A Day And Then Some Spent Dyeing

I have spent the last few days spinning and dyeing and fixing.  It's funny how that goes.  You see so many half finished projects that are just kicking around waiting for a free day to get them all done.  Of course though, it takes more than a day, but it's worth it in the long run.  So What did I do?  Well today is going to be more of a showcase than a talk.

I took this fine pile of mixed yarns that I have been spinning up over the last couple of months and decided it was time to do a little dying and decided to throw in some fleece and see what it was like to spin with coloured fiber instead of colouring it up after it's been spun.  I soaked it for a couple of hours instead of just the few minutes to half hour that it soaks while I gather my things and get them ready to plunge into the dye.

When I was done dyeing the yarn these little gems are what I ended up with.  They are much brighter than the camera shows.  As you can see I'm playing around with labels for my wool and was given inspiration to use brown paper, which is more natural looking than the stark white.  So that is going to be my next project, creating labels for my pretty babies.

This cloud of fluff is the fleece that I dyed up using turmeric for a brilliant yellow, as well as orange and cherry Koolaid. I used spot dying and  poured the crystals in several spots, after a while of letting it sink in and when the water was clear, i turned it over and did the same to the bottom.  This is what I wound up with.

This is much more vibrant but you can still the beauty of all the colours combined.  I spun up the wool to a sport weight for knitting up socks.  I now have a ball of red and this lovely ball of sunshine for my next knitting ventures.








So all in all I have plenty of yarn to knit and package up.  Guess I"m going to be busy for the next little while again. :D

A Fiber By Any Other Name, Would Not Smell As Sweet!

I"m still playing with fiber, but in a back handed kind of way.  Today I'm spending the day writing, another fairy-tale.  I have one in the works, it's perhaps, more of a folktale, but it should be interesting.  I always believe that if you are making a collection of tales, there should be something in common with all of them.  I like to write cautionary tales, or stories where you learn something, either about yourself, or others.  Or perhaps just opening up your mind to the fact that some people think differently than you, and that's not a bad thing, in fact it can be quite extraordinary.  So although I will be typing on my computer, hopefully these stories will eventually hit paper.  Why not work on one of my other hobbies... one of my crafts... well lets just say I go gung-ho on things... and then find I need to give something a rest.  At this point... all that combing and then the spinning and knitting from morning to night has left my hands sore, stiff, red and bruised.  I don't mind and it's not a complaint, but right now I can't give it my all, so I let my hands rest for the next few days.  Once that's done, I should have a number of things to post.

Today's story, well the one started last night... is about an old bookseller who finds a little orphan girl and takes her in to live in the shop with him... Not sure where it will go.  I never am, these things seem to write themselves.  I do know there will be a caution in there, and something about curiosity and acceptance.  Mostly it's about family, about how you make family around you and love without thinking.  I'll throw a few other things in there, but this should be good.  If you get a chance, read The Tale of Bovid , it will make you laugh, and think.  Hopefully, by the end of today, I'll have my little tale done.

Lofty Wool - Shoving it Up the Orifice

The making of a lofty yarn requires a little patience and a special procedure called Shoving it up the Oriface. I have been perfecting my strand of wool to get it down to a reasonable size for making socks, so making a big and lofty yarn well it would seem it should be a piece of cake.  After all, when you start spinning yarn, it's nice and thick and lofty.  But now my craft has been honed, and I can make a sport weight from my plies.  I am really proud of that.  I was thinking to myself, now that's something, look how thing that is, and fine and straight.  Awesome you can make socks with that now.  And then I wanted to make a coat, a nice big sweater coat for the winter, so it needs to be bulky wool, something the wind can't get through, that will keep me warm on cold days and that knits up relatively fast, because I'm a big girl and I've a big area to cover.

The thick yarn is the one I was made by the new technique, Shove It Up the Orifice, and the thin yarn is 2 ply sport weight, but light enough to make socks.

So I sit down at my spinning wheel and I start to spin.  Automatically I tense up and start to spin a thin thread... I face palm, and then I start again, and it's not so thing, but it's really twisty.  I am not getting this.  I am starting to curse and I'm facepalming once more.  I love spinning this is supposed to be fun... Why aren't I getting it.  I wasn't getting it because I forgot to relax.  I forgot to let the wheel do the work and draw in the thread.  That's why it's called shoving it up the orifice.  The secret is that you draft out the wool to the size that you want to go onto the spindle, well practically there should be a little bit of leeway in that draft, but pretty much that's what you want to do... stuff that fleece onto the wheel quickly.  Now don't turn that wheel too fast... No... You want to make sure the wheel is going nice and slow or  you'll overtwist the yarn.  So this fine balancing act is being learned by me.  I'm not very good at it, but I'll get there.


