Black and White

 

Yesterday I thought I would spin some fibers that coordinated with each other.Since I normally spin small amounts (I don't have a big stash of fiber), it makes sense to have some that can be used together. So, from the left:

Brown, grey, black and white wool--core spun

Black and off white wool singles, plied with silk fabric bows

Black novelty yarn (fiber unknown), coil spun

Silk shirt strips spun with bits of wool 

If you have been reading my blog, you know that I am a new spinner and have not had any instruction. It is just trial and error all the way. I read a lot and watch videos to help me figure out what to do. I have made the yarn with fabric bows before and thought I had that one down, but I didn't. After the yarn was soaked and dried, I saw that the fabric bows were not locked in and would just pull right out! Good thing I left the bow strips long and that the yardage was short. I went back and tied a knot in all the bows. Oh good. More reasons to practise. I want to say that I owe my ability to spin at all to

 http://www.shopneauveau.com/ 

and all the related books and videos. After watching a couple of these videos, I stopped being nervous about trying stuff and just jumped in!

A Cautionary Tale

I bought a sheer blue and white stripped silk shirt at the thrift store. I thought it would be perfect to do some shibori stitching, so that is what I did. I cut off one of the sleeves and stitched it all over, following the wavy stripes. Then I put it in a jar of Oak leaf dye I had made and let it sit for a day in the sun. The next day, I took it out and left it on the balcony to dry. It was a hot, dry day with no breeze. I checked on it a couple of times and noticed it was almost dry. I could hardly wait to see what it was going to look like. However, when I checked on it again, it was gone! A gentle breeze had come up and I guess the silk got carried away. I searched and searched, but it was no where to be found. I repeated the whole process with the other sleeve and the result is pictured here. Underneath it is a piece of cotton muslin, folded and dyed in the same oak dye. This time I made sure it would not fly away.

Dyed Fabric

Here are the silk pieces from the cold-bundling dye project. The green printed silk (from a thrift store shirt) is patterned with Black Rice. The red piece, is dried Hibiscus flowers on yellow dyed silk. It was hard to wait a week to untie them! I really thought I would wait longer as suggested by India Flint, but I couldn't stand it and opened them with the idea that it was all an experiment anyway. Right away, I tied up a new bundle of beige silk (another thrift store shirt) with spoonfuls of rice rubberbanded into pods. It wasn't in the jar five minutes when the pods turned purple. I will wait at least a week though to see what happens. I also tied up some fallen Oak Leaves.
Stay tuned!