Rooted in Mississippi

I drove up to Memphis to pick up a used Ashford Elizabeth spinning wheel and some fleece from a very nice lady. I stopped in at Hank of Yarn and That Yarn Shop while I was up there, but I did not actually buy any yarn. I did, however, pick up some more double pointed needles while I was in Hernando and looked at some of her wheels and looms. It was a nice place to visit and I will definitely go back.

Here are the first photos of the Elizabeth.

It was good for me to see the prices she had on her roving, because it made me feel better about what I am charging at Pretty Impressive Stuff. Most of the dyed NZ Romney she had in carded batts was $5 an ounce in batches of between two and three ounces, which makes my dyed top look very reasonable. It was also good to talk to Kathy about her experiences. Hernando and Jackson are not the same market, but it helped me get things at ARTichoke into focus.

Speaking of which, tomorrow is Rhonda’s Artist’s Reception. I helped Anne clean and move things around yesterday instead of working on inventory. I hope that they had a chance to get the show hung today. I can not wait to see it tomorrow!

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I really wanted to title this Grapes of Wrath, but I have no wrath. (That is a Big Bang Theory reference).  I could not resist doing something with the cheviot wool that I dyed with Grape Kool-Aid two years ago but did not enjoy spinning, so I made these cool needle felted grapes. I had forgotten how much work actually goes into needlefelting and how often I stab my fingers. Just a suggestion, but if you handle raw wool and use sharp needles, you probably need to stay current on your tetanus vaccinations.

The leaves are from a small bit of roving from Pug Knits. They sure turned out pretty…the colors are fabulous in person. Churchill did send me photo of the mice, but neither they nor rabbit photographed well, because auto-focus really does not work well on all white, especially when the flash is used. Since I am still working on the rabbit, I have plenty of time to try again.

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Rhonda came to our Mississippi NeedleArts meeting to show her art quilts and discuss techniques. “Confessions of an Art Quilter” was a smashing success. We already had plans for her to offer an embellishment class for MSNA members at our January meeting, but after seeing her rust-dyed fabrics, it looks like we are going to try to schedule that too. We might do the rust-dyeing class in my driveway, since it is a little messy for the library.

We were all excited to hear that there will be a new quilt shop opening in Jackson and that Rhonda will be teaching classes there. I was also thrilled to hear that “P is for Primitive” in Canton bought out the remaining stock of the local yarn store that closed several months ago. Several people had mentioned that they carried rug hooking supplies, but I have not made the trip up there yet. Since there is a great yarn shop in Yazoo City, inside of the Grace Hardware building, it might make a fun day trip!

Anyway, I am still plugging away at CQMagOnline and it should be ready ahead of schedule! Look for the next issue on or before October 25, 2007.

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Dyeing your own…

One of the Perfect Baggie Swap recipients asked about the lace I included. It was some that I had dyed with fiber reactive dyes. When I dye in a small batch, I use OzCraft Dyes or occasionally microwave dyes, but if I am dyeing large batches of fabric and lace, I used Fiber Reactive Dyes. I have a large stash of Dylon Cold Water Fabric Dyes (they are also sold at some fabric stores), which come neatly packaged with the dye powder and cold water fixative.

Follow the directions on the packaging! However, I thought I would give a run down of the process for the uninitiated. Maybe this will encourage you to try this method of dyeing. Even thought most fiber reactive dyes are not toxic, I would never use them in my actual cook ware. I have a dye pot (just a very large stock pot) and wooden tools marked “not for food use.” The dye is really only dangerous in powder form, because it is bad for your lungs. Kool-Aid powder is also a respiratory irritant. A smart person would only work with these materials with a mask. Gloves (or finger cots) are also recommended.

