Fibers and Dyes 101

Acid dyes on nylon ribbon

There are three types of fibers:  cellulose/plant fibers, animal/protein fibers and synthetic fibers.  

Cellulose fibers are plant fibers.   Pretty much anything that comes from a plant is cellulose fibers.  These fibers are broken down and damaged by acid, so you treat them with an alkali to set the dye.   Cellulose fibers love dye and will take up the dye at room temp [over 68 degrees F] without being heated. 

Protein fibers are fibers that come off an animal - hair, fur, etc.  These fibers are broken down and damaged by alkalis and need to have acid to set the dye.   Protein fibers have to be heated to set dye.

Synthetic fibers are man-made, often petroleum based fibers. 


Each type of fiber reacts to and takes up dye differently, so different dyes are specifically formulated to work with each type of fiber: fiber reactive dyes for cellulose, acid dyes for protein and vat dyes [or direct dyes or some other ones....] for synthetic fibers. 

Now, you'd think that it would be easy to classify fibers, and therefore, choose a dye and mostly it is easy, but there are some glaring exceptions.   I'll take each dye type and break it down.

Fiber reactive [MX] dyes are the best and easiest dyes to use on cellulose fibers: cotton, linen, hemp.   This includes 'synthetic' fibers that are extruded from plant fibers, e.g. rayon and tencel.    Exceptions:  Soy silk, even though it comes from a plant, does not dye well with MX dyes - too much protein.   Ingeo, from corn, is so synthesized that it takes a vat dye to dye it.

Acid dyes are the best and easiest dyes to use on protein fibers: silk, wool, alpaca, angora, mohair, dog, llama, buffalo, camel, etc.  Exceptions:  Superwash wool does NOT like acid dyes.   Use fiber reactive dyes for superwash.  Another exception is that we DO use acid dyes to dye soy silk and nylon.

Vat and Direct dyes are used for synthetic fibers such as acrylic.  These dyes are nasty.   I never use them because the fumes are dangerous and I'd rather dye anything but acrylic.  

Exceptional fibers:  Silk is a wonderful fiber.   It loves dye.   Really loves dye.  Mostly I dye it with fiber reactive dyes but you can use acid dyes if you like.  No matter what dye you use, silk, because it is protein, has to be heated to set the dye.  Nylon is a synthetic fiber, but generally likes acid dyes, so that's what I use. Soy silk likes acid dyes.   Superwash wool likes fiber reactive dyes.

Tomorrow, I'll talk about dyeing with Acid dyes.

New yarn

I've been busy in the studio dyeing this week and now that things are getting done, I thought you might enjoy a preview of a new yarn for this fall - Fizz!   It will make its official debut at the Michigan Fiber Fest in August. 

It's a nylon chenille.  150 yds in a skein [before dyeing].  Here's a close up.

I'll be working it up into a sample of something soon.

Giveaway - CLOSED

Another giveaway!   Because you're wonderful!    And I want to share cool stuff with you!

And on Father's Day weekend.   Because, let's face it, you made that whole 'father' thing possible for him.   Yep. 

This weekend's giveaway is a new cotton T-shirt.    It's what stylish knitters are wearing this season.  

Don't be fooled by the sizing - it runs a size smaller than it says.   The label says XXL.  Don't believe it.  It's a typical XL in fit, according to most bodies.  

Here's a peak at the label so you know what it's made of:

Very soft.   And it will make you knit better, too.

Probably.

Maybe.

OK, maybe not.   But it will make you look like a better knitter.   Especially if you carry your needles and yarn around while you're wearing it.

Yep.

The Rules:

Leave a comment on this blog post.  If you want something to talk about, tell me all the places you'd wear this shirt.

Giveaway ends Sunday,  June, 19, 2011, at, midnight.     [Yeah, I kinda got carried away with the commas there.   Sorry.]

I'll post the winner sometime on Monday so you can email me with your address and stuff.   Winner must contact me by June 27 to claim prize.   Don't forget to check back!

