Spinning Sunday!

So, I got up this morning and finished up spinning my skein. I got the tea all prepped.

Tied the tea bags together.

Dropped them in the boiling water.

Um, note to self, when working on a gas stove...do not allow tea bags to drape over the edge of the pot. They will catch on fire.

I let the tea steep for about 1 hour and then added the skein. I strained it after about 4 hours. During this process Jeff told me that it was not going to work and started to give me some complicated chemistry reason of why it would not work. I was like, it's just tea and wool...not neuroscience. But....unfortunately.....

He was right. I guess that is what I get for not doing my homework first. But, not to worry. I have come up with another idea! I am going to use spices. Curry usually dyes with a nice yellow color and chili powder of course dyes red. So, I combined them both together. Not sure why, just sounded like a good idea at the time. Smells kinda strange when being boiled though.

I weighed it out on a scale to about one ounce. I poured the spices into a teabag pouch that I had.

I sealed up the teabag with an iron.

Turned it upside down and shook it to make sure it was sealed properly.

Brought it all to a boil (looks rather questionable, I know).

And dropped it in.

Now we wait..........

So, while I was screwing up my freshly spun yarn...I did a bit of research on Navajo Ply. Oh, it looks complicated. I think I am getting a bit ahead of myself. Maybe just concentrating on screwing up the dying process is enough for one weekend! The Joy Of Handspinning is a great website though, very helpful. I am a visual person. It is so much easier for me to catch on to something if I see it being performed. Apparently, there is such a thing as handspinning cruises! Just take your wheel out on deck and spin away! That sounds fabulous. I can't think of much else that sounds better than that right now!

This website is lovely! You must check it out. Sissy, it is going to make you want a sheep farm even more! Crackerjack cracks me up in all his regal-ness. I think he and Ziggy should meet.

Ziggy was supervising my spinning yesterday evening.

Finally after all my searching, I finally found a Texas based website for roving. I am starting to get a bit discouraged though. Seems that spinning and fiber arts are not that popular in Texas. I guess I just need to pack up and move, to Santa Fe!

So...I have been going on for a while now. The yarn is still soaking in its dye bath. I may leave it there overnight. It seems to be working, an nice pale orange color it is now. After research this afternoon, I did realize that I was to use a product to help bond the dye to the fiber. It is called mordant, basically a chemical salt. Some others say to use cream of tartar in addition to the mordant. I will know better next time!

I also worked on some new socks today so I could at least feel some sense of accomplishement at the end of the day.

I worked on these socks when I was in Santa Fe and realized that I need to pick up the pace and get them done. I need to pick up the pace and get a lot of crafting done. Christmas is only 6 months away!

Cheers and stay tuned for the outcome of my hibiscus, chili, and curry yarn!