Dyeing Yarn with Clay

 Last year I went to a workshop where we dyed linen with different colors of clay which are commercially available and also used for things like frescos. A bit after that, my house needed some foundation work done and some very clay-ey stuff emerged along with dirt.  And I thought...why not try with yarn?

First of all, my Georgia clay (I'm in Chatham County near the ocean) is a tan-brown color, not red. Thanks to youtube, I learned how to extract clay from dirt. I know that this is how some people harvest clay for pottery and such. First I tried making some little shapes with holes...warp weight potential?

Next I tried cotton and wool yarns. I soaked the yarns in soy milk to mordant them for a good 48 hours first. I mixed clay with a good bit of soy milk to get a thick paste, and wedged a small skein in between slabs of clay/soy. I put it in the fridge in a container for a couple of days.

Left, sheep's wool, right, cotton, both handspun. My samples needed quite a bit of rinsing and are still stiff, especially the cotton. There is still a good bit of clay in there. Compared to using clay on linen, the linen also stiffened but it took the color better, and I think that the cotton, as a cellulose fiber, took the color better. II think that I wiill be more apt to use my clay for modeling rather than dyeing! But it is a rather nice novelty and I'll probably weave with my samples.

Wedge Weave

 In looking back on my fiber career, I've mostly been self taught, and so it was with wedge weave. I've done two now, on two different looms. Both times, I've used a combination of manufactured and hand dyed, hand spun yarns. This makes for ripply weaving in a technique that moves the warp in a zig zag anyway!

This one was done on a wood tapestry loom that fell apart while I was adjusting the tension,  I would have done a fourth "row" but it just wasn't possible. This weaving technique was and is used by Navaho weavers, so the little beads with Cherokee syllabary  animals on them seemed appropriate. Purchased at Low Country Pow Wow!

This one was done on a much sturdier copper pipe loom, it just wasn't large enough to do more rows.  Adorned with jasper circles.

On the loom, in progress...

Here's an on the loom view. Love this type of loom! I use a long needle to weave and a painted copal wood fork for a beater, purchased in Oaxaca

Continuous Strand Weaving with "kitchen" cotton

 It just never fails...I am shopping in Walmart (I did 2 miles there the other day!) and stroll by Peaches & Crème, Lily Sugar 'n Cream, whichever brand they carry (I think it's the former). The big cones in favorite colors are particularly tempting.  I do like the color changing yarns, which is referred to as ombré. It's not terribly finished, a wee but rough,  but tough.  Apparently both these brands are owned at present by Spinrite, a Canadian company. I don't know, however, if these two yarn brands produce identical yarns. I read somewhere that one is for US distribution and the other, Canada.

My habit with these yarns is to sometimes knit washcloths/dishcloths, whatever. But lately I'm using my 12 inch square loom to weave these items. My fiber guild is currently collecting washcloths for a local women's shelter, and this loom has been my vehicle to create a bunch...

In order to get a thick enough fabric on the loom, I double the yarn. My habit is to line up the colors. I've discovered that with this method I get an unusual but satisfying plaidish pattern. Why? Maybe the goddesses of space dyed yarn know...

I like to add a little loop for hanging

Here it is at the end of construction while on-loom

My loom is from Carl Spriggs and has 49 nails per side set at 3/8 inch. One must weave loosely due to the "takeup" that occurs during weaving from all the unders and overs. The last few passes I use a crochet hook as it gets ever tighter.

Here are a few others from this year

Afghan Socks

I've had some Poems sock yarn in my stash (came with a shawl kit), and recently came upon an old book from SpinOff on socks. I love the Afghan Socks pattern, and decided to try the color changing Poems with the pattern. 

This yarn is quite  thin and loosely spun, and a single, so I think that  a two color pattern seems appropriate to help it wear better.  Regardless, I loved working the changing color patterning so it was a quick knit!   Next time I will do a provisional cast on for the heel.

I get very cold feet in the winter, so these are a nice thing even here in Georgia at this time of the year.

I've done afghan inspired socks before.  Anna Zilboorg's book "Magnificent Socks and Mittens" gave me the pattern from a pair of mittens that I adapted to socks a couple of years ago.  The yarn is Frangipani guernsey and so far it's very sturdy for socks. These don't have the traditional "afterthought" heel, I did my regular heel flap style sock.