In the studio

Dye season is in full swing now.   I like to take advantage of the warm weather when I dye cellulose fibers - they love the heat.    This is what I've been working on lately.   

Lots of cool cotton yarns [as well as a lot of other yarns] to take up to the Michigan Fiber Festival for this year's festival on August 19-21, 2011.  I hope I see you there!

It's been cool enough to dye up some protein fibers, too and I'm hurrying to get them done before the hot hot weather starts up again this weekend.   Pics of them later.  

Tunisian Crochet Trap Wrap

A new pattern!   Just for you!

This is a simple wrap worked up in the shape of a trapezoid, with the long side of the trapezoid on the top so you that you have a lot of wonderful collar and clasp possibilities.




The armholes are worked in asymmetrically, so that one of the front sides is wider than the other.  

The wrap is worked from side to side and it's a great way to use the Tunisian Simple Stitch on something that is not an afghan. 

In this view the narrow side is on top with a wrap on her left shoulder.

And in this view the wide side is up and the clasp is on her right shoulder.

You can decide before you start which side you want to be narrow and which side you want to be wide.    Just pay attention to the directions.

Size:  Small
Yarn: 1800 yds [8 oz] Luna Silk, $35,  Robin J. Edmundson
Hook: Tunisian hook [afghan hook] H/8
Stitches:  Tunisian Simple Stitch, Foundation Chain [a la Doris Chan], Chain

24 inches long from top to bottom.   41 inches wide at the top, 31 inches wide at the bottom. 

The tunisian crochet gives the wrap a nice drape.  Even the back looks great.

The pattern is for a size small.  I used a whole skein for this size so if you want to do a bigger on, plan on two skeins. 

The pattern is free!   Just email me [robin at morenna dot com] if you want one.

UPDATE: 7/1/2013   This pattern is for sale on Etsy,  $1.00.
https://www.etsy.com/listing/155538140/pattern-tunisian-crochet-trapezoid-wrap

Happy crocheting, Everyone!

Alpaca Fleece

Confession:   I have a weakness for alpaca.   I'd have the animals themselves, if we had the fences, but we don't, so I don't, so instead I buy fleeces.  

I'm a sucker for silver fleeces. 

This is the silver alpaca fleece I bought at Hoosier Hills Fiberarts Festival last weekend from my friend Tom Burkhart at WindChime Alpacas.   

Yep.   2.3 or so pounds of silver alpaca gorgeousness.  

The fleece is actually a darker gray than it looks in the pic.  I washed it right away and now it is awaiting me and my wheel. 

I'm thinking maybe fine singles, then a 2 ply so I can weave up a shawl.   Or make a sweater. 

If I spin fine enough yarn, maybe I can make a shawl and a sweater.   Yeah.

Creativity Exercise: Can do

A beaver did this with his teeth

Task 1. 
Part 1:   Sit down and write a list of 10 things you'd like to do to further some of your creative goals.   They don't all have to be about the same goal.   They don't have to be related at all.  Or write down 10 creative things you'd like to do.  Or 10 things you want to do to be more creative.  Or 10 things that would help you be more creative.  Just get 10 things down. 

Do it.  I'm sure you have a pen or pencil and a piece of paper close by. 

Go ahead.   I'll wait.

Part 2:  Now, go through your list and schedule a time to accomplish each thing.   I'll wait.

How did this go for you?    In most creativity classes that I've taught there is a range of responses.

Group A:  Some people get stalled right up front.   They don't understand the instructions.  They can't find the right pen.  It's too hot.  They make excuses.  They get distracted.   They don't want to make the list at all. 

To them I suggest that they are more in love with the idea of creativity than they are with actually being creative and I assign a new task:    Write down ONE creative thing you'd like to do and schedule it.

If you can't do that, then you need to understand that you are your own biggest creativity obstacle.  No one can help you be creative if you are unwilling to do the work.

Group B:  Some people write down the list and have no problem scheduling.   They just needed a nudge to get them on their way.   Kudos to them!

Group C:  The majority of folks get their list on paper,  then have trouble scheduling.    I hear a lot of  'I can't. So I ask, 'Why can't you?'   And I get a lot of reasons.

