Tag Archives: cochineal
Once and For Always. . . .
I just rediscovered my spinning wheels. *insert big mushy heart and ecstatic arm waving here* It’s been so long since I’ve spun just for “pleasure” or on a spur of the moment thing. After working on some silk laceweight, I … Continue reading
Round Two
Hello, world! I still exist. Last month was absolutely nuts with traveling, housesitting, visitors, and a cold, so I’m just now getting my feet back under me. But before I went off to Colorado for a writers’ conference I got … Continue reading
Wool Gathering
Believe it or not, I haven’t fallen into a fiber-induced coma and vanished off the face of the earth. I’m still here trying to make time for spinning and fiber in a rapidly filling schedule. (While juggling a change of … Continue reading
Hobo Toes
Look! Look at that. I almost have the entire foot covered in stripy material. Whoo-hoo! I took it along to work, and the best part was a small friend’s conversation with me while babysitting. Sam: “Why does that have so … Continue reading
Indigo Dyed Yarn
Prepare to feast your eyes on the myriad of blue shades I got out of the indigo pot. Gorgeous! This is the skein of heavy worsted I spun on the drop spindle. I have no idea what I’m going to … Continue reading
Fleeced Out
The week of fleece washing didn’t accomplish as much as I was hoping, but I did get a pretty sizeable pile of fleece washed. And while there is still a whole garbage bag full of dirty fleece, I think this … Continue reading
Cochineal: The Finale
It had to end sometime. It eventually became a question of what would exhaust first. The dye pot or me. But, after a long day of dyeing, I had this lovely assortment of reds. (Plus the two batches of fleece.) … Continue reading
Cochineal: Part 3
I tell you, this pot of dye was like the Energizer Bunny! It just kept going and going and going! The first batch of wool came out a sort of mauve color. And the bag seemed to have worked! Then … Continue reading
Cochineal: Part 2
The Continuing Saga. Everything was going well. The yarn was in, it had already turned pinkish, then I decided to give it a gentle stir to make sure it was getting evenly soaked. Up comes a section of yarn mingled … Continue reading
Cochineal: Part 1
I was all set to wake up early, crush the beetles, put them to soak, drain the mordanted fiber, rinse it, and generally get things ready before breakfast. When I woke up about eight, the room was rather dark and … Continue reading