Color....I searched around the web to find a quote, a thought, a poem about color, but somehow I could not find the right words. Color is abstract. What appeals to me, may not appeal to you. Sometimes color is a whisper and sometimes it is quite bold and always it is beautiful. As I searched the web, I found this very cool website.
As you may have guessed, I have spent the last few days with my hands up to my elbows in water and dye. What I love about dyeing is the countless color combinations you can keep coming up with.
As a child I remember finger painting and how much I loved smearing all of the colors around to see what they made when mushed together. My mom being the neat freak (love you mom!) that she is, did not allow finger-painting very often............hmmm....I wonder if I am just reliving my childhood a bit?
My color focus over the years has almost exclusively been rovings. Given the never ending supply of bunny fluff from the barn, I have never given much else a thought, however, seeing all the lovely hand painted yarn all over blog-land, I thought I would play with that venue a little for the upcoming fair ..... and....it was fun. Where as dyeing my rovings is very forgiving and I can fix something that does not come out as expected, such as the South Pacific rovings pictured, dyeing yarn is much less forgiving.
Working with angora has it's own challenges. It takes forever to soak in water before it is saturated and it is very hard to get darker colors, due to how hard it is to saturate.....but it is very forgiving.
Working with yarn was a little more of a challenge for me. The color of the dye IS the color that you will get in the finished skein, so a little goes a long way.....and if you did not get enough color on a spot, it will not fill in when you steam it in the pot or microwave...........but when you get a color just right....aahhhh.....the thought that goes thru you mind is....Yes, this is why I play with color!
I am having fun!!
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Changing the subject a little bit......we have had a few other things happening here. If you look at the hanging skein to the right, you will see some fencing.
Now, I had planned on getting a new dog yard in eventually, but Maggie, the dear sweet puppy that she is, started chewing on the creeping charlie that surrounded the dog yard and...well.....lets just say, it was a bit too much fiber for her and because of this, we made the plans for a new, improved dog yarn a priority. Soo........we ordered the fencing that she could not climb over, and the pea-stone that would replace the creeping charlie and grass, with the mindset that pea stone would be much cleaner than the mud that happened when it rained. And can you believe it??? .She is now POOPING ROCKS!! Accckkkkk!!!!!!!!! Her breeder keeps telling me......"this too will pass." (literally)
What you will also notice is what a mess my yard is...grrrr!! The man who came to dig out the dog yard, also managed to tear up a ton of the rest of the yard, so we are going to be busy over the next few weeks growing grass again. Thankfully it IS the best grass growing time of the year.
The Final Color Swap
September marks the end of the colorswap, hosted by Lynne. I have to say, of all the swaps I have been involved in, this was the best! Thanks Lynne!
My swap partner this time around was Jennifer of Knitpicker . Jennifer gifted me with some gorgeous light pink kid merino, a beautiful quilting book, some incredible raspberry colored glass czech beads and a lot of fun red/pink colored gifts.
Thank you, Jen!
You have some of the best color sense I have ever seen ... all your yarn is beautifully and deeply dyed. It's a joy to see.
Posted by: becca | Monday, September 18, 2006 at 08:05 PM
Man, some dogs will eat anything!
The dyeing looks wonderful - not a dud in the bunch. :)
Posted by: Beth | Monday, September 18, 2006 at 11:49 AM
You make the most beautiful colors! All of your yarn together creates a lovely display! Nice ColorSwap package, Kim!
Posted by: Lynne | Sunday, September 17, 2006 at 10:08 PM
You work is just beautiful, Kim. I love the South Seas roving.
Posted by: Kathy | Sunday, September 17, 2006 at 07:16 AM
Did you realize you said dog "yarn" instead of "yard"?! lol. Aggie eats rocks all the time... actually, I'm always pulling stuff out of her mouth.
The colors are glorious! I can't wait to come play!!!
Posted by: Jean | Saturday, September 16, 2006 at 02:27 PM
Great colors. I love them all.
Posted by: wool winder | Saturday, September 16, 2006 at 10:46 AM
The South Pacific roving is stunnig, what a gorgeous color blend!
Posted by: Cheryl | Saturday, September 16, 2006 at 10:05 AM
You have been having fun and have been very busy too! You do such good color work. I would enjoy knitting and spinning ALL that fiber;-)
Good luck in the yard. It's a nice time of year to be working outdoors but still....
Posted by: margene | Saturday, September 16, 2006 at 09:35 AM
Your yarns and rovings are gorgeous! I love that Midnight Blue skein you have hanging. I'm sure you'll sell out at the fair but if you don't, you know how to reach me. ;-)
Posted by: Carole | Saturday, September 16, 2006 at 08:09 AM
Ugh, sorry to hear about Maggie's new "diet"! Is there any chance she has a mineral deficiency (like pica in humans)?
Posted by: June | Saturday, September 16, 2006 at 07:24 AM
Sorry,I ment to say i love your wool rovings.
Mary Ellen
Posted by: Mary Ellen | Friday, September 15, 2006 at 11:40 PM
Hello,
I love your yarns.Are you going to do that lovely red this year for Christmas?
Mary Ellen
Posted by: Mary Ellen | Friday, September 15, 2006 at 11:34 PM