Rhubarb and Custard!

Hi, do you remember the hanks of wool yarn and Shetland tops I dyed at the end of last month, well I've spun up the 2% Red Lac (Rhine-M) and the 2% Marigold (Ambrosia) and here is the result.

I'm really delighted with the hank which is pun on my Jumbo flyer. I took staple lengths of each colour, alternating each colour as I spun. The staple lengths weren't accurately weighed as I wanted some overlap of the colours.

I'm going to knit it into a diagonal scarf, from a pattern I was shown in The Hague at Dineke's workshop last month, which I'm hoping will give me some subtle diagonal stripes. If I have any left I might just get out my Knitters Loom and weave a narrow scarf, too.

Clay Cross Lace and Textile Celebration Day

Hi all

on Saturday I was invited to the above event in Derbyshire. In the morning I did a natural dye extracts demonstration and produced the lovely hanks and tops you can see on the right.
The hanks were 95% Blue Face Leicester with a 5% nylon binder and the tops were Shetland.
From the right:
Hank 1 - an immersion bath of Lodhra Bark (Amber-L).
Hank 2 - I painted this one with Annatto (Amazon) and Red Lac (Rhine-M).
Tops 1 - an immersion bath of a mix of Annatto and Red Lac.
Hank 3 - painted with Madder (Indus), Acacia Gum (Caspian) and Kamala (Basant).
Tops 2 - I painted this one with Madder (Indus), AcaciaGum (Caspian) and Myrobalan (Kango).
Tops 3 - this lovely baby pink was an immersion bath of 2% Red Lac (Rhine-M).
Tops 4 - a lovely soft lemon yellow from a 2% immersion bath of Marigold (Ambrosia).
Tops 5 - this is a baby alpaca and bleached tussah silk top painted with Madder (Indus) and Myrobalan (Kango) .
Hank 4 - painted with Madder (Indus), Myrobalan (Kango) and Rhubarb Root (Desert).
Tops 6 - painted with Annatto and Red Lac.

In the afternoon I tutored a Design for the Terrified Master Class. Altogether a very enjoyable day!