I can't because it costs too much. 
I can't because I don't have time.    
I can't because I don't have the space, or the materials, or the skills, or the tools, or transportation, or a babysitter, or a computer,  or...

Task 2.   Write down all of your reasons for not being able to schedule your creativity goals. 

Look carefully at your list.   Look critically at your list.   Be honest.

Find all of your 'I can't...' and 'I don't have...' and  'It's too...'.   How many did you have?

Change all of those 'I can't...' and 'I don't have...' and  'It's too...'.  to a form of  'I choose not to...'

You'll end up with something like these:

I can't go to the museum because I don't have a babysitter.  
OR:   I choose not to go to the museum, because I choose not to get a babysitter. 


I can't finish my novel because I don't have a computer.
OR:  I choose not to finish my novel because it would be too hard without a computer.
OR:  I choose not to finish my novel because I choose not to buy a computer.

I can't paint because I don't have the money for good paint and brushes.
OR:  I choose not to paint because I choose not to spend the money on paint and brushes. 


I can't take that class because it's too far away.
OR:  I choose not to take that class because I choose not to make the arrangements to get there.

[Did you do this?    I hope so.   Leave a comment and let me know. If you did, then you are a very brave soul.  Congratulations for doing this work and for moving along in the direction of your goals.   I hope you're pleased with yourself!]

Choices
The vast majority of what we want to do, we have the ability to do.  When we're really motivated, nothing gets in our way.

When we're not motivated, it's easy to say we can't because it's easier to believe that than it is to take responsibility for doing things that are inconvenient or hard or new.  The reality is that We Can, we just choose not to because we don't want to do things that are inconvenient or hard or new.  That's normal, but normal might be getting in the way of your creativity.

Every time you hear yourself saying, 'I can't', change it to 'I choose not to'.    Soon you will see that it is your own choices that move you toward your goals, or keep you stalled.  

You may have really good reasons for choosing not to do your creative something right now.   Prioritizing is a good thing.  The point is to remember that you are not a victim of your life.   Your choices shape your life. 

Think about one of your creative heroes.  Your hero is just a regular person like you.   The only difference between you and your hero is that your hero made the choices to move in a creative direction.   Your hero did the work.   Your hero scheduled her/his creative goals.   You can, too.     Revisit your list above and schedule your goals.   Make the choice to move in a creative direction. 

What's that plant?

This is common around here, but as you can see, it is un-commonly beautiful in the early morning dew.  

Photo:  K1

The truth is we don't know what kind of grass this was.

And just to emphasize our ignorance on grasses, here's another one I can't identify.

photo: K1

Help us out.  What are they?

Duct Tape

We use duct tape for a lot of stuff around here.    The normal stuff, like....ducts....and not so normal stuff, like a boot for a cast.    We love duct tape!

We all do.   Even the kids.

What surprised me about these wasn't the fact that she used duct tape to fix them, but rather that it was the plain old silver kind, instead of a more stylin' color.  Like pink.

Wild Pink Honeysuckle

I love honeysuckle.   

Seriously love honeysuckle.  

If I were a bee, I'd hang out only there and make exclusively honeysuckle honey.   

I'd throw honeysuckle parties.  

I'd build a summer home right in this vine.    Or maybe a hotel.    And I'd charge premium rates for the best rooms, right under these flowers where the dew drips off in the morning.   

Yes, I would.

Perhaps you've noticed in the photos that we have an unusual sport of honeysuckle growing on our place.   It has red stems and dark pink buds.   The new blooms are white and the old ones go yellow, just like the regular honeysuckle, but the rest of the plant is deliciously pink.   

K2 loves it.  And so does K1.  She took these pics.

And I love it.   Especially at the end of the day, when the sun starts to lean way over in the sky and the smell of honeysuckle fills the air.   

And some day, I'm going to sit down and fill a vase full of it and paint pictures of it. 

But not today, because today I'm going to sit down outside and close my eyes and pretend I'm a bee.

