Dyeing for Fiber

Well, it's Saturday. I am resting post-cold, and woke up with a migraine today, no less. Lovely. Still, I am pilled and mostly pain free now, thankfully and almost have a speaking voice back. Really I should be resting, and maybe doing some much needed light housework. However, my naughty dyeing self is working up to a run to Fortuna and the much-loved Generations yarn store (and beauty shop--let's not forget that!) They carry TONS of meat-and-potatoes yarn, including my preferred Lamb's Pride.

The bulk of my dyeing has been done using Lamb's Pride by Brown Sheep Wool company. It is 85% wool/15% mohair lopi style single ply, and somehow it just seems to take the dye better than anything else I have worked with. I have a binful already, but I can't stop playing.

I do have a couple of solid knitting projects in mind, and have now got the yarn for both, but more colors is better in my mind and I want to get a bit more dyeing in before the weather turns crappy for real. I do have my covered breezeway and solarium to work in, but when it gets too cold, it will be uncomfortable and I anticipate the damp will make it difficult to dry the resulting yarn. Dyeing season is really coming to a close.

Still, I have things in the works. My friend Q in Corvallis has access to elderberries that she says she'll freeze for me, and lives on a large ot with access to madrona trees; the bark is supposed to work well. I plan also to tap my aunt and uncle for some walnut hulls, since they have an english walnut orchard and I am sure would be happy to save some for me.

In m own yard, there is the abutilon flowering I mentioned earlier--my first goal. There is also an apple tree covered with lichen. I have no plans to move, or anything, in the near future, but somehow, I feel a sense of urgency about seeing some of these things through. Nervous, I guess.

So, I am making hay, so to speak. Strike while the iron is hot!