Dyeing

I have been dyeing lately.

This is lovely NZ Merino from Ullaffären. I bought 1 kilo white top a couple of years ago, when Renee had this wonderful quality. Some of you may know Renee from Ravelry, where she has two groups: Sponsor a Spaelsau Sheep, and Longbacken. She always has high quality fibers in her shop.

This is British Longwool, also from Ullaffären.

And this is 1,3 kilos of Corriedale from World of Wool. I dyed the tops for the spinning class I'll teach this autumn. I want the beginners to spin tops with lots of colors, so they can see what's happening when they draft and add twist.

I bought a steam cooker for dyeing, and that was a really good investment! It's so easy and really the very best way for me. I don't like kettle dyeing, and dyeing in the oven, even if it's also an easy method, doesn't feel quite comfortable. I use the oven for cooking also, and I'm not sure there won't be anything not so healthy coming from the dyes.

I wrap the wool in glad pack. I use only the two upper bowls, as I read somewhere that the lower is too hot. I'll test that when I have wool I don't care so much about. I don't use this steam cooker for cooking! I leave the wool in the glad pack until it's cooled, then I rinse once, press out as much water as I can and hang to dry. As you can see all tops are open and airy after a very slight stretching (wouldn't call it pre-drafting). No felting, very little compacting. I can dye 200-230 grams in one pass.

Dyeing

I have been dying!

This is about 1.2 kilos Falkland top. I have blue Merino and very soft longwool in my stash, so now I have plenty to spin either as it is, or to blend on a hackle or combs. The "olive" green is Kool Aid, the others different acid dyes.

Teasing

I'm teasing wool today. This is the Finnwool I acid dyed a few weeks ago.

Where did all the dyes come from??

For many years I swore I woudn't start dyeing. My reason for that was I didn't have time. I don't know how it came that the plastic box I kept my few dyes in suddenly had filled up with more and more dyes... Today I dyed the BFL/silk yarn I spun for a Shipwreck shawl, and I also found some Finnwool that needed to take a dye bath:

This is what my Shipwreck yarn looks like now. A nice cerise/pink that I will overdye by painting the finished shawl. I wanted a not so even color, so I didn't take off the threads I tied the skein with before washing and the result is a yarn with lighter spots:

Summer isn't far away! A bumble bee resting:

Walking and dyeing

Sunday was one of those days when everything was just perfect. Hubby, the dog and I went to the Bronze Age buildings in Vitmossen. We only planned to have a cup of coffee and sandwiches, but suddenly we found ourselves taking the long route up to the old graves and settlements.

This photo is from earlier in the summer. The two houses have been built by enthusiastic amateur archaeologists from Vörå, the community where the Bronze Age is well represented.

There's only stone heaps left of the graves. They are marked on the map:

The path is partly very difficult to walk, so don't take your party shoes :)

There are stony parts, wet parts, easier parts, but on the whole it's not an easy walk in the park.

Hope you like watching hubby from behind... I'm walking behind because the dog gets crazy if he has to walk behind me, and I have the camera to take care of so hubby takes the dog. Kasper has to be in leash all the time, because if he runs after game like hares or moose outside the hunting season he may be shot by bird hunters. There is no guarantee at all that Kasper will listen to us if he sees a hare.

The wood is so beautiful and smells wonderful this time of the year. There was so much mushrooms and even herbs I've never seen before, or haven't noticed. Like these orange mushrooms on a birch stem:

These mushrooms (polypores) are familiar, but I don't know their names:

The forest:

The path:

The vegetation on the solid rock is very vulnerable. It will take years and years for the lichen to come back. Finns in general are careful when walking in nature, so there is not much damage done to the plants, moss and lichen around the path.

This is one of the easy parts to walk, astonishingly beautiful.

So what did I pick? I always bring home something from the wood, mostly something you can eat. But not this time. Don't eat these, whatever you do. You will most certainly get very ill, maybe die.

So why did I pick them? I didn't even dare to eat the lingonberries after touching the mushrooms. You can never be too precautious with mushrooms. These are Cortinarius Sanguineus, Bloodred Webcap, and Cortinarius Semisanguineus, Surprise Webcap.

I used the mushrooms for dyeing. This was my first attempt ever to dye with mushrooms, and I didn't know you have to put these particular mushrooms in the freezer first, so I didn't get the red color you are able to if you do this properly. But I got a very nice color from the first bath, and a lighter one from the second bath.

This is Finnwool yarn, soft and of very high quality. I'm quite satisfied :)

If you want to know more about dyeing with mushrooms, look here: Riihivilla

Malin the Chef

Malin cookes delicious omelettes, but she's good at cooking carrots too.

She needs some chemicals. Malcolm and Meara find this very interesting. Malcolm is deeply in love with Malin. Meara likes trucks. Malin likes my pizza. None of that is necessary knowledge for cooking carrots. But you do need chemicals. I have heard people actually drink them. First they mix them with water, I believe.

Then she needs some yarn.

Voila! Bon appetit!

Vårflod - Springflood

Jag köpte merino av Renee Darley på Ullaffären. Den visade sig vara av det mest underbara slag, en superb kvalitet från Nya Seeland. Det tog lite tid att spinna tillräckligt för en sjal, men det var värt ansträngningen. Jag fick ett tunt, spänstigt tvåtrådigt garn.

Renee skickade med lite textilfärg för att jag skulle få pröva på färgning. Jag färgade garnet i gröna nyanser. Jag tänkte mig en våräng med maskrosor och kvarliggande snö, men jag behöver öva litet för att färga något sådant. Jag gillar garnet i alla fall.

Jag stickade en sjal med Limmo-designs vackra mönster Vårflod, men mitt garn är för tunt för de långa garnlänkarna. De fastnade i något efter första rapporten, så jag repade upp och stickade ett hålmönster i stället, men med Lillemors mönster i tankarna. Jag stickade in lite pärlor som jag inte kunde motstå när jag såg dem i butiken. Det här projektet är en Spinalong/Knitalong i Renees grupp på Ravelry.

I bought merino from Renee Darley at The Wool Business. It was the most wonderful merino from New Zealand, a super quality. It took me some time to spin enough for a shawl, but it was worth the effort. I got a fine, springy twoply yarn.

Renee sent me some dyes also, so I could try dyeing. I dyed the yarn in green shades. I thought about a spring meadow with dandelions and snow, but I have to practise first. I like the yarn anyway.

I started knitting a shawl in a beautiful pattern Vårflod from Limmo-design, but my yarn is too thin for the yarn overs in the original. They got caught in something, and I had to unravel. Instead I knitted a lace pattern, but with Lillemor's pattern in mind. I added some beads I couldn't resist when I saw them in the shop. This project is a Spinalong/Knitalong in Renees group on Ravelry.