I finished the first sample with the Wensleydale locks I dyed for my new color palette.  I also dyed silk fiber with the same palette and spun a single to ply with the Wensleydale.  The picture shows the silk a bit lighter than in real life.  I’ll continue to tweak, as usual, but plan to do a repeat of this very soon.    This is yummy yarn…soft and bouncy with the beautiful sheen of Wensleydale wool.  The silk then adds a wonderful drape with additional softness that I just love.

I took some photos of the skein I spun from one of the rovings from the 1st Greener Shades experiment.  I think the colors look a tad darker in person, but the photo on my screen looks pretty accurate.
The single was Navajo plied so I could see the colors without too much barber pole effect.  While spinning the orangy color, I noticed it looked a bit more golden, but still not quite right.  I love the challenge of dyeing fibers that will ultimately create just the right colors in my yarns…it can be deceiving, though.  What you see in the dye pot, hand painted onto the fiber or even in the freshly dried locks are not necessarily what you’ll see in the finished product…

The other roving, dyed blue & pink did not turn out right at all.  *sigh*  Can I blame that on my zombie brain at 1 a.m.?  So, I’ll take pics before I over dye it…I can’t stand to even look at it.    Then, I’ll show you the before & after, k?

Well, I dyed some Wensleydale lamb fleece with some of the same colors I used on the roving.  They turned out very well, compared the pictures I was drawing colors from.  The only exception is the orange on the upper right.  It is not supposed to be orange!  It was intended to be a golden, buttery yellow.  It was orangy on the roving, but I decided to repeat the same color for this kettle dying, as I thought it might just be a DOS problem.  I was wrong.    I do like the shade, though…

UPDATE:  I’ve begun to spin a sample of the locks & letting their beautiful texture show…I am happy so far with colors…even the orange has really grown on me.

Thanks to SpinnyBuns over at Ravelry, I’m using a new technique to combine my Greener Shades dyes to put together specific colorways I want for this year & the coming year.  I love this little tutorial, downloadable on Ravelry.

So, I used some pics that inspired me with color,  as a starting point for some of the first color experiments.  I love the fabrics in the Matilda Jane children’s clothing line.  Their new Serendipity Collection has some great colors.  (They have great women’s clothes too!)

Since red is my favorite color, I wanted to start off with a few lovely reds.  Tomato reds, different shades and slightly different hues – some warmer & some cooler to begin with.  Also, I wanted some celery greens, robin egg blues, pinks and golden yellows…

Here’s the Matilda Jane Fruit Punch Dress & Tween Celery 2 Tank -

Well, I should NOT have chosen to do my first experiment by hand painting roving…it was difficult to calculate proper DOS.

Here are my results:

I think it will be easier next time.  I took copious notes.    I got totally caught up in the math, then mixing them, then off to paint them on…I’m finishing up the 2nd roving at 2 a.m. & realize I forgot citric acid!  I was so concerned in getting my formulas right, that I threw the fundamentals out the window.  Lesson learned.  So, I just left them til morning…well, later morning, that is.  I made a fairly strong citric acid water that I carefully applied before steaming.

All in all, I’m pretty happy with my first try!  However, my next experiment will be in the dye pot, not hand painting, at least for now.    I’ll post more pictures when I get this spun.  I’m suspending my final opinion until then, don’t you think?  The finished product is what matters, so we’ll see…

So, if you’re interested in using digital images to create color palettes, you’ll want to check out Alanna’s, a.k.a. SpinnyBuns,  guide on Ravelry.  Go on…get to it & tell Alanna I sent you.  Her sample shown here is amazingly close to the original image colors…

Ok, here’s an update!  I’m still spinning these rovings, but here’s a progress photo.  I have to say, I’m MUCH happier after spinning this wool…colors are actually closer than I first thought…the golden yellow went too orange, though.  :-)  What do you think?

What a great video!  For those wool & sheep lovers ( like me), you’ll like seeing Betty the Lamb being sheared.  I really should be working on something else, instead of watching this.    I’ve got lots of fiber to dye & spin before I re-launch my shop in February.  Yippee!

Battenkill Fibers: Shearing and Skirting from Kate Ziehm on Vimeo.

]]> http://www.sockadoodledoo.com/watch-lamb-being-sheared-skirting-a-fleece/feed 0 http://www.sockadoodledoo.com/worlds-smallest-knitting-project http://www.sockadoodledoo.com/worlds-smallest-knitting-project#comments Sun, 16 Oct 2011 19:24:20 +0000 Faydra http://www.sockadoodledoo.com/?p=324

I’m not sure, but this might be the smallest or one of the smallest knitting projects ever.  What do you think?  I ♥ teeny, tiny things…

Here’s the making of this film, in case you’re interested. 

Yea! I’m excited to announce my Etsy shop is open. I’m still uploading new items, almost daily. So, come over & check it out.

Some examples below… bouclé, merino & silk blend & other yarns on the way too…

All items have FREE shipping to US addresses! 

I’m working hard to get all my fibers ready to list on Etsy…here’s a little taste of what’s to come…

Here’s a sneak peek at the project I’m working on especially for you.

Free pattern will be available here soon…stay tuned!

The yarn I’m using for this neckerchief will be in my etsy shop shortly…it’s a Wensleydale cross lambswool that’s completely natural, undyed dark chocolate brown.  This little lamb is the black sheep of the fiber family of natural colors.  After being washed, the “black” wool is no longer black, but the color you see here.  It’s a luscious dark brown that reminds me of 87% Dagoba bar of chocolate!  It’s a lace/light fingering weight yarn, 18 wpi, with a lovely sheen…

Natural true black fleece is not common, like white or cream colored fleece.  Over the ages, color has been bred out of much of the sheep breeds.  Most black sheep’s wool lighten with age.  So, even if the lambswool begins as a true black, as they mature, their fleece begins to lighten and turn grey.  That’s pretty too, but no longer true black.

As for the free pattern I’ll share with you soon…it’s my personal favorite style.    During the winter, even when we lived in cold NE Nebraska, I preferred a smaller neck scarf that easily tucked into my coat.  It kept me toasty warm, without making me too hot…Heavier scarves are usually too much for me, unless I have to be out in blizzard conditions for an extended amount of time…not gonna happpen.    Esp. now we’re back in our home state of Texas.  While this pattern is written for hand spun yarn, it would lovely in any special yarn you have in your stash.  I can’t wait to share it with you!