luxe

whoa. i did a lot of spinning last night. i made another scrap yarn, enough for two and a skinny scarf (ves) by a bit later, my hands were really hurting and i had a headache. i took my headache pills, but my hand braces on and decided to read (i have been drawing AND reading every night. what?) i woke up at…noon…with my bed exactly as it was last night, book and sketchbook and reading pillows still there. i don’t even remember going to sleep. i feel like i blacked out. so freaky.

needless to say, i am still in bed at almost 2pm. it took everything in me to go get a coffee downstairs and i don’t feel much better. and cramps. wooooo. it feels like i might explode. although, i am blogging. so. tired. in fairness, i have gotten a lot done this week. i am almost through all that fiber i dyed, so i need to dye to-morrow probably.

i am going to do a tutorial on making the scrap yarn. it is a bit time-consuming, but if you precut all of your pieces and laid them next to you as you spun, it would go pretty fast. and you can use cheapo yarns you have laying about for your base yarn, i will photo the new scarves i made out of yesterdays batch. i spun 4 bulky bobbins full of yarn (only one of those was scrap yarn, but it was around 200 yards, i think. not too bad.

okay, here are some extra pointers for the dishwasher dyeing…after i get my fiber wet (in the bag) i squeeze out most of the water because it will cause a really washy dyebath, which would be fine if you wanted that. i like to have different colors in each batch. also, make sure that you use gallon bags and squish the color around through the bag and look to make sure you have as much dye in there as you want. if it is packed densely, and isn’t checked, it won’t get on everything. use as much dye as you want. don’t be scared. i used the citric acid powder rather than vinegar and i don’t use much (of either) because it will causet the dye to only strike in certain spots, really quickly and leave other spots undyed. (i think that is why it leaves spots, anyway.)

once you have your dyeing applied and where you like it, if the bag is full of water, squeeze some out. not all of it, make sure it is saturated, but don’t leave a ton of extra water in there. i worry that it will weaken the bag and make it break when it gets warm.

i stack them in the dishwasher upright and squeeze the air out and leave the zipper open 1/4 inch. that is it. if you leave it open more, it will probably fill with water. i use the actually zipper bag, as opposed to ziploc because the zip stays closed and stays where you put it. got it? also, when you put it in, make sure that none of the dishwasher prongs are sticking into the bag, when it expands, it might poke a hole.

also, when the cycle is done, you can look at them (the are hot hot hot!) but don’t mess with them. if you aren’t happy with the color, you can put more dye in, and it normally will strike when it is still hot. i do it all the time and have never had a problem with it. i have even dumped out the super hot fiber into the sink, squirted the dye and let it sit and it took. spreading bad dyeing habits around the cyberworld! wooo hooo!

oh, also, after you have rinsed, i put my fiber into lingerie or delicated bags (the kind with the holes in them and a zipper, you can get them at target in the laundry section for a buck or two) and run them through the spin cycle and they will dry in no time flat.

i think that is it for dyeing tips. i will be doing a little tutorial for the scrap spinning soon. this weekend maybe. i need jake to be the photographer. and he does a good job! i gave him about a 30 second lesson when we first got our camera and he is a pro! he takes photos from interesting perspectives and NEVER cuts off heads and feet or takes off center photos of people, unless he means to. and that is a good thing. you know when you give someone the camera to take photos for you and they take the most horrible photos, far away, close up and cut important parts out. ooooh. hate. it. so! also, i am planning to do a thrifted sweater flower tutorial, too. soon. easy peasy. with patterns for the challenged. no worries.

last night i saw this cool article ontree paintings! via the craftzine.com blog. so cool. i think the trees are smiling! i may be forced to see what our ugly bushes draw. hm. i remember when i went to the gifted program in 3rd grade, we had to do “tests” with mealworms (i touched them! ew.) where we turned off the lights and follwed where they went with a pencil on a piece of paper. why did i remember that? and what was the point? we also did pinhole cameras and built pinball machines. i remember that program fondly, as i didn’t get beaten up there. just when i went back to my regular class the next day. or, like i told barb yesterday, had my pants pulled down at recess against the fence. pretty fun to be the new foreign kid! wooo hooo! everyone saw my lily white butt.

also, my buddy linda did an tutorial on her dirt yarn, although it is awfully pretty for dirt, and it was linked on the craftzine page. purdy cool. i wish i lived next door to her. and then i would be peering in her windows asking her to play and she would be laying on the floor silently sobbing. nooooo. please. please. it would be like cape fear. but with me as robert deniro. eeeeek! “wannnnaa spiiiin with meee?” “don’t you wanna dyyyyyyeeeee?”"i want you to dddddddyyyyyyyyyyyyeeeeeee!” or “dye! dye! dye!” really, i can name a handful of people that may be in the same position should i live near them. although, i never go anywhere, cause i stay in and work, so i would think about doing that late at night when i couldn’t sleep and then in the morning, i would have changed my mind. no worries. i just freaked myself out.

i know i mentioned one of my most favorite authors ever, peter carey. i have been reading his book “theft” forever, cause i haven’t been good at keeping up with reading, although i am back into it. i normally would read a book every few days or week. so a few books a month, at least. i have slacked off since my spinning and knitting obsession started. before that i baked and cooked all the time. and i can’t do more than one obsesssion at a time. anyway, theft is about art thiefs and art forgers and for any art nerds out there (i know there are a few of us..huh, REGINA? ART ESPRIT anyone?) that love to hear about madder red, or have a think for alzarin crimson, it is a fun book, with some really interesting facts (although it is non-fiction) about how people smuggle art, or manage to change the date on a painting to make it worth more among other things. really a fantastic book. it is also told from two different perspectives. the main dude artist “blue bones” and his “slow” brother, “slow bones”, who stretches and preps his giant canvases perfectly, mixes his paints to the perfect color and texture and is secretly a really talented artist. and carries his own folding chair with him wherever he goes. i am almost done with it. next on the list (i think) is “the adventures of auggie march” by saul bellows. i like the artist auggie march and accidentally found out that his name was actually taken from a book. and it is super super long. and i like long books, because i get attached to the characters (unless it sucks, of course) and am sad when it is over. and sometimes wonder what is going on, like it is a tv show, and then remember it is just a book and am sad. “oryx and crake” is the book that most makes me do that. fan-fricking-tastic! lurve. i wish there was a sequel.

oh, also, i got some small oval canvases from michael’s for only a few bucks, and i love oval canvases. i am super excited to use them. i need to do some sketches and figure out what the plan is. i do everything in 3’s, at least, so we will see. i like 3’s. never twos.

i am going to attempt to do some work. i feel a bit more energetic. can you tell?
snoot photo anyone?

and look at these ballet feets..

oh, and the leafy yarn that flickr wouldn’t let me post for 2 days…

off like a dirty shirt! i will try to take some decent photos of yarns…
xo
n.

*edit…i have had issues for the last couple of days with moderated comments disappearing. if you left a comment and it never showed up, or i never responded, feel free to leave it again. it appears that blogger went out for a ride and never came back, if you know what i mean. sheesh!