I was sent a  pair of carders by a dear friend, and I've been handcarding the wool into rollags.  That's a story for another day.  I have rolags to make a spindle to fill ... Then tomorrow I ply.  I'm hoping on Friday I'll get a chance to do some dying.  I should have enough wool by then.  I also wonder sometimes... to dye before or after spinning.  I have a friend that dyes her fleece... But I dye the spun yarn.  I wonder what the difference is?  And on that note, I'm going to go give that a ponder.

Here you can see the little helpers I was sent by my sensei.  I'm fortunate enough to have someone who mentors me in my spinning endeavors and lucky enough for her to call me friend.  Nestled in the  wool is a little frog, I love frogs, they are one of my favorite things to draw besides those aminita's with the big white polka dots. :D  As you can see there is also a wool winder and some other goodies.

The Tale of Bovid

Bovid was a handsome creature, part human, part bovine.  His pelt was always meticulously groomed and  his tail sleek and straight.  So vain was he, that he polished his horns to a high sheen, and regularly doted on the trimming of his hooves.  His noble stature was said to put many a young dryad to swooning.  In fact he was a regular at the weekly bacchanalia.  Puck often commented that he showed up with only the prettiest of the race of Fae, and this was in fact true.  The bovian faun often preened and plucked, and kept himself immaculate.  He was a peer amongst his kind, almost to the status of hero, his adventures so daring and amazing.  Even the Minotaurs were envious of his physique and prowess, not only on the field, but off it.

It was at one of Puck's weekly debaucheries, where Bovid met a young Fate named Stella.  Eyes bright as stars, hair the color of finely polished copper, and her long silky raiment's revealed hints of a shape that showed promising delights.  Truly lovely, she sat quietly working at a wheel.  He could not help himself, he had to speak with her.

Unbeknownst to Bovid, Stella had heard of the vain Faun and leant over towards her sister.  "There he is that arrogant Faun who broke Lily's heart.  Weave me a tale, sister, hurry now, he's coming."  Stella winked at her sister then put on her best come hither smile as the Faun closed in.

"What manner of game is that you play at pretty miss?" His true goal revealed in the intonation of his words.

Stella knew what he was really asking, but chose to ignore it.  "I do not play at anything... I follow my passion and my passion is spinning.  This is the thread of life and my sister, who is just there, dancing with the odd fellow in the purple turban, cuts it, whilst my other sister who sits beside me here weaves."  Bovid listened intently as the young maiden spoke, so entranced was he by her words and the spinning of that great wheel.

"I would like to get to you know better, Miss... er.. umm..."

"I am called Stella, and if you would like to get to know me, you must first spin me a thread as fine as this."  She showed him a thread so fine that even doubled up, it would still pass through a needle.

"I have no wheel to spin with my dear, but... "

and before he could finish, she rushed to her feet.  "Come with me Bovid, I have one here, just at the edge of the grove, you can sit there for as long as you like and spin."

Bovid followed Stella to the edge of the grove and there sat a fine old spinning wheel with a hearty shank of fleece sitting on the distaff.  He sat down and she showed him how to use the spindle.  To her relief he caught on quickly, and in no time was spinning a thick, but healthy thread.

"There, I've made a nice thread, now you must come with me and let me know you."  Stella was ready for this and knew he would not be able to spin so fine a thread in one evening, and she quickly replied "but dear Sir, perhaps you have forgotten, it must be fine enough to pass doubled through a needle, and that could not even pass through a keyhole.  Keep spinning and you shall soon see that it will be nice and thin.  Come and get me when it's done."

"This spinning is thirsty work and I require nourishment.  I shall just go get a flagon of beer and then I shall be able to work even more quickly."

"So be it, dear Bovid, I shall be waiting, and looking forward to seeing your accomplishment." 