Wash the fabric before starting, then put the wet fiber into the dye pot and cover with cold water. In a separate jar, mix the fiber reactive dye power with hot water. Pour the wetted dye into the dye pot and add your Cold Water Fixative and salt (I prefer Kosher salt). Stir the dye pot often for the first ten minutes, then less frequently, but regularly for the next fifty minutes. At the end of the hour, discard the dye solution and rinse the fabric until the water runs clear. Then put the fabric into a lingerie bag and wash on the delicate cycle using synthrapol or other detergent/surfracant. Take the whole batch out of the washing machine and iron it damp. The ironing does nothing to set it color, but it will help set the shape of the material and prevent permanent creases.

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Okay, here are some things that I have discovered are invaluable for spinning wool, even though they are not meant for that purpose.

• Pony Bead Lacing – makes a fabulous stretch drive band for your wheel. It comes in 5 yard packages, complete with a connector pin, and can be cut to size. You will have to remove some of the length for a single drive or a double drive with a small wheel, like the Ashford Traveller. If you have a larger double drive wheel, it will take slightly more than five yards. Just cut off another piece of the pin connector that comes with the lacing and make an almost invisible join. Be prepared to do a lot of adjustments at first, but once you have it set up to your liking, it will be trouble free. I can change between the bulky and standard flyer without having to change drive bands.
• Salad Spinner – use this to spin out your fibers. You can use the spin/drain cycle on your washing machine, but a salad spinner is perfect for smaller amounts of wool.
• Bridal Tulle – for wrapping up fleece when you need to maintain the lock structure. The kind that comes in a roll and is 7″ wide is perfect and makes it so easy to use. Pull off a piece, wrap the locks, roll it up, then secure with a rubber band. The tulle is reusable. I started using tightly packed mesh bags for this purpose, but this was fool proof.
• Large Stock Pot – for dyeing. I have a large stainless steel one I use for everything crafty. Go with the best quality stainless you can afford. It will pay for itself in the long run. A cheap alternative is a ceramic enameled canning pot, but once it chips, it will affect your dyeing.
• Wilton’s Icing Colors – they make a very inexpensive and versatile food safe dye for your wool. I have been very pleased with my results. Of course, I have not done and long term testing for light fastness or color fastness, but it has given me as least as good of results as Dylon, Procion, or Oze-craft dyes.
• Zippered Pillow Protectors – for storing your clean, dry wool. I have seen lots of people recommend pillow cases, but these are even better, because of the zipper. I buy them in packs of two at Ross, TJ Maxx or Marshall’s. Never pass them up if you find them in the clearance bin.
• Sweater Storage bins – for storing your roving. Check out a few posts back to see this one in action.
• Dog combs – for combing and carding your fiber. Everyone talks about slicker brushes, but the combs are very useful too, especially when teasing fiber in preparation for carding.
• Plastic bowl – for holding your bobbin when you are winding onto a swift. If your wheel is too far away, this makes a great alternative to loosening your tension. The plastic bowl will keep the bobbin from rolling around while you are transferring it to the swift.
• Glass Mason Jars – for mixing dyes. Just pick up a few when you are at the grocery store, you won’t be sorry.
• Heating Pad – I started using one when I was having back spasms, but I discovered that it reminds me to sit back in my chair and maintain good posture.

And things that are used the way they are marketed, but that make my fiber life so much easier.

