deflection

     

   I just finished unraveling this sweater I found a few weeks ago. Cream colored, handknit silk/cotton/linen blend. I wasn't going to buy anything that day but when I found it, I kind of had to. It was knit with a double strand of yarn and had cables all over, so I ended up with a big chunk of yardage. At least 2,000 yards, maybe even 3,000. I'm currently giving the resulting fat skeins an extended soak in the mordanting bucket.

I'm used to sage and rabbitbrush giving me a distinctive bright yellow all by themselves, so I knew I'd get something similar by mixing the two. After giving the pot a few weeks to hang out, heating it up a few times in between to take advantage of that awesome deserty aromatherapy, I called it and took the fiber out. Then I dipped in my new wood ash bucket for about ten minutes. It's pretty strong and I didn't want to damage the fibers. Acid yellow quickly turned to a deep golden, almost mustardy color.

 The next dyepot I'm adding fluff to is the aspen leaves. Another yellow, but one I'll probably shift at least some of into greens with an iron afterbath. I'll put a bit in the ash water, too, just to see. Updates to the shop will include some yarn and a few pairs of gloves. I'm trying to build up my stock of small finished things for the last market of the the year in a few weeks.