Thursday, July 24, 2008

Pleased as punch with myself











The last few weeks I have been concentrating on spinning nice, thin, even singles. I've gotten quite decent at it (note...not great yet) So I had 2 bobbins full of nice pretty white wool, and I KNOW that I have to ply them to make yarn. So I researched and researched and finally just sat with the wheel and tested to see if it would spin the other way. yay! it does. (called mom... she gloated that of course she had put it together right...yay mom!)




So yesterday I did my first real plying. Easier than I thought. Totally uneven, plyed from the lazy kate, thick and bunchy and over and under spun, but gosh darned it I plied some yarn!




Wanted to dye yarn. I like kool aid dye. no vinegar needed. wanted to dye yarn blue. DH actually made and DRANK the blue kool aid. I might need to label my kool aid from now on.




Fine. Have food coloring. NO have vinegar. Experimentation time. put yarn in jar, put dye in jar, cooked yarn a lot. rinsed yarn. got hardly no dye on yarn. Mental note...do not let DH drink kool aid or buy vinegar.




Anywho....pics show whole process. Even though the dye didn't take so much, the yarn is more of a light greyish blue than anything, I am still pleased as punch that I spun, plied, and dyed my own freaking yarn!

3 comments:

karina said...

Well done. Maybe you could try dying it again. What are you going to use your fab yarn for.

I have just bought a spindle and still trying to understand how it works. If I learn and like the idea is that DH look into buying me a wheel for christmas.

Cyndi said...

Good job Susan!

you know you don't NEED to ply to make yarn. I've knitted / crocheted / woven with plent of singles.

Anything acidic can be used in place of vinegar (i.e. citric acid, lemon or lime juice ...)

Remember - there are no 'rules' in fiber arts!

Mulderknitter said...

Thanks both of you!
The "plying must be done" comes from my mom. Doesn't it always come from the mother?