• Ball Winder. I have an old Royal, but one day I will upgrade to the Strauch Jumbo Ball Winder.
• Umbrella swift. I spend a huge amount of time making skeins. A chair back would work, but it is so much easier with an umbrella swift.
• Carder. I bought the Strauch Petite Carder. It is a good first step and it creates lovely 2 ounce batts. The better job I do preparing my fiber for carding, the better the batt.
• Instant Hot Water Dispenser – for washing fleece, setting the twist, washing yarn and dyeing…any time you need hot water fast. It is a huge time saver and I can’t imagine stopping to boil water every time I needed water hotter than it comes out of the tap.
• Digital Camera. I take a lot of photographs of my work. It helps to have a good camera with zoom and manual focus.
• Blog. Well, you knew I was going to say that! I love having something to reference both the mundane and the exceptional. It has been a wonderful way to get to know other fiber fanatics.
• Mesh Laundry Bags – these are invaluable for washing fiber! Buy a variety of sizes and configurations. I use the sweater size more often when washing fleece or rinsing roving and the lingerie size for finishing my yarn. Remember wet wool is heavy and mesh bags will help prevent some big mistakes.
• Dryer with a shoe rack. It sure makes it easy to dry wool on cloudy or cold days.
• TiVo. It is so nice to have something I actually want to watch when I am spinning. I hear people say they have no time to spin, but most of them have time to watch TV…try doing both at once. LOL
• Heavy Duty yarn gauge. I have a brass one that is perfect for determining wraps per inch.
• Index cards. Keep track of your wool and attach samples. A small investment in time will pay off in the long run.

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Okay, Lady V (through her blog) and Diane Varney (through her book) have encouraged me to sample more often. So I have spun up small amounts of the green variegated Cheviot batt, the mauve Cheviot batt and some of the washed Shetland. Here are my results:


The green came out in two distinct color ways. one was a yellow green and one had more purple and blue. I think these batts with the purple are just beautiful! It definitely gave me a textured yarn and was very easy to spin and is destined to become designer yarn.




First is a photo of a small sample skein on top of the ten mauve batts I finished on Sunday evening. Note how consistent the color is and how lovely it spins up. This will also make a great designer yarn! I still have to flick and tease the darker batch and run it through the carder, but I doubt I will do much more until the blister on my right thumb heals! I added a close-up shot of the yarn, which is Navajo plied, just case anyone was curious.




And last, but certainly not least, is the Shetland that I washed earlier. The sample skein is also Navajo plied and is very fine, even in this three ply preparation. I spun this from the flicked locks on the tray. I just kept adding new fluff as I went along and it was very easy to spin.

All three samples were spun on the Reeves, which is definitely geared for fine spinning!

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First, a couple of photos of the two skeins of hand-dyed variegated blue GCNI that I spun on the the traveller. I am not sure what I will knit with this, but I have plenty more roving left to spin. I can’t remember how much I bought, but it was either 8 ounces or maybe a pound. The first photo is pretty accurate in terms of color, but the close-up makes it look more teal than it actually is, thanks to the flash on my camera.

Here are a slew of the batts I created this weekend from the dyed cheviot fleece. I think this will create some lovely designer yarn. I did learn that I got more consistent batts when I paid attention to the colors I was putting into the carder with each batch of teased fiber. So by time I got the lavender and pink stuff, I was teasing the whole batch before starting to card it.

I tried saying “nah-nanny-boo-boo” and blowing raspberries, but it did not help to get the fiber ready for the carder. So I was forced to sit with various combs and brushes to get it appropriately teased so that I could send it though the carder. The better you tease the fiber, the easier it is to card. The combs I used were actually Rubbermaid dog grooming tools.

I wanted to show a photo of most of the Shetland after it was washed, plus some NZ Romney and some mystery fleece that was simply labeled “Jillian” that was a door prize from my guild.

And finally, some knitting! These are the Debbie Bliss Lace and Bobble booties that I have made before. Only this pair is knitted using some Lustersheen I had in my stash.

And this is some of my homespun that I am knitting into socks. I am “winging” the pattern. I am aiming for slouch socks. If I am going to wear them, I prefer slouch socks to all other socks. Go figure.

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I washed another fleece, the four pound Shetland that I purchased at ROC Day from Fire Ant Ranch. As I was flicking the washed locks and making a giant fluffy cloud of wool for the carder, I decided that I needed to take a picture of my soft cloud.


Then I decided to take a photo of the cloud, the washed fleece and the raw fleece all together. I wanted to show how a dirty yellowed fleece can be transformed into a light and airy fluff in a single day. To bad I can’t share how much the smell improved along the way.


