Thursday, 16 December 2010

Dyeing Skeins and Cloth

This is one of the dyed skeins of wool/silk prepared for the next stage of dyeing. There are three identical warps, each of 40m threads and 5.5 metres long. These were tied together tightly at each end, then folded in three. I tied up sections with raffia and will dye it with deep violet acid dye today.

I also space dyed a length of calico pale green with Procion MX. My first attempt was far too pale a green so I overdyed it.

This was all done yesterday evening - mainly because I was so enraged at the world and the NHS in particular. Michael went to Cheltenham Hospital for radiotherapy treatment in the morning and everything went wrong. The ambulance was nearly two hours late, the first bit of the treatment was okay but then we had to wait 90 minutes instead of the promised 20 for the next bit. When he did go in (again 20 minutes at the most), they could not treat him and, after mucking about for  another hour, we were taken home. Have to go back on Friday. Apart from the fact that he was in a wheelchair for seven hours when he is not supposed to be in it for more than 2 or 3 hours and he was totally exhausted, Friday is his day for going to the hospice which he looks forward to. And there is the small matter of me who can't go to her Bourneville class for the Christmas party or have lunch out with a friend. The immediate effect was a raft of telephone calls and emails, cancelling/re-arranging everything. I suppose my only consolation is that we are forecast to have heavy snow tonight and maybe we would have got nowhere anyway.

I ought not to complain but it is getting very difficult to leave the house. And quite difficult to do anything textiley. Not to mention being permanently tired.

Oh well I think I might get the next 30 minutes to myself so I will go and wind some more warps.

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About Me

I am weaver and - -. I dye my yarns with acid dyes, I paint my warps, put fabric collages and stencils on my weaving. I have three looms, a 12 inch wide, 12 shaft Meyer for demos and courses, a 30 inch Louet Kombo which is nominally portable but has a stand, two extra beams and a home-made device containing a fan reed. And last a 32 shaft Louet Megado which is computer controlled, has a sectional warp and a second warp beam and I am the proud owner of an AVL warping wheel which I love to bits and started by drilling holes in. I inserted a device for putting a cross in. I have just acquired an inkle loom and had a lesson from an expert so I can watch TV and weave at the same time. I am interested in weaving with silk mostly 60/2 although I do quite a bit with 90/2 silk. I also count myself as a bookbinder with a special interest in Coptic binding.