Stella returned to her sisters, who were now sitting all together with their friend Lily, and all watched as he walked towards the table laden with all sorts of magnificent fruits and cheeses , breads, sausage, and beer.  He did not get very far, when a rather shapley young nymph grabbed Bovid and encouraged him to dance and cavort with her.  Just as things were getting interesting he remembered Stella and his need to have her overwhelmed his senses.  "Oh pretty little nymph, I know we are having so much fun, but I just have a little spinning to do.  Really I will only be a few minutes, and then I will come back and finished what we started.  What was your  name again, so that I may seek you out?"

"Well!  I never..." she gasped.

"Wel Linever, I shall meet you here next week and we will cavort like there is no tomorrow." and Bovid continued onto the well laden table, where he gathered  a pretzel, a string of bratwurst which he put on a plate with a large star on it, and then filled the largest flagon he could find with honey beer.  As he trotted past the table where Stella sat he blew her a kiss, and she smiled back.  Then she leaned over to Lily "My dear friend, I see he has taken my plate, the one I had you enchant, I knew he would take it, it's the largest one there. And you see there, where he sits, outside of the party, where we can watch him, but he will be so engrossed in his spinning that he will not watch us.

For many weeks Bovid sat there, as the faeries came and went and the party never ceased, and after a couple of months, Stella decided to see how Bovid was doing.  She brought along her friend Lily and told her to tie his tail in a knot while she spoke to him.  At first Lily was worried that he would catch her, but Stella assured her that would not happen, that he would be so enchanted by her that he would not even notice.

"Hello Bovid, I have come to check your progress." Stella had brought with her a needle and quite easily passed the thread through the needle.

"Oh my Lady, now it is time to keep your bargain.  I have made the thread thin enough to pass through the needle."

"My dear Bovid, you have come close yes, but remember I need it smaller, it must be doubled and then pass through the needle and as you can see, I cannot yet do it.  Keep working and soon you shall have your wish."

Stella smiled at Bovid and blew him a kiss then taking her friend by the arm, they skipped off back to the revelry of Puck's bacchanalia.  Softly she whspered "He did not even flinch when you pulled it nice and tight. He is oblvious to all except the spinning."

"Did you see, he's getting fat, and did you see his hooves, all shabby and unpolished."

Stella smiled.  "It's almost done, sister is almost finished the pattern."

Again more weeks and months flew by and each week Stella, her sisters and her dear friend Lily, watched Bovid as his belly expanded and his hair greyed, and his whole appearance became shabby.

Then one day, Bovid walked over to the table, he was huffing and puffing when he arrived, yet there was a look of determination in his eyes.  "Look" he said as he doubled the thread and passed it through the eye of a needle.  "Now I get to cavort with my Stella.  Just give me a moment to rest up and catch my breath.  It's a long walk from the wheel to your table."

Without batting an eye Stella lifted her personal looking glass and aimed Bovid's reflection back at himself. "Look.  You are old and tired, and you have not the strength or stamina to dance with me, let alone cavort."

"What?  How can that be?  I do not age."  Fear filled the Faun's eyes as the realization of what he had become hit him with a vengeance, for vengeance it was.

"This is my friend Lily, you told her she was the loveliest girl in the room, you made her believe that you loved her, and the moment something better came along you disappeared without grace, courtesy or even a by your leave.  Then you told everyone that she meant nothing to you, and you moved onto the next girl and the next.  I bided my time and had Lily enchant that big star plate you so greedily chose, because you could pile food upon it.  That enchantment placed a spell upon the food that allowed you to age.  You have been sitting there spinning for over a hundred years."

"I will have you, Stella" and  he went to grab her by force, but his eyesight was not what it once was and he tripped over an unseen chair and fell hard to the ground.

"You will have no one, Bovid.  I am not an unkind Fate" Stella said as she pulled a pair of spectacles from within the folds of her gown. "Take these and know that your spinning is the finnest I've seen, almost as fine as mine."

Bovid put on the glasses and looked in the mirror and sighed.  "I suppose I brought this all on my self.  I am an impulsive beast, and now cannot even blame it on my youth.  Can't you please take me back to before when I was handsome and fine."

"No I cannot, it has already been woven into the fabric of time.  However, you may keep the wheel, it will teach you patience and perhaps, given time, and if you balance your life well between getting what you want, and getting what you need, and learn to be respectful of others some of the ravages of time may reverse.  After all the future is not yet written."

Bovid smiled shamefully, knowing that Stella was right, and headed off towards the wheel.  He sits there to this day, the knot still in his tail as a reminder, hoping beyond hope that the years will reverse as he learns to balance his life between work and play and find kindness in his heart.