It is always quite refreshing to put the last of the Christmas decorations away and straighten the furniture and enjoy the house in its simpler form again. But January and February in the North can feel a little bleak. Keeping something red from the Christmas decorations, or finding something red for display in the house, should help. The first weaving workshop that I attended was in Grande Prairie many years ago. The instructor, Brin Pinchin, remarked that beginner weavers seem to always start to weave with a white or off white warp. Why? She said that a red warp is a more interesting way to start and she challenged us to try this and find out for ourselves. Perhaps January and February are good times to start weaving a project with a red warp.
A colour gamp is a good way to explore colour. The picture below is a sample of a gamp woven by Norma in a course a few years ago taught by Cheryl Peebles through her store, Cheryl Peebles Studio, Fort St. John.
A recent dye project with red was the result of my early practice of not rinsing yarn after it was dyed. I wove 2 hitchhiker scarves from boucle cotton and I knew that there was a lot of fugitive dye to be rinsed. An earlier experience with fugitive dye gave me an idea. I had felted a lot of knitted samples of various colours in the washing machine in hot water for 15 minutes or so. It was just a mix of uncoordinated colours. Some of the yarns had not been rinsed, so there was lots of fugitive dye in the mix, predominately red. When the felting was complete, I was delightfully surprised with my felted samples, as they all matched. The harsh yellows were now more golden and mellow. It was exactly what needed to be done as now I could cut out shapes from these samples to decorate my hats and they coordinated nicely. So I took this experience one step further and put my unrinsed scarves into the dye pot with skeins of yellow, orange, pink and red wool yarn. I added a couple of glugs of vinegar (optional) and put it on the woodstove to slowly heat. All dye stuffs were wet first and water added with progressive heat, as per instructions for dyeing wool. I had dyed the cotton with Dylon or Rit, so I was quite confident that it was appropriate for dyeing wool. The results were excellent. There was more fugitive dye than I expected. I now have a range of oranges to reds that blend beautifully as you see in the picture. There are plans for hand-woven fabric for the front and back of a sweater in Shadow Weave with off white heather tone yarn. This sweater should be great to wear next winter to scare away those winter blues.
Another wacky dye story: 4 quarts of home canned peaches with mold. Scoop off the mold, blend thoroughly in blender, juice and all. Put in dye pot with several glugs of vinegar. Place presoaked skein of white alpaca yarn (or wool) in pot. Stir thoroughly and let slow cook on woodstove for several hours. Do not let it simmer or boil. Remove pot from heat and let sit overnight. Surprise surprise! Peach coloured yarn that smells like canned peaches. It turned the disappointment of spoiled peaches into a fun and easy nature dyeing project. J
The Threads Along the Peace Newsletter was mailed out to members in December. If you have not received a copy by now please contact the editor or 1358@telus.net for a complimentary copy.
Remember to sign up for the Spring workshop April 12-13 in Fort St. John. The topic is Theo Moorman Technique with Cheryl Peebles as the instructor. There is always something new to learn at each workshop, even if the topic is not entirely new. A different instructor presents the topic from a different point of view, has different samples, uses different combinations of yarns and we come away inspired once more. It is another opportunity to deepen one's understanding of the weave structure. And it is always wonderful to get together to share our latest spinning and weaving creations. The fee is $100 for members of the Peace Country Spinners and Weavers and $120 for non-members, plus a $10.00 material fee. Registrations fees are to be sent to the treasurer. A portion of the registration fee is non-refundable depending upon circumstances. Contact 1358@telus.net for more information.
Loretta shares this article about brightly coloured thread made out of snail poop. It's a very particular and surprisingly appealing form of recycling. http://grist.org/list/this-brightly-colored-thread-is-made-out-of-snail-poop/#.UqkJ8pHRMRI.email
What a wonderful cold snowy time of year to settle back in our warm homes and design new projects, finish old ones and just get on with working on the craft that we love. Happy New Year everyone!
