i just had to look . . .

Posted on Posted in projects, Uncategorized, yarn and dyeing

i’ve avoided the forecast all this week—really, what kind of sadist wants to know? and then today, of all days, i HAD to go there. i dunno what possessed me.
i should know better. if i don’t look, i can tell myself it’s only 90-something. i can live with a number that is less than three digits.

well, one good thing about the heat is this

you don’t get that kind of color in, say, 70-degree weather.
ok, enough grasping at straws for comfort.

i did not knit with wool last night. i’m just being very up front about that—no wool lace til the weather breaks. i can’t even think about it.
lene will entertain you with lace in the meantime . . .
i DID work on my skirt but it looks about the same, so i won’t bore you. tonite in class i hope to finish some socks, but that is all the wool knitting i have planned.

you would think spinning in this heat would make one feel sticky, but i like it. maybe because i learned to spin in summer . . . it continues to be just the right thing this week! and, as if in total agreement, go check on the silkworms over at Pepo Passion; they have begun to spin up a storm over there!

quite bit less fascinating, yet all my own, is my continued journey through my first silk spinning. i finished spinning the wool roving last night and plied the silk and wool together.

it plied nicely, though what i had spun several days back is quickly losing its active twist. i gauged how much i should ply by the active parts i had right at the end of the bobbin, just after i finished spinning. i like the juxtaposition of the matte and transluscent wool againt the shimmery, opaque silk. you can kinda see what i am blathering on about here

the light shines through the wool and lights up the surface of the silk, while at the same time, outlining its sinuous path up the strand. i don’t know if, or how, this will translate into the knitted fabric, but i’ll find out . . .

i used up all the wool, finishing it off early this morning. there is a lot of plied yarn, but there is still quite a lot of singles left on the bobbin.

but of course, not enough to ply on itself, which would make it only half as many yards. i needed more wool to finish it off. you can imagine the descriptive phrases that came to mind when i realized what i would have to do on this fine, 3-digit-degree morning to get what i wanted.

sigh.

down to the kitchen we traipse next, trailing a hank of white falkland top roving behind us.

out come the plastic tubs, the little jars, plastic spoons, and white vinegar.

did i say “sigh”?

now, you might remember that i mentioned the serendipitous way in which i came about having that particualr color pinky-mauvey roving in the ifrst place? yah.

well, thank goodness it did not need to be replicated exactly—a near match would do. fortunately, i can be good at this sometimes. i guessed that persimmon and a little gray would be about right, maybe with a wee dash of summer violet. and . . . . voila!

not bad!! not bad at all. here’s that pic again of the dry, predrafted roving i already used:

the new one might have a little more color, but it’s wet and still compacted. it’ll blend.
it’s drying now (or striking the right pose anyway), out on the porch.

and all that before 9am.
good thing too, because at least at that hour, it was somewhat tolerable.

now i have to find myself something else to do while i wait . . . how long do you think it
will take to dry?

7 thoughts on “i just had to look . . .

  1. Wow, what a close match! (I can’t beleive you had a dyepot out today. What are you, crazy?!) And I do indeed like the look of the wool plied with silk.

  2. Ah yes, the joy of dyeing yarn when it’s as hot outside as it is in the dye pot. It became so unbearable for me last week that I went out and got my hair chopped off short, short, short a few days ago. Now the temperature is 30 degree lower than it was a week ago. That’s Oregon for ya 🙂

    Stay cool, baby!

  3. Nice wool!
    Our temperature is only about 22 C and even with this I find it difficult to knit… But here it will cool in just a few days.
    I wish there was a way to send you some cool air. Because, you know what, I need to see your knitting…
    I better start practising some Lappish magic that would direct clouds and winds into your direction!

  4. Good match! I also can’t believe you dyed in this heat. Crazy woman. But I’m looking forward to seeing something knit from that silk/wool! That silk sure goes far.

  5. I really think you deserve a medal for dyeing at dawn so to speak. What dyes do you use? You seem to have a lovely range (persimmon, violet…) I’m still working with three or four and blending experimentally.

    Our temperature here in Ireland is about the same as Lene’s at the moment, and that’s quite hot enough when you’re not used to it! But I realise that’s not much comfort for you. I too will send you soft grey rain clouds…

  6. I’m surprised that you can dye in this weather. I’d have figured it would be just as bad as cooking (which I am tragically uninclined to do.)

    I’ve heard that hot weather is great for sitting someplace cool and writing up lacy shawl patterns, though (hint! hint! 😉

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