I wash my wool in the kitchen sink. I am spoiled, I have something that makes my kitchen sink the perfect place for this activity…an Insinkerator Instant Hot Water Dispenser that dispenses water at 190 degrees. I have the original model H770, because my plumber was uninspired and did not let me choose for myself…it is just part of a long painful remodeling story that I won’t bore you with. I did finally replace the kitchen faucet he installed just a few weeks ago, because I needed something taller with a better sprayer to accommodate stock pots and dye pots. The hot water dispenser only holds about a half gallon in the tank, so I have to mix it with hot water from the regular tap, but it sure beats boiling water and moving it from the stove to the sink!

I place a white plastic wash tub into the right side of my sink and fill it with hot and super hot water. I stuff my fleece into a mesh sweater bag or lingerie bag, then submerge it in the very hot water. I use a Pyrex bowl filled with water to weight the fleece down. It will get a huge amount of dirt and lanolin out of the fleece on the first pass. Then I pull the mesh bag out and set it aside to drain, while I pour off the dirty water and refill the wash tub with very hot water. This time I put in my surfactant (usually original blue Dawn dishwashing detergent) just until the water is slick…trying not to create many suds….then I put the mesh bag of fleece back in and submerge it with the Pyrex bowl. As I check on the fleece and shift it around, I use the bowl to trap any suds that are created and pour them down the left side of the sink, to keep them away from my fleece. When it cools, but before it is cold, I lift the bag out and set it aside to drain. I toss out the dirty soap water and refill the wash basin with hot and super hot water for another rinse. Occasionally it will take two rinses, but most of the time, the water is pretty clear at this point. If it is the last rinse, I will add either citric acid or distilled white vinegar to the last rinse and allow it to sit until it cools thoroughly.

I use the drain/spin cycle on my washing machine to get rid of the remaining excess water. Since I have a front loader, I either have to turn off the water supply or start the cycle with an empty machine then hit pause after one minute, which gets the initial water spray out of the way, before I put the bag of fleece into the tub. With a front loader, there is no need to try to balance the load. When the cycle is finished, I remove the fleece from the mesh bag and fluff it up while I turn it out into a plastic basket. If it is a sunny day, I set it outside to dry. If not, I put it in the room with my dehumidifier.

I use separate tools for all of my washing and dyeing, but I do use my kitchen sink, so I am very careful to clean up afterward. So my last step in the process is always to clean the sink and counters with bleach and hot water!

At this point in the fleece processing, I can either store the fleece, dye it, or use a flicker brush to open up all the tips and create a big pile of fluff that is ready for the carder. I can wash a whole fleece in small batches in a single day. That leaves huge amounts of time where I can spin, check the computer, clean the house or watch TiVo.

And for Vee:

I wanted to show a new photo of the lavender cheviot fleece now that it is dry. It lightened up significantly and it looks great. I still have not decided if I will make batts or just spin from the lock. She also asked me how I got this color. I was aiming for muted, more subtle colors….but I did indeed use Wilton’s Icing Colors.


I got a big stock pot a little over half full of acidified water and heated it to 160, then added a small amount of Wilton’s Pink to the pot and stirred it vigorously to help it dissolve. Then I added the clean dry fleece and let it submerge. Most of it took on a pink color immediately, with the brightest/darkest concentration on the bottom. Then I mixed a small amount of Aster Mauve (it only comes in the Garden Tone 4-pack) into a two quart jar with water from the instant hot and poured it slowly over the top of the wool. I had turned the wool to see the strike pattern and I poured the muddy color on top of any place I noticed was too bright and needed muting. This a technique I have been using to get large strikes of different colors in the same dye pot.


I use a thermometer to make sure that the water reaches 180 degrees, because I discovered that judging by sight was tricking me into under-heating. I was so afraid of letting it reach a boil, that I was not letting the dye bath get quite hot enough for quite long enough.

If you made it all the way through this post, I hope you found at least some part of it helpful.

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