Tuesday, September 11, 2012

spinning, knitting and a bit of dyeing...

lots of experimenting going on with the spinning and i've prepared enough handspun yarn to start knitting a cowl. also attempted making some black and white thread but all i had was wool. it turned out ok but really want to try it with cotton which i prefer for stitching.



handspun wool yarn and the beginnings of a cowl

finally got all the flowers i'd saved out of the freezer and did some dyeing. the cotton pieces turned out better than the silk this time. the cotton pieces were soaked in soy milk overnight and allowed to dry and sit for a few days before using. haven't had much time for dyeing lately.

some hints of blue in that center strip

bits of rust from the cotton wrapped around tin cans
i'm trying to keep up with all of your blogs but haven't had much time to comment lately. wishing you all a great week.

21 comments:

Jeannie said...

The yarn for your cowl is beautiful. I tried twisting thread together for the black/white effect with so so sucess. I thought by now one of the thread companies would wake up given how popular baker's twine is. Your dyed cloth is beautiful. (Thanks to your post, I just remembered I have avocado skins and pits in the freezer. LOL!)

Rachel said...

Soy milk as a mordant? or simply as the wetting agent? There seems to be endless room for experimentation!

deanna7trees said...

Rachel...the soy milk was used as a mordant.

karen said...

you could weave with the thread it would look amazing...maybe needle weaving. Your dyed pieces always look fabulous to me. They have a unique patterning.....

Nancy said...

Deanna~ the yarn is gorgeous, so cozy! And your dyed cloth came out beautiful :)

liniecat said...

Smashing dye and yarn results! I found soy milk effective as a mordant too... and the bonus is that it makes porridge taste yummy too lol fancy that!

henrietta (aka ani aka zani) said...

you are becoming quite an accomplished knitter. i know one day i'll come here a see you carding wool...i love the color you are getting in the blending. i hand a friend that always hunted around yarn shops for sales on wool and she twisted skeins together to come up with such wonderful colors and textures. the dye work is also becoming perfected. oh my is all i can say after a big sigh. cheers. happy cooler days

kaiteM said...

Beautiful spinning and cowl design, that will really suit you. And i know about lack of time, i'm feeling it also.
cheers...

handstories said...

i am amazed at that black & white- it's hard to believe you just started spinning! lovely cowl & dyeing too.

Nat Palaskas said...

Fantastic result of your dyed. A little bit of color that's all you want. Your spun yarn is lovely. Isn't spinning fun?

Betty Eilat said...

Deanna I love your work :)

Yvette said...

wow what a lot of projects...but you succeed with beauty all of them (sorry bad bad english)

Marie said...

The fabric you dyed has so much character...can not wait to see how you use it.
Lovely knitting.
: )

Judy said...

You are indeed one busy girl!

So, when you remove your frozen flowers from the freezer, do they get plopped immediately into your bundle, and then rolled and boiled - or are you steaming these? Not sure why I'm asking now, because I won't get around to doing this until next summer, and by then I'll have forgotten! LOL

xo

Sweetpea said...

Knitting, dyeing...it must be autumn.
Such lovelies, deanna, you never cease to amaze!
And that thread ~ oh, do use it.

Ginny Huber said...

You just started spinning? Everything you do turns out to be fascinating and inspiring!..And for me as a new natural dyer, seeing the hints of blue and hearing about the process.. another bit of useful info into the mix for me!

Saskia said...

beautiful yarn, and what's a cowl?
hmm, didn't know you could freeze flowers before using them for dyeing; nice dye-results BTW

deanna7trees said...

saskia---a cowl is a kind of scarf that is a closed circle and fits over the head on to the neck area.

Anita said...

The yarn for your cowl looks fabulous,lovely shades.As always your dyed piece looks gorgeous with unique pattern.

Joe Madl said...

ack! your dyeing and spinning and knitting are all amazing! you are producing beautiful yarns and your knitting makes me cast longing eyes at the cedar chest harboring my stash of wool yarns and unfinished socks...

Tammie Lee said...

wonderful to see what you have been up to.

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