My first adventure into dyeing

I'm going to keep a little running chronicle of my forays in dyeing.

I dyed several lengths of the mill ends I got from Brown Sheep (100% merino), as well as a tiny little bit of Superwash Merino and BFL I purchased from the evilness that is W.W. (it is too terrible to name :D ). I used Jacquard dyes in three different colors (Kelly Green, Teal and a blue but I can't remember it's name).

What I used:
- large pot to use for steaming with a steamer lid (thrift store)
- steamer to put in pot (basically a 3 inch deep colander that fits on the inside of the steamer pot)
- plastic tablecloth (one of the old school camping ones we had around)
- 9 oz plastic cups
- plastic wrap
- popsicle sticks (for stirring the dyes)
- Jacquard acid dyes
- white vinegar (better safe than sorry)
- one 1 1/2 in paint brush, and one plastic brush (if I used colors other than green and blue I'll need more of these)
- large bucket (for rinsing the rovings after the dye has been set if dying more than one roving)
- collection of measuring teaspoons and tablespoons (thrift store, plastic are the best with acid dyes)
- paper towels
- roving to be dyed
- towel you don't mind sacrificing to the cause
- reference books or reference material (I used Spinning in Color and Yarns to Dye for)
- lots of time
- good music to dance to while letting your creativity party

I pretty much assembly lined these. I took a roving (the first one was dry, no presoaking), painted it, put it aside to cure, took a second roving, painted it, set it aside to cure. Thirty minutes later, I steamed them. I left the first ones in for a little too long (closer to an hour), then after that I would put some new ones in right after I took old ones out. They all stayed in there over half an hour, although some had more time than the others.

However, I was also multitasking. At the same time I was dyeing, I was also felting the Suki bag and the bag of my own pattern (the teal one). The teal one's top is a bit floppy, so I'm going to have to do some surgery to get it more rigid. Oh well. I think Suki turned out pretty well, but I'll have to wait until it's dry.

And I did end up ripping back the heel on the Snicket socks. I'll try it again soon.

More FO's to report

I'm relaxing right now before I go to bed, so I thought it was about time I posted again. So far I'm doing a lot better keeping the updates frequent than my previous attempts on blogger, so I'm pretty happy with myself.
I survived my CS final, and I actually think I did pretty well.
In between studying and massively preparing for my upcoming tests, as well as detoxing from my CS final, I've beentaking knitting breaks (ie. knitting while checking email, or while watching tv).

I have a ::gasp:: couple of FO's to report.
First, I spun up the soy silk, and manage to get 55 yds of two ply. I also spun up 14 yds of 70-30 Merino Silk blend from one one foot piece of roving, also center pull ball plied.
Secondly, the Suki bag is finished! Well, it's finished in the sense that the knitting is done, but I still have to felt it then connect the felted handles to the bag. This means I'll have two bags to felt when I get home! Look at all the little ends. What the pattern wanted me to do, and that I was surprised about, is that they only wanted me to square knot the ends then clip the remaining yarn to an inch. So that's what I did. We'll see how it works.

Because I finished all the fiber I had with me, and finished Suki, I decided to pick up the Snicket Socks once again. I got some progress done: I finished the leg and turned the heel, but I really don't like how the heel turned out. The heel only fits correctly if I make sure to stretch the stitches up a bit, otherwise, when I relax my foot, I have a good couple cms of loose fabric. I've already decreased 8 sts after the heel in an effort to get it to fit better, but I think I'll have to decrease 8 sts BEFORE I start the heel, and make the heel that much smaller. It's a short row heel, one that I don't normally do in other socks I've made, I usually do a heel flap. So if all else fails, I'll go back to that. Otherwise, I really like how its knitting up and would definitely do this pattern again.