The Portion of my Inheritance

Guess who hit the sale aisle just after Easter and bought several boxes of Easter egg dye for 20 cents a box?

This girl!

So . . .  when the girls came over we dyed wool using these wonderful little tablets.

It’s pretty similar to dyeing eggs, except I add extra vinegar and use pretty warm water.

The vinegar and wool does have a pretty strong smell. Although I like it, not all of us think that the smell is so awesome.

I gave the girls their own roasting pans and put pre-soaked wool into it. They dissolved the tablets in the water and began squirting the colored water onto their wool.

This is just the coolest thing ever, because even though they both used the same exact colors, their wool turned out so different.

We didn’t worry too much about getting the dye on our hands, we kind of liked it.

After they were finished with dyeing the wool, I put the roasting pans in the oven on 250 degrees for about 20 minutes. I then dried them on my drying rack until the next day.

I already love how different each piece of wool is. Aria’s is the blue and Aniyah’s is the lighter colors. The next step for mammy was to spin their creations into yarn.

After I spun and plied the yarn, I wrapped it on the Niddy Noddy and set it in heat once again.

When the girls came over I gave them their finished skein of yarn, designed by them.

“Damascus was your customer because of the abundance of your goods, because of the abundance of all kinds of wealth, because of the wine of Helbon and white wool.   Ezekiel 27:18

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It all started just before Christmas. My son wanted to take me somewhere special to pick out my Christmas present from him. When we arrived at his friends house and walked in the front door I could not believe what I saw. There was yarn and fiber everywhere! I was like a kid in a candy store-literally!

The rest is history.

Let me introduce you to an amazing artist in yarn. You can find Ashley’s Etsy shop here.

Her blog is here.

Ashley is an expert at dyeing and spinning yarn. Her exquisite yarn is absolute perfection, creme la de creme of yarns.

Ashley uses the softest, most yummiest fibers and her finished work is superb. She also sells her lovely organic Polwarth and silk blend fiber in her Etsy shop.

Ashley will be teaching classes this summer on both spinning and dyeing. You will be sure to find me there learning from the best.

She stretches out her hands to the distaff, And her hands grasp the spindle. Proverbs 31:19

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Growing up I loved to dye Easter eggs, and then later I remember the fun that my own children had in dyeing the eggs, and now my grandchildren love it.

I decided to see how the Easter egg dye would work on fiber, so I headed to the Dollar General and picked me up a couple of boxes.

I threw away everything except for the tiny little color pellets.

I used the dye in two different ways:

The first was to line my counter top with plastic wrap, then lay my presoaked fiber on top of it.  I diluted the color pellets in a bottle with warm water and added about 3-4 tablespoons of vinegar. The vinegar helps to set the color.

Then I just began squirting the colored water onto the fiber, making sure to soak it all the way through. You can use whatever color pattern you want. Since I was experimenting with this I wanted to make it as colorful as I could.

You might want to use gloves to protect your hands from turning color. I didn’t use them and this was the result.

After I was happy with the color I rolled the fiber up into a long snake using the plastic wrap.

I put the fiber into a colander that had been simmering on the stove over water. I covered it and let it steam for about 20-30 minutes to set the color.

You could also set it in the microwave.

Then I soaked it in warm water.

I let it dry on my front porch.

Next, I spun it into yarn.

The second way I used the Easter egg dye:

I used purchased yarn already rolled into a loose ball, or you could spin your own yarn and roll it into a loose ball. If it is too tight the color will not absorb as well.

I brought water on the stove almost to a boil, adding the same amount of vinegar. I dropped the color pellets into the water but did not stir it, then added my yarn.

For this yarn, I added one blue pellet and one purple. The yarn absorbs the color slowly, making the outside more colorful and the inside more subdued in color.

I also did one using just the blue pellets and another that I just used green.

I used 2-3 pellets, depending on how rich you want your color.

I loved this technique! I loved the variegated look that came from this process.

And by the way, after Easter I was able to pick up several boxes of the dye for 19 cents.

I will confess that the dye did not set as well as I would of liked. I will heat set it longer next time and probably use more vinegar, but I was still pleased with the end result.

One of those listening was a woman from the city of Thyatira named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth. She was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul’s message. Acts 16:14

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I have always enjoyed dyeing fabric and matching the fabric and pieces of clothing with color, but I have discovered lately that I really, really love dyeing wool!

I have been experimenting with different dyes, so here are a few that I have been working with.

I have used Kool-Aid for a few years but there are only so many colors you can end up with. However it is the safest way to dye wool so it is what I use to teach my students.

I tried fabric dye and loved how it turned out. I love matching the fiber and the fabric, although the fiber didn’t take the dye as well as I would have liked.

But my favorite has got to be the acid dyes.

I dye the fiber on the patio just to be safe. I do not want any of this in my home, if you use your oven to set the dye, then you can never use it to cook your food in again. You can not use the dyeing pot for food again either, so I have clearly marked my tools so they will not be used by anyone.

Something wonderful happens when you use these dyes. I never know exactly what I will end up with. The colors are so vibrant and they mix in such an amazing way, that when you spin your fiber, you end up with such an exciting surprise!

