Colorful Spinning

Remember this roving that I dyed up?  Well, I spun it.  Look how it turned out. . .

I need to find a mini project to use it on so I can see what it looks like knit up!  Any suggestions?

Speaking of dyeing and spinning, after Theresa and I had out little dyeing experiment I decided to purchase a few dyeing books.  They arrived yesterday from Amazon and I'll try to tell you a little about them.

First up is Deb Menz's Color In Spinning.  What can I say but WOW!  This book has so much info and so many color pictures, that I will have my nose buried in it for days.  Seriously!  She starts out with a  great chapter on color theory.  (And if you are really interested in color theory, I would recommend Menz's book Color Works which I also have and love.) 

Chapter 2 is all about the dyeing.  Step-by-step.  Illustrated so that you can't go wrong! 

Chapter 3 may be my favorite.  It's titled "Painting rovings for multicolored yarns.'  Great color pictures lead you through the process.

Chapter 4 & 5 are intriguing to me -- it's about blending & making batts with a drum carder.  Menz now has me dreaming of buying one.  Here's a link to a demo of a drum carder for those who don't know what I'm talking about. 

Chapter 6 explores another interesting and new technique to me -- combing.  Tons of colorful pictures to lead you through combing fibers, using a diz (I always wondered what these things were used for!), and preparing your rovings.  Once again, color blending is discussed.

And of course, chapter 7 deals with the actual spinning of the colorful rovings you have created!  She gets into color theory a little bit more here while discussing plying.  This chapter really ties it all together.  She has a small chapter at the end that also shows some finished garments made with the hand dyed, hand spun yarn.

All in all, this book gets an A+ from me.  I know I will be reading it from cover to cover and picking it up often just to look at all the great photos.  If you want to do some dyeing, I recommend picking up a copy of this book!

The other book I purchased was Hands on Dyeing by Betsy Blumenthal & Kathryn Kreider.  This book is much smaller and has fewer color photos, but is still very well illustrated.  It also touches on color theory and the dyeing process, but has a much broader audience.  While Menz's book is aimed primarily at spinners, this book covers the dyeing of fabrics and processed yarns.  Many different projects are included: quilted placements, a sewn jacket, knit, woven & silk scarves, and even an overdyed blue jean rag rug!  Great inspirations and a lot of great info.  If you are looking to dye more than just fleece, I think this book would be a great reference material for you.

And while I'm on the subject of books, I finished this book:

A Changed Man by Francine Prose.  It's about a skinhead that has a conversion and decides to go over to the other side.  There are great moments in this book that explore the meaning of racism and bigotry and it's prevalence in our daily live.  Pretty much all the characters have racist or bigoted thoughts at some point, but it's what they choose do do with these thoughts that seem to make the difference in who they are. 

Having said how great the ideas in this book are, I have to say that I'm not a big fan of Prose's writing style.  I felt that the ending was awful (and they lived happily ever after. . .  type thing) and that her writing needed a lot more polish.  This is a good book that could have been great.  Taking a look at the inside pages of the book reveal a long list of books she has written.  Perhaps she should write fewer books and put more time into re-writes and editing.

And here's some info and a picture of the cover of The Yarn Harlot's latest book -- Yarn Harlot : The Secret Life of a Knitter. No release date, but I'm sure it will be worth the wait!

Comments

[Vicki]

Well I'll definitely be signing up for Harlot's next book. Color in Spinning sounds really informative too. Whenever I get into spinning I'll have to look it up. I love book reviews :)

[Andrea]

Oooo... I love how your yarn turned out!

[michele]

that yarn is yummy...it's a simple idea, but what about a knit headband or baby hat...can't wait to see it knit up...love reading your book reviews too :)

[Judy]

don't forget wristers, a great project for a litle bit of yarn

[Katy]

No no no...if I keep reading posts like this, then I'll have to start dyeing my own rovings! It all looks so fun. And your yarn is yummy. I agree that fingerless mittens could be nice. Or could you use it as trim on a larger project?

[Andrea]

I love how your yarn turned out!! And thank you for the head's up on Stephanie's book. I can't wait for it to come out!

[Jennifer]

The yarn looks wonderful. Is there enough for a hat? Otherwise the gloves are a good idea.

Thanks for the reviews of the dyeing books. I've been wondering about the second one.

[melissa j]

the yarn looks great - you could do stef's one-skein wonder shrug, perhaps? i didn't notice if you said how much was there.

hooray for another yarn harlot book!

[Heidi]

Your yarn is fabulous! And I agree completely about Color in Spinning--the color theory in her book is amazing!

[claudia]

That was some quick spinning. Nice.

Now that Deb Menz's book is back in print, I really should buy it....

[Denise]

First thing I thought of was the One Skein Wonder..(I am swatching for that now)
But hey.. Stitch Diva has a really cut page boy hat that might just fit the bill..

[lauray]

Ur yarn turned out great! I was wondering how that roving would turn out. The color scheme is an unexpected surprise to me.

[Christine]

That yarn is BEAUTIFUL! It makes me want to go and dye the Corriedale I bought on my first fiber shopping trip, followed by the Merino I bought last week. Fabulous!