The Yarn From Last Week's Dye Day

I left the Library early one day last week to have a "Dye Day". My co-workers suggested I come up with a new name/phrase as an alternative to me saying "I'm dyeing on Wednesday." or "Sunday is Dye Day". They also feel it is a bit disconcerting to hear me say the reason my cuticles are green, blue, fuchsia etc. is because I dyed yesterday. [smile]

The balls in the photo are all approximately 44o yards fingering weight wool. This wool is from Corriedale type sheep and is pretty soft and felts great. I think each skein is enough yardage for a pair of socks or a scarf.

There are ten more skeins waiting to be finished this weekend and I will post photos of them next week. I hope to have at least three dozen skeins of various weights ready for the Greencastle show.

Tomorrow I'm ordering sock yarn that is superwash wool with a little nylon added to the mix.

My inventory has a dozen skeins of worsted weight wool and half of it is already dyed.The worsted weight is approximately 220 yards so I am dyeing those two at a time so there will hopefully be enough of similar colorways to make a project. There are two skeins waiting for the ball winder I think would make a awesome felted bag ... photos coming soon.

The next order will be more of the Merino/silk blend. It comes out very soft with just a little sheen. One of my favorites!

If the weather warms up enough before the show I really want to do some Indigo dyeing, yarn and Shibori. I saw on the Fiber Event workshop list a class will be offered in Shibori so it would be neat to have a few pieces available. I have planned to have some ready for market and the fall Quilt Guild show we are vending in November. Praying for above 65 degree days so I can get the Indigo vat going.

We are still requesting prayers for Angela's health. She was diagnosed with viral pneumonia on January 17th and is still sick. This is too much for anyone but if you have all the other health issues that Ange has it's very serious. I'm still having coughing spells and feeling snarfy so if you want to add me to your prayers I would appreciate it too!

Better get a wiggle on. I have to go to Bloomington to pickup a gift certificate for a friend's birthday. It comes from a greenhouse and is my traditional gift to her. I was in Bloomington last Saturday but forgot to get it. Last Saturday it wasn't raining like crazy. @@

~ Penny ~

P.S. Picking up the new chicks tomorrow!!

More Eggs

So I was wrong when I posted all four of the chickens were laying eggs. It turns out only Cicely and Rosemary were getting with the program. I had a discussion with Tansy and Marguerite a week ago and explained that their free ride was about over. They had developed nice drumsticks and becoming a "Snack-Pak" was in their future. They beat the deadline of September 17th this morning. =)

Now if I can convince them to use the nest box and not the floor of the coop. Tansy is a big girl and even after I moved the box around she still squeezed her chubby self behind it. Silly girl.

Angela and I had a very successful Market Day yesterday. I sold two skeins of yarn, one of which is going to New Jersey. Angela sold over two dozen baby hats! It was crazy!! She also sold some felted bags including one she made from my indigo dyed yarn. The lady bought two other bags but kept going back to the ID one until she finally bought it. She loved the idea of the natural dyed yarn. Very cool!

Have a blessed week!

Week's Update.

My sister Debbie brought Jaidy to the Library on Friday. They popped into the office and visited for a few minutes. Deb told me Jaidy said she wanted to go to the "Liberry" to see Penny, play and get books. Big yay that she put me before play and books! ;^)

We had a great day at Market. The weather was perfect! We spent time visiting with friends, got a little baby love and made some money. My hand dyed wool received some compliments and a couple of folks were intrigued by the indigo dyed yarn and shibori.

I worked on a silk scarf this morning. It is almost ready for the indigo vat. If it is "photo worthy" I'll ask Angela to take a few photos. This afternoon I will prop up my feet and but the rest of the indigo yarn on the swift and use my ball winder. I should have five skeins to take next Saturday.

I also need to make more earrings to cover the ones I sold yesterday and fill up my display. I think I'll make a few dainty little earrings for young ladies. Most of what I create are long and not really appropriate for the younger girls.

Tomorrow I go to Carmel, Indiana to see my knee surgeon, Dr. John McCarroll. He is the doctor who did my ACL reconstruction several years ago. My nurse practitioner thinks I have a cyst on the tendon of my right knee. It has begun to bother me so I decided it should be taken care of before Angela has her surgery at the end of the year. Hopefully it won't be a big deal.

Take care and stay cool!

Cleaning, Dyeing & Life

While I've been neglecting the blog I haven't been a total slacker.

With the help of my neighbor, Nicholas, my backporch has become an outdoor living room. We cleaned out, scrubbed and rearranged to make a pleasant sitting/work area that I have been enjoying immensely. It's been so nice to sit in one of my wicker chairs and relax with a cool drink after work. A simple pleasure. Smile

My indigo vat is up and running. I remove the lid of the vat (a five gallon bucket) move the "flower" to the side then immerse a skein of wool yarn. The yarn comes out a strange yellow/green color but after it is rinsed and exposed to the air it changes to blue. Very cool!

Nicholas has taught me Shibori and I love it. We did a few samples (pictured above) using small squares of muslin and after I practice a bit more will move on to silk scarves.

This has been one of the hottest and wettest summers I can remember! The farmers (my daddy included) should be on their second cutting of hay but many are just now finishing the first cut. This first cutting is not the best hay. It is heavy and rank so it is slow to cure. I hope the humidity drops down soon so our animals have good, and plentiful, winter rations.

My chickens are doing very well. No eggs yet but Daddy has already made them a nest box. It is a bit large for their hutch but should work just fine.

Angela has a pre-opt appointment with the neurosurgeon tomorrow. She still has pleurisy and a cracked rib (I think it is the fourth cracked rib this summer) which must be healed before surgery. Sigh

The heat advisory is suppose to be over at 7:00 p.m. so I think I will head home and throw a few skeins of wool into the indigo vat. I have super wash sock yarn plus a few skeins of worsted I want to dye for Market on Saturday.

Stay cool!