Here are a few of my finished projects:

Next on my to do list is dyeing with food coloring and most certainly trying different natural dyes.

-stay turned-

And her hand holds the spindle. Proverbs 31:19b

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I would like you to meet our new family member, Flora.

She is an English Angora Rabbit.

A friend is moving and needed to find a home for her beloved bunny and I was all too happy to take her in.

Besides all this cuteness, she is an amazing bundle of fur, super soft and fluffy!

She has the sweetest disposition and we are all smitten with her already.

But there is yet another method to my madness!

The most beautiful, scrumptious fiber that you will ever lay your hands on!

Yes, this little beauty gives around 4-5 ounces of fiber a year. I am one happy camper!

She seeks wool and flax, and willingly works with her hands. Proverbs 31:13

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My friend Sara has so graciously shared her amazing supply of fibers with me.  Alpaca from Colorado from her treasured source.  

This was my very first experience with fiber, starting from the beginning and working through the steps to completion.

This fiber came from Cuddles the Alpaca and I have to tell you that it feels amazing!

The very first step in preparing the fiber was to shake out all the loose grass and straw,

then washing it in very hot water and a mild soap.

I put it on an old window screen and set it in the sun on my porch to dry.

So Cuddles is now washed and dry and ready for the next step.

Handcarding is next, and very time consuming, but I love it!

Carding the fiber combs it and and pulls all the fibers in the same direction and prepares it for spinning. You also catch a lot of the grass and straw that did not come out in the wash.

As you card the fiber, you get rolags and that is what you will spin.

The next step is to spin! 

Spinning is so wonderful, it is relaxing and I could easily spin an entire day away!

After I spun the fibers, I plied it by using two yarns and spun them together in opposite directions. It makes the yarn stronger and I like the look of a two-ply yarn.

I washed the plied yarn again and hung it on my porch to dry, using a weight at the bottom to pull out any kinks.

After it was dry, I wrapped it on the niddy-noddy to make my skein.

A finished skein of alpaca yarn.  

It made 5.8 oz-233 yards of a 2-ply yarn.

I have not knitted anything with it yet, I am still trying to decided what to make.

She stretches out her hands to the distaff, and her hand holds the spindle.  Proverbs 31:19

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What a precious treasure when the Lord gives you a friend that shares your heart.  I am thankful for the gathering of such friends, young and old alike!

My amazing friend Sara has encouraged and taught me the art of fiber and spinning and generously passes her love and knowledge on to the next generation, just as it should be according to Titus 2:3-5.  What a godly example she is to those around her.

She starts the class with show and tell of her amazing creations. Executed with intricate and elaborate details in each piece. The textures of wool, alpaca, silk and angora are passed around and fondled. Expressions of delight and enchantment are heard as they feel the extreme softness and press them against their cheeks. 

Each person gets a bag of roving and is lead through the discovery of how to prepare it for spinning.

The drop spindles are next (made by Sara herself)

She teaches them how to hand graft the wool as they spin.

They are taught how to wrap the yarn on the spindle.

They try the hand carders.

It was a great class. Thank you Sara!

She seeks wool and flax, And willingly works with her hands. Proverbs 31:13

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We used kool-aid to dye the wool.  About 6-8 packages of it. We poured the kool-aid into a pan of water that was almost to the point of boiling.

When we placed the wool (lamb) into the hot water the wool absorbed the color of the kool-aid.(sin)

After about ten minutes the water was clear! (made brand new)

Are you seeing this?

The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Behold! The lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” John 1:29

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This is our very first attempt at dyeing wool.

This is corriedale wool roving.

It is very soft and it really does smell like sheep, which I totally love!

We soaked it in hot water for about fifteen minutes.

We used kool-aid to dye it. It smells very yummy!

Into the almost boiling water it goes.

We are careful to not stir the pot which will cause the wool to felt. So we gently pushed it down until all the fiber was covered with the colored water.

We set the timer for another fifteen minutes then took it off the heat and drained it. When it was cool enough for us to touch it we squeezed the water out.

We set it outside to dry in the sun

and it is ready to spin!!!

“I am the good Shepherd. The good Shepherd gives His life for the sheep.” John 10:11

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For a multitude of years now it has been a desire of my heart to learn how to spin wool.

So, this year for my birthday Martin surprised me with a spinning wheel.   

Well . . . he didn’t surprise me with the spinning wheel, but he DID surprise me when he told me he ordered me one for my birthday. (He has a hard time keeping surprises to himself. They bubble up out of him and spill out.)

From that point on the waiting was torture

But it finally came and we began the  l o n g  process of staining, painting and assembling my prized possession. And for those of you that know me at all know that waiting is certainly not my strongest virtue.   

(And yes, this is a picture of my man)

But after a couple of weeks it was finally ready for me to spin! The wait was definitely worth it. I absolutely love everything about it.

.And trust me, there will be many more blogs to come concerning this subject

The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, To the soul who seeks Him. It is good that one should hope and wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord. Lamentations 3:25-26

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