St Mary of the Woods College - grounds

I'm a sucker for good landscaping.   And I'm especially partial to great swaths of green and trees with creeks, bridges and perennial plantings.  Put some small domed structures [e.g. a well house] in there and I'm yours forever. 

I loved Indiana University at first sight.  Same with St Mary of the Woods College.  

I love the grounds.

Love, love, love them.    If I had to go back to college again [God forbid!] I'd go to St Mary of the Woods just to hang out on the grounds.

That said, let me confess that this year the beauty of the grounds was mitigated by the ferocity of the insecture.

[Yeah, I made that word up.]

There is a gnat issue at SMW this year.   Of course, there are gnats all over Indiana this year.   Biting ones.  Combine those with the mosquitoes and it's No. Fun. At. All.    It is wise to cover oneself with bug spray.  If you miss a spot, they will find it.   I know this from personal experience.

When we were walking around the SMW grounds, the gnats were so bad, we had to brush them off the camera lens to take a shot.   If there are blurry marks in the photos, that's where a gnat landed the second we stopped to take a pic.

We got a lot of exercise brushing the gnats off.  And dancing around trying to keep them off our bods.

Anyway.   The bugs won't last forever.   And the grounds are beeee-utiful, so here's a little photo tour for you.


First stop, the labyrinth.   I LOVE labyrinths.   I can't resist them.   But on our way to the labyrinth, we found this.   I love the old capitals that they put the planters on. 

And then we found the labyrinth.  Yes, I walked the whole thing, without cheating.   Here's K2 walking it. 

Once we were done with the labyrinth, we walked over toward the grotto.  And this is what we found.   The stairs go down to the grotto.   The bridge goes over to the drama building. 

The view down to the grotto...

and the view across the bridge.

Then the bugs ate us alive and we scooted for cover in the church.

Name that Critter

The cats dragged this poor guy up to the patio.   He died of his injuries a while later.   I was sad because these are lovely snakes - calm, companionable and usually found hanging out in trees.

He was about 3 feet long, uniformly green with a lighter whitish belly.

Answer below the fold...

Bird Bath

I found a big basin [not an antique one].   Once cleaned up, it looked like a mighty fine birth bath, so I turned my old gazing globe stand upside down [Lost the gazing globe in a snow-falling-off-the-studio-roof incident.] and voila!  a bird bath for the bottom terrace.   It makes a lovely focal point for the main axis of the garden looking from the road to the terraces.

It looks great with the iris and poppies.     That's oregano beneath it. 

What have you repurposed lately?

Winner - Trio of Rug Yarns

And the winner is:

thelynns: "The colors are beautiful! Would love to learn how to weave. Enjoy reading your post."

Please contact me with your mailing address by June 13, 2011 and I'll get these skeins right out to you!  

Pleasant Surprises

While we were at St. Mary of the Woods College last week, we found this.

We laughed out loud.   I'm not surprised that the sisters have such a good sense of humor.   They were some of the friendliest people I have ever worked with.

Sweet Feet

My adorable little K2 loves pink. 

She doesn't love to stand still so I can take a picture of her adorable pinkness. 

But once in a while, I catch a pic of our whirling, twirling little fairy in action.

This is she on her pink scooter, that she bought with her own money that she she worked for, with her fabu pink sparkly shoes that she found in perfect condition at Goodwill, no less.

I love her so much it takes my breath away.

St Mary of the Woods College - The Shell Chapel

photo:  www.spsmw.org

While I was teaching at White Violet, K2 roamed the St. Mary of the Woods campus on her own.   She made a special trip to see St. Anne's Shell Chapel.  [All photos except this first one are by K2]

The chapel was built to honor St Anne, who protected St. Mother Theodore and her fellow travelers on a ship during bad storms in 1843.   St. Mother Theodore prayed to St. Anne for protection and promised to build a chapel to honor her, which she did as soon as she got back to St. Mary of the Woods.   The chapel was completed in 1844.

The entrance looking in to the altar.

The door is protected by a beautiful wrought iron gate.  Inside this lovely little limestone building is an artistic treasure. 

