It’s been a slow week here in terms of creativity and getting much done! But I did manage to get a rainbow spun!

I was given some alpaca fleece a while ago and have been slowly working my way through it. You can see some more here.

alpaca fleece box of
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Alpaca fleece straight off the animal. This is what I’m working my way through!

I dye small batches at a time in a slow cooker using Landscape dyes. I found some left over dye already mixed – a blue and a yellow. I decided to throw them in to see what happens, then added a red to make a rainbow! Because the dye had been sitting mixed up for a very long time, I had limited expectations on how it would turn out. Apparently Landscape dyes last amazingly well mixed! The colours are still super vibrant!

slow cooker dyeing
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I use a slow cooker to dye my wool, silk and nylon fibres and yarns. It sits on top of my washing machine.
cooking a rainbow of alpaca fleece
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The rainbow cooking

Once it was dyed and dried, I spent some time carding it. I was nervous at this point, I wasn’t sure if I would be able to maintain the integrity of the rainbow. But I managed to card it with a nice transition between colours!

carded fleece
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A carded rainbow of alpaca fleece.

I spun it on my trusty Ashford Traveler. It spun one full bobbin. I decided to ply it with a bumpy silk thread. I really like how it turned out!

alpaca rainbow spun
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I’m pleased with the results. I love how the colours transition.
a skein of rainbow alpaca/silk
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A rainbow skein of alpaca/silk

I can spin a rainbow!

Have a creative week

<3 Cate