Purple - its my new obsession

Well, maybe not an obsession, but it sure was a common theme in my playing with dyes this weekend! After finishing up my natural dyeing class, I felt like I had some logwood and knew how to use it, so it was time to play.

I basically mixed up four slightly different mixtures to dye 4 2oz. bundles of wool in quart canning jars. The mixtures were: logwood + cutch, logwood + cutch + a wee hint of logwood grey, logwood grey + logwood, and logwood + brazilwood. All were mordanted a week earlier with alum.

Here's what I ended up with. The one on the left is logwood + cutch, the one on the right is logwood + brazilwood. I would categorize these as dusty purple and berry purple.

The two here are logwood grey on the left, and logwood + cutch + logwood grey on the right.

So, what did I learn? For one thing, I suspect I can have much fun messing around with the logwood and brazilwood mix - with a little more depth of color, that could turn in to one awesome berry! For another, mixing logwood grey with logwood does not (at least in this percentage) does not end up with a more purple-y grey. Thirdly, cutch just made it all sort of dusty, not quite what I was expecting. And last but not least, dyeing pin-drafted roving this way leaves them a bit ratty looking. Certainly no detriment to spinning, but they aren't pretty. I may take two of them and blend them on the carder to see what a batt from these might look like.

Beyond dyeing, which I actually did Friday night with the washing up being on Sunday, I have spent most of my fiber this time doing a bit of consignment spinning. That's been much fun - I'm trading my spinning skills for some very nice roving (a merino-cashmere blend - yum). I've been enjoying doing a traditional woolen spun yarn from Kerry Hill sheep. I've done the processing with handcarders and done all the spinning long-draw from rolags - and I'm about 75% of the way done. I hope to finish that up tomorrow night and shall post photos when I'm done.

This coming weekend I have tentative plans for some sea kayaking - my previous hobby before fiber took over my world - and then a fiber day at a friend's house on Sunday. Can't wait!