.

Enjoying summer

Resolution Update 6 months in

Here we go. Half way through 2010, I'm keeping up with my resolutions:

• Charity knitting: made two sets of hat and mittens fro ArtPrize Charity project through Clever Ewe
• Devos: had a little slump adjusting to the summer schedule from the work schedule, but back into it and going through Paul's letters
• Weightloss & fitness: still have a few extra pounds, but fit into all my old clothes now. I am loving going for walks and bike rides with Xavy this summer. I try to get out every afternoon unless it's way to hot for us to be comfortable.
• Reading: Read Catching Fire by S. Collins (2nd of the Hunger Games series), books 2 and 3 of the Percy Jackson series and Eclipse (although that doesn't actually fit the resolution because it was a re-read before seeing the movie)
• Family time: loving the extra time that I have with Xav and my more relaxed evenings with Mase. For the 4th, we hosted a party for some friends and family and that was fabulous as well!