Alpaca Project – a weekend of dyeing

What is the Alpaca Project? Answer HERE.

I mordanted a batch of alpaca yarn in a solution of alum and cream of tartar, and while I was at it I mordanted some silk and merino wool rovings.

 

First I tried dyeing in a boiling pot of  CHOISYA TERNATA aka MEXICAN ORANGE BLOSSOM. I decided to place the alpaca yarn into a laundry bag to protect it from the moving foliage. It came out of the pot a pale green and dried to a creamier pale green.

Next I wanted a pale pink. So I tried red onion skins which I have been collecting whenever I visit a supermarket.

Not quite. See that ruby red liquid. It gave me an earthy green which dried to quite a nice colour but definitely not a pale pink. Beetroot is looking good. I thought it may have been the aluminium pot so I repeated the exercise in a stainless steel pot, and yes, it was different – just a little bit darker green.

I consulted all my gurus about this but I'm still no wiser. Maybe someone out there in blog land can enlighten me.

While the pots boiled I did some spinning in the beautiful autumn weather. More frothy alpaca yarn.

Alpaca Project

What is the Alpaca Project? Answer HERE.

Jill continues to shame us with her quality and output. A sample of her spinning from a first shearing of a huacaya in a fawn pink.

Jill again, who is mainly concentrating on knitted items. A cute scarf knitted from the alpaca yarn, dyed in Landscape dye MOUNTAIN BLUE and knitted with the pattern - K3 wool *forward K* to last 3 stitches, K3, for every row.

Jill again. A knitted feather and fan stole in alpaca yarn. Very luscious.

Jill again. A knitted shawl from the alpaca yarn which she decided to dye in a rash moment. See below.

 

Photos of dried results still to come.

What the /!*?

This is a new carton just opened with it’s full contents. Even allowing for settling of contents this is a bit much. Unbelievable.

Alpaca Project

Here is Georgie’s completed beret, woven with alpaca fibre on a piece of cardboard.

And here is the final results of the dyed alpaca yarn. The process was shown here. I was mightily impressed with how the over dyeing with black gave the colours a bit more oomph.

The last couple of days I have been weaving samples to test the alpaca yarn’s capacity for weaving. Here’s a happy accident. I’m sure more experienced weavers would know all about this but I didn’t  – the undulating effect of twill when woven on a warp with a variety of setts.

And then there is this. Not so happy. I haven’t had this happen before. When winding the warp forward and over the front beam all my careful weaving went out of whack. Why is it so? And does anyone know how to prevent this from happening? I suppose this is why you do samples.

Introduction to Botanical Illustration with Fiona McKinnon

A little while ago I spent a totally enjoyable weekend being taught by Fiona McKinnon, a well known botanical artist. Fiona is an entertaining and skillful teacher who works with the Botanical Art School of Melbourne.

The workshop was organised by South West TAFE. My only complaint is it didn’t go long enough.

Below is some of the resulting art works by other students.

My Creative Space

It should be “My Main Creative Space” as I have little pockets of space all over the house. One day I hope to have a studio separate from the house – my retirement fantasy.

Using the dining room table is not ideal. Usually there is much more ‘stuff’ piled on this space. We rarely get to eat here.

Space dyeing rovings

DEFINITIONS

“SPACE DYEING is a technique used to give yarn a unique, multi-colored effect. While a typical skein of yarn is the same color throughout, a skein of space dyed yarn is two or more different colors that typically repeat themselves throughout the length of the yarn.”

“A ROVING is a piece of fibre which has been combed, drawn into a clump, and then twisted slightly to hold the fibers together and to prepare them for spinning and/or felting. SLIVER and TOP have a similar meaning to rovings.”

After confessing to Jude about taking a tiny piece of her space dyed roving ( and spinning it ) I received a slight dressing down, and then she agreed to try and replicate the same colours in some of the commercially spun alpaca fibre.

 

The end result of the furtive spinning of pilfered roving. A tiny piece of roving goes a long way.

 

Judy, the master dyer at TAFE, at work.

The alpaca yarn soaking in hot water.

The first addition – black.

The second addition – red.

The third addition – yellow.

Just a slight stir to meld the colours.

Let it simmer gently until the water runs clear which means all the dye has been attached to the fibres.

Almost the end result. It was decided that it needed a bit more oomph so it was returned to the pot with a little more black dye.

Still to take the photograph of the finished product.