Prepare To DYE!

Sometime last year, I decided to get my own dyes for bamboo and whatever other cellulose fiber I might acquire.  I bought lots of colors, some Procion and some from Dharma trading.  I bought all the chemicals and protective gear and had a plan.
  But no nerve.  I was afraid to try it by myself, which is silly, considering I had four Tuesday Weavers dye days under my belt.  But there you are!  Sometimes the time just has to be right.
  And you know I'm not afraid of dyeing wool anymore, since I've blogged about that already, after dyeing a lot of wool for the new tapestry loom.
  Now that Lanny's order of Jagger Spun has come in, including my cone of Zephyr, that luscious wool-silk blend, I need to get busy dyeing.  Lanny wants to dye some Zephyr Tennessee Orange, that peculiar yellow-orange so omnipresent here.  I thought I might have some dyes we could combine to get it, but to make absolutely sure it's correct, I went to Dharma's website this morning, and found a color I think will be perfect.  It's called Florescent Safety Orange.  Isn't that lovely?  Doesn't it just make you want to burst out singing Rocky Top?
  This afternoon, I've been preparing the yarns I want to dye.  I tried winding a skein of the Zephyr on the skein winder, but that's pretty tedious.  I switched to the warping board for a skein of angora-merino blend, which is working better.  And I've been unwinding balls of a cotton-silk blend into skeins.  All those are for knitting, the finer stuff for lace shawls and scarves, and the thicker yarn for a sweater.
  I've got loads of warps wound already, most done in the early hours before work while drinking my first cup of coffee.  They are mostly carpet warp, but there's some bamboo in there, too, as well as a little merino 10/2.  The carpet warp is going to be my first rep weave project, which should be exciting.  Hand-dyed warp in a rug?  Ooh-la-la!
  On the loom, the blooming leaf in black on black is still chugging along.  I noticed I could see the pattern in the late afternoon sun, so I thought I would show you the detail.  I think it's my favorite from that warp.  And now that the warp is coming to an end, I'm leaping ahead mentally to plan what's next on that loom.  The fleece is almost all cut for shag rugs for Jennifer, and I've got some alterations to make to Tootsie before she gets weaving again.  What should go on Jenny?  Maybe some painted warps will be ready by then.  Or maybe I'll try some summer-winter, now that LouAnn has me thinking about those.  The fun is always in the planning, isn't it?

   I've been weaving a little, but mostly, in my spare time between work, gardening and Tuesday Weaving, I've been knitting.  I've gotten the cotton-silk cardigan body up to the armholes, so the sleeves are next.  I'm knitting them on two circular needles to get them done at the same time.  They're knitted in tubes, then put together with the sweater's body, then all is knitted up to the neck.  I've never done it before, so I'm excited to get to that part.





 Parting shot is of the side view of Lee's Surrender.  I am in love!  Does anyone know why the patten is called that?  I wonder...

While I research that, you weave on, dear readers!
Maggie