This weekend was busy finishing up washing fleeces-a chore that I normally enjoy very much but was drawn out to the point of sillyness by all the rainy weather we had this early summer. It was only completed as quickly as it was because a chunk of it will be sent off to be made into top...some of the beautiful fleeces were just completely full of VM. Thank goodness for the sheep coats because I certainly can't afford to have more top next year and I cringe at throwing all those individual fleeces with all their character into one big pot to get the weight up for the minimum needed to process the top!
The llamas still need to be shorn and have their toes attended to. Weeknights this week perhaps working around soccer? Maybe next weekend as well.
Sunday I spent a few hours at a fellow spinners house playing in the dye pots. She had a batch of indigo going so I dyed some mohair roving in that pot, and experimented with rainbow dyeing some correidale roving I had. It was a blue day! I had experimented with a black bean dye for some mohair last weekend and it turned out more gray than blue...reminds me of the "blueing" that little old ladies used to have done to their hair. I'm going to try some copper pennies and ammonia next...ideas gleaned from Jane's fertile mind.
Top to bottom: Indigo mohair, "rainbow" corriedale, black bean mohair.
One of my purchasers for the bunnies fell through- a family emergency will be taking her out of town so it is not a good time to add pets to her life. This means I need to place five bunnies instead of three! Will have to work on marketing this week. Speaking of the bunnies....they are starting their Fuzzy without Faces phase.
The agouti buck is really friendly and it is hard to get a picture without him in it!
Eating pellets with gusto... The black kit is also a buck.
Oh me, me, me....take me out please!! There are three white does and one white buck (last I checked anyway!)
Are you looking for me?
The chocolate vienna marked buck has one blue eye and one brown eye.
All very cute. Have you tried Osage orange wood chips for dying? Makes a beautiful yellow color.
ReplyDeleteSimmer the chips in water for a couple hours. Strain off the liquid and you have permanent dye.
I have not tried Osage orange! It isn't native to Michigan though was used as a hedgerow planting so does appear in the southern lower peninsula. Next trip south I'll have to hunt around for a patch!
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