In my little corner

Dear Mom,
It may have been the result of having the kids home on break all last week, or maybe a response to all the Graduation/Prom/College Orientation events weighing on me, but I found myself sitting in a corner much of last week.
Spinning my little heart out.

That red skein on top is a roving I Kool aid dyed- it looked like this before I spun it.

I spun the whole thing onto one bobbin and then plied it to itself with my Handy Andy. It is always interesting to see how the finished yarn will look.

 That blue yarn in the middle is the last of a batt I purchased a couple of summers ago from Marr Haven. If I remember correctly, it is a wool/mohair combination. I have a plan for that, along with some other handspun that I've been slowly, steadily spinning and plying to create a gradient or sort of ombre effect that will either be a sweater or shawl, depending on my final yardage.

And that last muted skein is the result of my dye day with MelissaWhoSpinsBut DoesNotKnit. Both rovings were more pastel than I like, but plying them together gave them more oomph. And with that skein I practiced some thick/thin spinning. On purpose. When I was learning to spin and struggling to create yarn that looked like consistent, evenly spun YARN, I was told that once I mastered the skill I would find it hard to intentionally create lumpy yarn. It is true. But it was fun to play with that skein and create something different.

The blue tinted bottle with the copper pipe I showed in my last post was a wash out. Big fail. I'd read that I could make a vinegar/copper dye solution like the copper/ammonia stuff, but in my case it did not work out. I'll give the roving a good rinse and try again with something else. I spent the evening on Easter Sunday mixing up dye stock with my Greener Shades kit. When the Young Man came home and saw me in the garage wearing a mask and latex gloves, standing over a table laden with measuring cups, glass jars, note pad and digital scale he asked if I was setting up a meth lab! With any luck I will have some yarns in pretty colors to show you soon!
Love,
Kim