melle_chantilly

(En français plus bas)

I haven't disappeared! I'm a bit swamped but I'm very much alive.

I'm working on a big secret dyeing project. All I can say is I'm dyeing tons of yarn but it isn't for a shop update... :P Expect some news about it soon!

I've also started exercising and eating better on a daily basis a couple of weeks ago. I used to run but I busted my knee so I stopped before it really got bad. But I really need to exercise. See, I have this auto-immune disease called Sjögren's that causes constant pain and fatigue and exercise is a great way to fight chronic fatigue. I also did a blood test that was pretty crappy a month ago so it was really time to get my butt back in gear.

Anyway, blah, I decided to start exercising using the almighty internet. I found cardio and aerobic videos on youtube and worked out which ones were the best to start with. Here's what I use at the moment. I do 30 min every day and rest on Sunday. And I have to confess that I'm loving it! I have started a friends-only exercise log, so if you're interested in reading it please let me know.

Here's also what I've been spinning lately:( Read more... )

 I dyed this blue for a client, to go with Six Feet Under. I don't normally dye custom colours but I had the image of a pale blue with a turquoise tinge in mind for a while and it seemed to be what she wanted so there you go:

 J'ai teint ce bleu pour une cliente, pour aller avec Six Feet Under. Je ne teins normalement pas de couleurs custom mais j'avais en tête un bleu pâle avec une pointe de turquoise depuis quelques temps, et cela semblait être ce qu'elle voulait aussi, alors voilà:

 



Comparison with Nymph / comparaison avec Nymph:



I don't have a name yet, I'm open to suggestions.

Je n'ai pas de nom pour le moment, les suggestions sont bienvenues.

It's official, once I am done testing a few last bases in a few weeks, I will open a Dulcimer yarns webshop. I've been quite busy this weekend, dyeing for customers and test-dyeing said bases.

C'est officiel, une fois que j'aurai fini de tester de dernières bases dans quelques semaines, j'ouvrirai une boutique en ligne pour les laines Dulcimer. Ce weekend a été bien productif. J'ai teint pour des clientes, et testé en teinture les dites base.

Shy
Pale neutral grey / gris pâle neutre


Introvert
Semi-solid neutral charcoal / faux-uni anthracite neutre 

 I've received my merino singles. The base is beautiful, and it takes the dye beautifully and quite differently. It has a slight halo/fuzz that takes most of the dye, which gives a lot of depth to the colours.

It is a high twist single and it looks a bit overplied to me. I wish I had access to the regular single. I will try to knit with it. I've read that the kinks sort themselves out when knitted and I don't doubt it. It is a very popular base.

I've dyed a pale pink and an attempt at taupe. I'm not sure it is actually taupe but I like it.


Echo


Pot Pourri

So, what is this colour anyway? Would you call it dusty pink, brown, or what?

More colour experiment! I've made a brown I like and it will be handy for brown overdyes (I've actually successfully tried already, but more on that in a later post).


Devdas


Six Feet Under

A friend stayed with us this weekend and she had an antique geisha wig in her suitcase. Such a magnificent item. 

 I have recently aquired a cold blue primary, namely the Sapphire dye from Dharma. Well, this has been nothing but trouble and I have read enough complaint online to know that I'm not the only one.

-Edit: SO, I keep writing "Peacock" instead of "Sapphire" because it is in fact Peacock that has a bad rep. I purchased Sapphire instead, even though it isn't a true primary, to avoid all the trouble. AND I got the exact same problems people describe with Peacock. *sigh* Hence the confusion.-

So, it's a pretty colour. Although I think that deeply, I don't really like true blue. Here's Sapphire au naturel, at 1%DOS (with variegation):



(Well, there's a teensy hint of yellow, but it's not really perceptible, tbh. I just can't help it!)

The problems with this dye are numerous:

-it doesn't mix well with water. Well, there are many dyes that don't, so I could cope with this one. You have to stir carefully, and still, it's a pain in the ass.

-you should use it at once. If it sits for a day or more, the dye particle start to clump. And it leads to freckling when dyeing yarn. It isn't a huge problem at high DOS but when mixing at a lower DOS it really sucks. I've tried reheating it before use, filtering it through a stocking and a coffee filter but it still clumps. So if dyeing a pale green with this dye, chances are you'll end up with specks of deep blue here and there. Great.

-you cannot swatch it on tissue paper or a coffee filter to get an idea of what you're doing. Since the dyestock isn't homogenous, it just doesn't work. At all.

-and, if it wasn't enough, the dye particles do not seem to dissolve in water thoroughly, but sit at the bottom, which leads to a very unreliable dyestock, with mostly water at the top and a strong concentration at the bottom. Shaking, even if the dyestock was freshly made, is very important.

So, I'm looking for a true blue primary to replace this one. Any brand of acid dye. I would just really like it to be a true primary (not a mix of dyes). Any suggestions?

-Edit: I was recommended Sky Blue from Jacquard by a wonderful dyer. However I have read many bad reviews for that particular shade, which seems to behave similarly to Sapphire. I think clumping might be related to the nature of the water in one's home, its hardness and composition, since some people experiment a lot of problems and some none at all. I'm inclined to think I will have the same problems with Sky Blue but I might be wrong.-

Here's the "fun" part: I want to knit a shawl with Neon yellow and blue stripes, so I wanted to dye myself some Ophelia in merino silk yarn and then dye some in Neon yellow when I got my new batch of merino silk. Buuut Peacock acted up, of course and the blue base was muuuch stronger than the first time I dyed it. I added some yellow on top and got a completely different colour than intended.



It's still pretty, but really not what I wanted. Grmbl. I'll put it on sale on Ravelry and will dye it again. I like things to be predictable and controlled so this makes me very uncomfortable.

Anyway, it was a sort of rant, wasn't it? Here's a photo of 3 lovely skein a raveller bought from me. How lovely are they together? It's Abracadabra, Grenadine and Goth Diva.

 I spend the day with my best friend and her baby at the park. I feel so relaxed (I have yet to hear this baby cry lol). I managed to snap a couple of pictures of the silk I dyed yesterday.



I have expensive taste so it comes as no suprise that I loved dyeing this! I love the smell, the rich touch, the subtle sheen. Am I the only one who wants to eat it?



It is 100% tussah silk. It is damn hungry for dye and it takes a lot more dyestock than wool to obtain the same shade. It is lace, about 850m for 100g. The skein was tied a bit small and it looked a bit frumpy after dyeing, but it is relaxed and beautiful now that it is dry.