It has been a wonderful summer, but now it is well and truly Fall and time to look back a little. I spent the last two months in a flurry of productivity alternated cleverly with vacations. I had great fun dyeing, spinning and weaving while home, and knitting when traveling. Now I have LOTS to talk about in the blog!
First, I was lucky enough to be able to visit Edgewood Garden Studio. The owners, Ilga Jansons and her husband Mike, opened their home and studio to me. They are exceptional people in many ways and generous with their time and knowledge. I had a chance to dye some roving and learn about Ilga’s process along the way. The setting, with magnificent gardens, a lovely home, and great views of Mt. Rainier, only added to the experience. I plan on adopting some of her techniques as I work at exploring dyeing my own roving, but I also plan to keep acquiring special items she creates. Her eye for color and her creativity continue to amaze me. You can see my attempts below.
Ilga also shared an idea for how to created variegated yarns with the solid roving colors we all have. She recommends spinning random lengths of several colors (I took about a yard at a time) for one single and spinning another single with just a few of those colors. When plied, the result is a lovely variegated yarn with lots of variety and depth. I chose a series of blue-greens with just a little red to add interest. I then used the yarn for warp and weft of a scarf. I think the result was everything I could hope for.
Ilga uses acid dyes. The advantages to acid dyes are: they are perfect for wool, they provide reliable color (what you see is what you get), and they are very gentle on your home environment. All dye products have some impact either in their preparation, in the preparation of the wool, or in the waste products. I recommend you do your own research and decide based on your circumstances and your ability to manage the products. Also, it is important to follow all safety procedures. Look for my next post about my natural dye experience at the Taos Wool Festival.
Pretty! I love how the scarf turned out!