Next Up

it took me ages it seems

to hook that little pumpkin

using up nearly all my pre cut orange strips

the background was hard

due to a shortage of dark pre cut strips

not wanting to use dark green

I make up little rules or challenges

for myself when hooking some rugs...

these two pieces were drawn up 

on a smallish piece of linen

fabric stitched along the length to use it on the frame

not sure about the cat design

using the pre cut strips 

means not a dark cat

 gray maybe...

*****

I was going to dye some wool the other day

ended up being too hot and humid

so the wool is hanging on the line

to be soaked again when it cools off!

which looks to be later this week

during my 4 days off

 (regular weekend off and 2 vacation days)

 running low on some dyes too

not going to replace for now

we'll see how make do dyeing goes

Results and Progress

as always my photography skills are lacking

just using my phone

these are fairly true colors

I prefer my dyeing to be over a mix of wool

that way you have much more variety to hook with

these will mix in nicely with my stash

the red was one pot

the blue two batches

I follow the directions somewhat

usually I double the recipe

using approximately a yard of wool per pot

I like mottled so stirring is limited

 

when dyeing it's important to read how

much wool the recipe/formula calls for

adjust accordingly 

to the amount of wool you are dyeing

there is so much online to help dyers...

try Pinterest for amazing inspiration

another shot from a different room

the blues are deeper in person

the tan was a total failure

I was going for an antique shade

ended up with a pale pink-orange-flesh tone

it's going back in the over dye pile

 ( it looks much worse in person)

the red recipe was from Barb/Emma Lou book

the blue from Mad Hen formula

there are two stacks of khaki drab/olive green

that came out nicely

just can't get a good pic of them

*****

 I'm cleaning up my dye mess today

will work on more soon

to get that "ugly" stash usable

this is back on the frame again

 found my words...

Color

seeing this basket full of color and potential

has made me itch to get out the dye pots

I have the wool

the dyes 

favorite formulas

now to find the time...