The Peace Country Spinners and Weavers and the North Peace Spinners and Weavers are now on Facebook. Please like us both.
Another wacky winter nature dye project was dyeing with past due frozen green tomatoes. Another easy project, just adding a dollop of vinegar and leaving it all on the woodstove all day and all night. Some mashing of tomatoes but no straining. It came out a slightly greenish beige. Quite happy with the beiges. Any other winter nature dye projects happening out there?
Recently found some nature dyed skeins that I had deemed ugly and with the rug hooking workshop all of a sudden found these skeins useful. They were used for a neutral background and the variegations in the dyeing add interest to the wall hanging. One was dyed with marigold and the other was dyed with walnut, both of the last dips of the dye pot producing light variegated colours. I have a complete change of heart. There are no ugly colours, one just needs to find the right project where the colour fits. These yarns could easily have been used in the background of a woven rug. The mauves were dyed with black lichen.
I had decided to weave projects using my oldest yarns in my stash. I made two baby blankets and a bath mat out of Handicrafter cotton in pink, white and green. My January project was to tie on to this project as you see in the picture. Some of you will remember the "Dyeing in the Rain" summer weavers' retreat in July in Fort St. John where I started the major part of the dyeing for this project. I used Procion dye that is a cold water type dye using water hot from the tap, which made dyeing in the rain possible, well, at a picnic table with a canopy cover. But it was pouring rain most of the time.
I started with balls of odd colours of cotton. Some were variegated, a few were white. None of them matched colour wise. I hate to use that word again, but it was an ugly mixture of yarns. I separated the colour groups and dyed them appropriately and I was amazed at how the overdyeing transformed them into a lovely mix. Yes, they are bright and it will be a bright baby blanket. Perfect for winter weaving.
This is a log cabin pattern using thick and thin in the weft. I plied the thin yarn, which is slightly thinner than the Handicrafter cotton, using 2/8, 4/8 and crochet cottons left over from a couple of generations of crochet projects. Then I threw them into dye pots. It is very satisfying to use odd balls of yarn that have been stored for decades. Each lot of colours is slightly different in texture but there are enough variations with variegated yarns and differences in dye lots of colour that I think these difference make the blanket more interesting. The crochet cotton makes this yarn stiffer and more harsh than the thick cotton, but this does not significantly effect the softness of the blanket.
The dyeing and rinsing took a lot of work and water. I think one either spends the money on buying yarn exactly the right colour or puts in the time and resources to dye. It is another form of recycling to use odds and ends. It depends upon what one considers fun, challenging and satisfying.
And I keep learning. I had trouble with the skeins becoming great snarls of yarn (I think there is a technical name for this!?) and now I know to use figure 8 ties at various places on the skein, thanks to my knowledgeable friend, Marjo.
The project is still on the loom, about half finished.
Please come to the Spring meeting of the Peace Country Spinners & Weavers in Fort St. John on April 12 even if you cannot take the workshop. Beginners and new members are welcome. There are usually lots of show and tell items for viewing that are very inspiring. My colourful baby blankets will be there for sure.
No comments:
Post a Comment