Mom and I attended a fiber retreat on Sunday in Argyle. It was put together by Mary Berry of
Fancy Fibers. There were lots of really neat women there, spinners, knitters and crocheters alike. Much of the day was just free time to work on whatever you wanted. I took along the baby blanket, and got quite a bit done.
In the afternoon we took a workshop on dyeing/painting yarn. We used
superwash merino wool and jaquard acid dyes. Mom has tons of experience dying fabrics, but the yarn was new to both of us. I really enjoyed seeing the surprising colors that came from blending the dyes. I used Turquoise, Brilliant Blue, Pumpkin Orange and Hot Pink. There are some really beautiful and subtle shades of green that came out of blending those colors. I kept telling myself that I wanted to keep some white, but it was really hard to stop adding colors! I did leave just a bit of white, and I love the way my yarn turned out.
Oops, my glove had a hole in it!
As a novice I don't have a swift or ball winder. I googled instructions and came up with this makeshift way of winding my skein into a ball. Put the skein around two chair backs and move them apart until you get tension to hold the yarn up. Then cut the ties and start winding your ball. It worked fabulously!
I am really excited by the outcome of my handdyed yarn, and can't wait to make more! I had wanted to reskein it to see all the pretty colors, but since I'm not selling it I didn't see the point in that. Check out my beautiful ball of yarn bellow. Now what to make? It is 220 yards, so maybe a scarf?
Over the weekend I searched and searched for what to do with my hand painted yarn. I thought a hat would be nice as the yarn would go well with my turquiose bobble scarf. I settled on the Post Office Hat pattern by Shannon Murphee. I altered the pattern a bit because I prefered the way the yarn looked in single crochet. I did fewer puff stitches and made it longer and more cloche like, which I really love.
Mom and I attended a fiber retreat on Sunday in Argyle. It was put together by Mary Berry of Fancy Fibers. There were lots of really neat women there, spinners, knitters and crocheters alike. Much of the day was just free time to work on whatever you wanted. I took along the baby blanket, and got quite a bit done.
In the afternoon we took a workshop on dyeing/painting yarn. We used superwash merino wool and jaquard acid dyes. Mom has tons of experience dying fabrics, but the yarn was new to both of us. I really enjoyed seeing the surprising colors that came from blending the dyes. I used Turquoise, Brilliant Blue, Pumpkin Orange and Hot Pink. There are some really beautiful and subtle shades of green that came out of blending those colors. I kept telling myself that I wanted to keep some white, but it was really hard to stop adding colors! I did leave just a bit of white, and I love the way my yarn turned out.
Oops, my glove had a hole in it!
This Winter Lichen Necklace by Sophie of Duck Duck Goose Stuff is so lovely and organic. I love that Sophie can make silver look so close to nature. Here is her description of this piece:
Also, please check out this blog post by Alicia Paulson. Alicia has a knack for taking me on a journey with her words. This post about a walk through the mossy woods of Portland really made me long to go there. How wonderful to have such a beautiful city at your disposal!
Check out my orange jewelry and supplies. 
