Done Batching

After 48 hours in the roaster I rinsed the warps. The violet is not as bright as I hoped but the turquoise is brilliant - as are the reds. Despite being taken in the dark basement under fluorescent lights the colors are pretty true.



Yet another use for the roaster! Just set the dial for about 100°.

A Little Experiment

If you can't beat 'em .....



The pool table is still here but I was able to get most of it cleared off during my studio cleanup last week. So here's the start of my little experiement. Ever wonder how long fiber reactive dye solutions last? I have dye stock from last winter's sampling. So I wound what was left on a cone of 3/2 perle cotton into 6 bouts and started painting. Scarlet, magenta, golden yellow, turquoise, and violet. What? No earthtones and muddy greens? Sounds more like Sara colors to me!

The heat goes down 62° at night and during the day (and the basement's always cooler). In the past I would turn on the little heater in the bathroom but this time I thought I'd see how the roaster works. I set if for 100° and put two warps in each of three ziplock bags.



I've checked on it several times and it is only slightly warm with no chance of the bags melting. I'm going to batch for 48 hours and see what I get.

Making Up

I certainly am trying to make up for fiber time I lost this summer and fall. The plying is all done and the yarn is hanging over the laundry room sink. Swatching will commence tomorrow.



Despite discovering my sleying error in the first yard of the warp I was still able to get five towels. The last one is a few inches shorter but they are for me so no problem. The other three are for Sarah's new kitchen.



I got them washed and dried tonight and I'll hem them tomorrow.



Yet another Wallaby. This one for the granddaughter of my thesis editor. Although it does look much better in person, I can't say I love the yarn. I have, however, been assured that a two-year-old will love it.

One more day of vacation.

So It's Not a Three Ply

In order to steel myself for the daunting task of cleaning up the basement studio I sat down to sample my three ply sock yarn made from my stash blend.

Maybe I put too much twist in the singles? I seem to remember someone saying that you need less twist in the singles for a three ply. I could get a yarn that looked good, but all the samples had so much twist in the finished product that I predicted socks that twisted up under the arch.



I finally came up with a winner. The addition of a little mohair gives a nice halo and will help strengthen the yarn, along with making a warm pair of socks.

I spent several hours downstairs going through my stuff. I tried to come up with a system for storage separating ready to spin fibers, fibers for blending, luxury fibers, handspun yarn (all other yarn is stored in the attic) and fabrics, divided between hand dyed, quilting, and clothing. Thinking I was on the road to organization I turned around and remember the bags of washed wool and a few bags of dyed and ready to be carded wool. Believe me, this picture minimizes the pile. There are twenty-one bags with washed fleeces that vary from a 2.5# Shetland to a 5.5# Romney. All dye equipment has been relegated to the bathroom. Today's job is to put up shelves to hold the syringes and measuring tools.

I didn't get Sarah's towels finished for her open house, but I'm on the last one now. While weaving I've been planning my version of a warping trapeze and the next warp to be woven.

My Wish for You

What I've Gained From This Experience

I'd like to think I've gained a few new brain cells, but after my little buttonhole fiasco today (see below) I can honestly say I haven't. What I have gained is a bunch of pounds and and an even fouler mouth! Did you hear me today? The table of contents should have been a breeze. All I had to do was use the first three levels of headings and it's good to go. Yeah. Once I learned how to lock the fields the going was easier.

So the buttonhole problem. You might remember me saying that my new Janome wasn't making buttonholes. It would only do one side and not do the turnaround. I bought this last spring, attempted buttonholes in August, and just got around to trying it one more time before taking it in for repair. I read through the directions ten times and still it didn't work. Then I saw buried in the middle of 27 steps, pull the buttonhole lever all the way down. Oh. That. And here I was complaining that the manual was written for idiots. I guess I'm right.

So here's just two of the buttonholes it can do. Once I finished marveling at my stupidity, I finally got the zipper in on my Zipper Jacket, but stopped working on that and hopped over to the loom.

Sarah just finished redoing her kitchen and I'm making two of the towels for her. Josh painted it when he was home for Thanksgiving and he put a couple of dabs of paint on a piece of paper for me. I haven't seen it yet but she's having an open house on Saturday so I'm hoping to have both done and hemmed by then.



I love this variation on the pattern. That's a purple, let's call it eggplant, on the bottom, then gold, and then a forest green. I did three repeats and after 30" of pattern I'll reverse the order for the other end.

Finished!

Yeah, yeah. There's the abstract, the table of contents, and the appendixes, but the last chapter is done. I'm giving it to my editor (i.e. my friend the English teacher) tomorrow.

So I decided to peek in the fiber storage room to see if anything grew in there while I was otherwise occupied. Oh my! I hear the electrician is coming tomorrow morning while I'm at school. Did I clear a path to the fuse box? Of course not, I got back to spinning the stashblend sock yarn.