Handpainting Yarn

Most people I meet in the spinning world hate to spin natural colored fibers. They say that they get bored when they are spinning all white, grey or brown. I'm the opposite. I love to spin stark white fiber because I know that when I'm done, I can go to my dye pot and create a one-of-a-kind masterpiece. I especially like to handpaint my skeins of yarn so I have complete control over the dyeing process. Everyone has their own techniques, but I like to soak my skeins in a water/vinegar bath, then wring out and lay onto plastic wrap.



I use sponge brushes to apply the dye exactly where I want to, then when ready, I roll up the skeins and place in a pot to steam for 30 minutes. The results are sometimes breathtaking!



I don't like to waste dye, in any amount, so when I am steaming I always put a few locks of wool or other fiber in the bottom of the pot to soak up any dye that inevitably leaks out of the plastic-wrapped skeins.

If you have never tried dyeing before, I highly recommend it. Whether you are working with raw fiber or finished yarns, creating your own color blends using dyes can be extremely rewarding!

Harry Potter on the Brain

I've been working for a very long time making things to sell for my business, so I decided to endulge myself and work on something for me for a change! My loving husband gave me all six Harry Potter movies on BluRay for Christmas so I've been having a bit of a movie marathon. I even have the new movie "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" on my ipod! I had found a "charming" knitting book awhile back called Charmed Knits, Projects for Fans of Harry Potter by Alison Hansel.



It's a wonderful book for those who love Harry Potter. I've already made the Weasley sweater for myself and now I am working on a Gryffindor house scarf.



It's still a work in progress since I like to knit it while watching the movies. I have to remember to take the time to create for myself once in awhile instead of always trying to design the perfect yarn or fiber blend for my online store. (www.spumwovendesigns.com if you were wondering!) It's also equally important to showcase or wear your own creations out in the world for others to see, feel, and ask questions about. That's the only way to really spread the word about the fiber arts. So I am going to take my own advice and work on things for me this year!

Wool socks should come with energy star ratings

Just finished one of my unfinished projects from last year! I taught my husband to knit when we were dating and he's made quite a few things for other people but not much for himself. He's made two pairs of wool socks and gave them both away so one of my 2009 projects was to make him a pair for himself. I had trouble with the toe of the first sock, then ran out of yarn halfway thru the second. So there wasn't much motiviation to work on them. But I forced myself this holiday weekend to pick them back up and finish them. And hubby is happy!

He plans on wearing them just around the house as slipper socks. You know, I really believe that knitting can save you money in heating costs. When I'm wearing my wool socks my hubby made and a wool sweater I am very comfortable in a 60 degree house. For most of this winter that's the temperature we've been keeping the house at and when we compared what we spent last year at this time on electricity with what we spent this year, it was cut in half! So I think we knitters should be able to put energy star ratings on our knit goods and wares with the slogan "Harness your body's energy with knitting and save on heating costs!" Why not, right?