Still here... new dyeing

You know how sometimes life just kind of conspires to take over your best laid plans? That's what this past month has been like for me... From other people's weddings to my own unpredictable moods and other random events, I feel like I've just been along for the ride lately. Now that things have settled down a little I'm looking forward to getting back into some kind of routine. That includes regular blog entries and a lot more energy freed up to put into my Etsy shops. I'm actually planning to put some thought into how I want my blog to be set up - I'm looking for a good blend of Etsy-related content (Etsy Monday, shop updates, etc) and more personal, journal type subject matter. I'm looking forward to that too!

For starters, tonight I added a few rovings to Black Mustard Colorworks, the first update in a while. 2 Merino and 2 BFL this time - more fiber coming soon!

More hand-dyed rovings!

Learning to dye has been a hit-and-miss process for me so far - figuring out how to achieve the effects I want and how to work with each type of fiber to enhance their good qualities and avoid felting! It's been a bit slow-going but a LOT of fun and I think I'm narrowing in on a method that will work for me consistently. Updates to the shop so far have been pretty small, as a result I've got a basket of almost-perfect fiber ready to be spun, so keep an eye out for lots of hand-spun yarns coming to the shop!

Today I did another small update, with 2 Super Fine Merino and 1 Merino roving.

Super Fine Merino 4.3 oz

Merino 4 oz

Super Fine Merino 4.5 oz

I'll have some more Merino, as well as some BFL coming soon. I'm hoping I'll be able to do bigger updates as I fine-tune my process!

Grand Opening - Black Mustard Colorworks!

I'm so excited to announce the launch of my second Etsy shop - Black Mustard Colorworks! This is something I've been wanting to do for a while now, and I'm really happy to have it up and running. In the new shop you'll find hand-dyed rovings as well as yarns I've spun to showcase my dyed fiber. It's a little sparse at the moment but I'm busy dyeing away to get it stocked up and keep new rovings coming! To celebrate the Grand Opening, I'm offering FREE SHIPPING on all rovings (withing Canada and the US) from May 4-18th!

I'll be happy to combine shipping between shops, and items from either shop can go towards my Buy 3 Get 1 Promotion. For now I will have rovings available in the following fibers: Merino, SW Merino, BFL and SW BFL. In the future I plan to get into different blends, and I'm also hoping to experiment with natural dyes at some point.

Hand-dyed BFL top - 4oz.

You may notice a third sign-up option for my newsletter over on the right. I've started a new mailing list for those who'd like advanced notice of updates to the new shop. If you'd like to receive this newsletter, feel free to sign up again, leaving just the "Hand-dyed Preview" box checked. Otherwise I can add you to the list manually if you'd like. Stay tuned for a run-down of all the newsletters and what they will include.

Kettle Dyeing #2!

I thought I'd share the results of my 2nd dyeing session! Both are SW Merino and I'm really liking these color combos! I'm still ending up with more white than I plan for, so that's going to be my focus the next time I dye.

SW Merino in blues, greens, yellow and orange

SW Merino in burgundy, green, orange and tan

More on the way, I'm sure! I'm really getting into dyeing and I can't wait to learn more about it.

Kettle Dyeing!

This weekend I tried kettle dyeing roving for the first time. It was so much fun and I learned a lot from my first trials. I was familiar with the basics going into it, and I'd previously tried painting rovings, with decent results. I consulted a few online tutorials, primarily this one from Earthwhisper Fiber Arts. The most important advice I got from reading this was to add each color separately, letting each one exhaust into the fiber before adding the next. Reading that was a bit of an "Aha" moment for me because I'd always wondered how you can use multiple colors in the same pot without them mixing into a brown soup!

I have to say, I prefer this method of dyeing to painting. It requires much less space and overall I think it's quicker. My blue in the first roving (pictured above) separated into its 2 parts during the dye process, resulting in some pink that was not planned... But that's okay. It was a really good learning experience. I dyed 2 rovings, both SW Merino. I plan to spin them up so I can get an idea of how they'll look, how they'll rinse, etc.

Roving #1 - blue, green, pink, purple and gold with lots of white

Roving #2 - greens, browns, gold and yellow/orange

I can't wait to see how these spin up! I'll be doing another bunch of dyeing today, so expect more pictures to follow.

Golden Slumbers - Handspun SW Merino yarn

My newest yarn sold in absolute record time in my Etsy shop, thanks to my having posted pictures on Ravelry. Thanks Ravelry! I thought I'd share photos here because I was really pleased with the way this yarn turned out.



I called this yarn "Golden Slumbers" because the colors remind me of snowy, sleeping woods (and because I love that song). I ended up with 195 yards of fingering weight SW Merino, weighing in at 4oz.

The roving came once again from Kristin of All Spun Up on Etsy. Her colors and fiber never disappoint, and this was no exception. I absolutely loved spinning this yarn!

Cafe au Lait - Handspun Falkland wool yarn

Well, my poor little blog has been a bit neglected lately... With Christmas coming I've found the days slipping away more quickly than usual. Happily today I listed a new handspun yarn in my Etsy shop. I named it "Cafe au Lait" because it reminded me so much of the yarn I used for these gloves. This one is 133 yards of squishy worsted weight Falkland 2 ply.

"Cafe au Lait"

The roving was purchased from FatCatKnits on Etsy. This was my first time spinning Falkland and I must say I loved it! It was very well-prepped fiber and I'm a sucker for browns so I really loved watching the colors swirl together. I will definitely be popping back into this Etsy shop from time to time for more fiber!

Be sure to check in tomorrow for Etsy Monday!

Afterglow - Handspun Superfine Merino yarn

I finally finished my fiber from the 2nd All Spun Up spin-a-long. A little behind this time around, since I've been knitting away so furiously over the last couple of months. I love the way this yarn turned out - I had a hard time deciding to list it in my Etsy shop!

"Afterglow" is 184 yards of 2 ply DK-light worsted weight handspun. The fiber was dyed by Kristin of AllSpunUp on Etsy. As always, the colors are incredible, and the Superfine Merino was a joy to spin. The yarn is soft, spring and super squishy!

Spectrum - Handspun Corriedale yarn

I've just listed another new yarn in my Etsy shop. "Spectrum" is 185 yards of soft and squishy Corriedale in the most beautiful muted rainbow colors.

This was my first time spinning Corriedale, and I really liked it! It's slightly less sproingy than Merino, but still very soft and has a lovely drape.

Here's the roving, purchased from Spindlefrog on Etsy. I love the colors she uses - her shop is a constant source of temptation for me. I bought another roving in similar colors to this one, but it's a BFL/Mohair blend. That will be shoving its way up in the line for my wheel for sure!

Dyeing Retreat with Mom

It's been a while since I've posted... there's been a lot going on in the meantime. I spent 5 days last week visiting my mom in Port Hardy at the northernmost tip of Vancouver Island. We stayed in spinning, knitting, and dyeing all week and had a blast! My first few rovings are dried and I'm pretty happy with how they turned out. Here's a merino/kid mohair blend that is super soft. I can't wait to spin it and see how the yarn looks. It ended up with pretty short color repeats, so I think I might try a single rather than a 2 ply, to keep it from getting too busy.

The other roving I did was a brown merino, which I over-dyed with pink, blue, green and orange. I love over-dyed brown fiber, so I'm looking forward to spinning this one as well.

My birthday present was a dye kit and a whole bunch of fiber - I'm so excited to get into dyeing and playing with color. I can already tell that it's going to be addictive.