Really!

I got the yarn for the hat stripe plied (on the spindle, I do love my Bosworth. She may be fairly common and unadorned, but damn does she spin like a dream.) and dyed. It’s a mini-skein in a semi-solid deep green. I like it. It’s got a little bit of sheen, which is cool.

I also got three rovings dyed, some new fibers too! Ooooh. Aaaaaah.

Ahem.

And I spent some time with my stones and findings, and made three more sets of stitch markers, and two for contemplation (that is, deciding if I like them or not).

First, we have some soft ones, in soothing colors and focusing on rose quartz, a healing stone.

White Howlite – Amazonite – Rose Quartz

Then we have the other end of the spectrum, from light and airy to dark and earthy. Focusing on moss agate, a stone of emotional balance… something we can usually use when knitting things with markers. They also snowflake obsidian, another balancer, good for confronting ego… like knitting. Finally, serpentine, for inner peace. Huh… there might be a theme here. Couldn’t be, no nope, not at all. I’m not stressed, nope!

Moss Agate – Snowflake Obsidian – Serpentine

Then we have these, which are darker, but more intensely colored.

Sodalite – White Howlite – Poppy Jasper

Finally the ones up for consideration.

Rose Quartz – White Howlite – Moss Agate x4

and

Snowflake Obsidian – Leopard Skin Jasper – Magnetite

Woot.

And that’s what I got done. I’ll get the new rovings posted when they’re dry.

Today’s fairy is less humanoid than most of the others before. Bet you never knew some squash were really fairy plants, did you?

~The Gnome

Finished the set of amethyst stitch markers. I’m pretty happy with them.

Garnet – Amethyst – 4x Sodalite

I’m getting some new beads and findings to try some different styles of stitch markers, which should be interesting. Including an entirely new piece of equipment, which should make for some fun.

I’m also hoping to get back to both the dye pot and the spinning wheel. Lab is still insane, but I’m (more or less) beginning to get it under control such that I can sometimes have evenings again. I’m hoping to finish plying Mab tonight, and possibly the spindle spun bit for the hat stripe as well. ::crosses fingers::

Also have a few more fairies to scan, and a few more to draw. But those are lower on priority list.

I learned a lesson this week. Working all weekend is not advantageous. One weekend day, yes. Both, no. Bad. It reduces my ability to get work done the rest of the week.

~The Gnome

Well, didn’t get done what I hoped to get done this weekend. Not, of course, that that’s far outside the norm.

Most of the weekend was spent in lab, running 3 experiments, of 12 western blots.

When I wasn’t working, I spent time cleaning my apartment because my landlord is coming to put new handles in my shower… Why, you ask? Because they “fixed” our water from 100psi to 55psi. Ok, so now I have a dribble for a shower, annoying but not a problem, right? Except apparently without pressure, my single handle shower control can’t switch between hot and cold, so I only have a scalding dribble. And my work showers (locker room) only had lukewarm water. How, I don’t know since the attached hospital has to have hot water.

Ahem. Anyway, now that the kvetching is out of the way, I did get some things done (besides 1.75 experiments working).

I got a haircut and got some spindle spinning done while waiting for the exposures of my Western blots.

So, here are some photos of me, playing with my shaft (You know you were thinking it, so stop pretending you weren’t).

And then it was on with the new fiber, a blend I really like.

Resulting in some spindled thread. Not as much as I had hoped to get done, but I don’t need much of this yarn when I’m done.

I also did, last night, manage to get some more of Mab plied. About 2/3 done.

And I made some stitch markers. I love this set.

Magnetite and… LAVA! I love the holey, labyrinthine beads.

Magnetite – Lava – Magnetite

Then I messed around a bit. Trying to decide if I like it, or find it too… pretentious.

Garnet – Amethyst – Sodalite (x4)

What do you think?

One other piece of good news, if I ever do get time again, I have some different fiber to dye, and some more fiber on the way. I do, however, need to locate a 20-24qt stainless stock pot that I can actually afford.

And since I’m in a somewhat grumpy mood, this fairy came out to play. He’s a little… thorny. Careful, he’s got more thorns hidden under those leaves. He’s grumpy like me.

~The Gnome

It’s interesting to talk to fellow dyers. As a rule, from the ones I’ve talked to of course (hardly an exhaustive sample), the larger scale the dyer, the more scientific their dyeing.

That is, the more careful and precise they are. They care deeply about repeatable results. They care, like scientists, about knowing when they put X on the yarn/fiber they will get Y out. This all makes perfect logical sense to me.

I am not that sort of dyer.

Ideas for yarns spring full blown into my head, then I go to the dyepot to figure out how to make them real.

Ideas for rovings spring full blown while I’m standing in front of the boiling pot going, “Huh, what color next?” If one doesn’t, I just pour some dye in and see if the resulting color inspires me. It usually does.

I do not calculate dye. I don’t make stock solutions. I deal with still powdered dye. I like it that way.

Dyeing, for me, is a completely and utterly purely creative process. I add dyes until it looks like I want. I blend as I go. Dyeing, for me, is as far from a logical, scientific process as I can make it.

I like it that way.

~The Gnome

And that’s what I have to say about that.

Lab is eating my life, as usual. 14.5 hour days are long. But, if things go well, I could be graduating in May/June.

I have, however, managed to get some Queen Mab spun up. I’m in the process of plying it now. Hope to get it done soon. It’s a little slow. I still have to build myself a beading rig. You know, along with needing a flat swift, etc. No problem! Soon as I can make me some time out of thin air!

As I think I mentioned before, my bobbins have been falling apart. Luckily I have gorilla glue, which is magic. So, two have been glued back together. Once Mab is plied, another will be fixed.

Let’s see, what else is up… once I get the Mab plied, I’ve got three commission yarns to do. But with my wheel running faster and smoother, those shouldn’t take as long… barring more insane lab weeks.

I have managed to get part of a hat made. Getting the color on this yarn to photograph is a pain in the butt. It’s not nearly as grey as the camera wants to make it.

It’s currently stalled for a bit because it needs a band of another color on it. So I have to spin one… though I suppose I could cut some off that ball I’m knitting from and overdye that… nah, that would be too logical. What I’ll probably do is spindle spin enough yarn for the stripe this Saturday while I’m waiting for immunoprecipitations and western blots in lab. Yay lab?

Oh, yeah, that bit of color. I made myself a stitch marker out of pieces I didn’t have enough of to make sets. So this is my one-of-a-kind stitch marker. A bead, chalcedony, and malachite. I like it.

I just put in an order for more fiber. Should be some nice fiber and blends, including some ::gasp:: non-merino. I got it in large enough batches to do sweater volumes of fiber. As soon as I get some time, I have some BFL and Shetland to dye, and maybe some clun forest roving as well.

I’m also trying to draw more fairies for the blog, but again… time.

~The Gnome