All of the interior walls were plastered then set with shells collected from the Wabash River by the sisters.   Each wall was designed by St. Mother Theodore.

'St. Anne, pray for us.'

Notice the design on the base of the altar.

Shells frame the statue of St. Anne.

This set of shells tells the story of the stormy journey in 1843.

"And that the vessel was at the mercy of the wind and waves.   Mother Theodore made a promise to build a chapel."

A mosaic of the ship.   Notice all the different types of shells used for the mosaic.

Stained glass windows set in the walls.  Every inch of wall is decorated with shells.

The floor is mosaic, too.

Every year on St. Anne's Feast Day, the sisters clean up the chapel and replaced any broken shells.

Giveaway - Wool Rug Yarn

This weekend's giveaway is a trio of hand dyed wool rug yarns.   Supremely suitable for weaving or hooking.

Not that kind of hooking.   This kind of hooking.

Each skein is 8 oz of heavy worsted rug wool.   Suitable for...well....rugs.      This stuff is not cuddly and cozy.  It's rough and tough.   It'll probably last for decades on your floor.    The winner gets all three skeins. 

To enter, leave a comment on this post.   If you want something to comment about, then tell me what color the rugs in your house are.

Giveaway ends at midnight Sunday night,  June 5, 2011.   I'll post the winner sometime on Monday.  

Good luck!

Rose Petal Jam

Oh.  Yes.   Rose Petal Jam.

It's exotic.   It's pink.

It's seriously summer!    The roses have loved all the cool and rain and are blooming the best we've ever had them.   Since we have an abundance of flowers, it's time to preserve that delicious fragrance and make some jam.

I started with a recipe for Rose Petal Jam from www.allrecipes.com.    It didn't work and I do NOT recommend it.

So I played around and came up with a great recipe on my own.

1 Quart rose petals - pesticide and spray free
2 Cups sugar
juice of one lemon
3 Cups cold  water
3 T Ball Low sugar pectin powder.

1.  Wash the petals and drain them a bit.  [They don't have to be at all dry].   If you're anal, cut off the white part at the bottom.  They say it's bitter.   I say that's crazy.

2.  Mix the petals with the sugar and let it sit overnight.  It'll be mostly syrup in the morning.

3.  In a jelly pot [the kind that you can get really hot - not plain cast iron or your nice Le Creuset] mix the water, lemon juice and the Ball pectin.   Heat it until it boils hard.   Stir it a lot.

4.  Boil hard for 1 minute.

5.  Add the petals and sugar mix and boil again.  Stir a lot.

6.  Boil hard for 1 minute.

7. You can strain out some of the petals if you need to here. 

8.  Ladle into sterilized jars and process to seal.   10 minutes for pints and smaller jars.  20 minutes for quarts.

For more information about pectin, see this post.

Twitter me

I'm on Twitter:  RobinEdmundson

Find me.  Follow me.  

Tweet to your heart's content!

Somehow it just feels natural for a Robin to tweet. 

Pectin - Ball Real Fruit Pectin

Not all pectin brands are equal.   They have very different processing requirements.   REMEMBER THAT!  You can't substitute one brand for another and use the same instructions.

I use Ball Pectin.   Ball has a new pectin product out. 

UPDATE 3:   I now use Dutch Jell All Natural Lite.   Way cheaper!

It's a quasi-bulk jar of pectin, 4.7 oz, designed so that you can adjust the amount of pectin easily to the amount of jam you want to make.   If you only want 2 jars of jam, you only need 1 1/2 Tablespoons of pectin.     The old packets of pectin were 3 Tablespoons.

It's a good idea.   But it's going to take some getting used to.  

First the bad news.   The lovely paper insert full of recipes that used to be in the box has now been replaced with a sorta-sticky wrap-around label.

No more fun recipes.   No more freezer jam recipes. 

I looked online to find out if they had a recipe page, but I can't find one.   Maybe they want you to buy the Ball Blue Book. [ If you don't already have one, get it.  It's chock full of handy information]

UPDATE:  I finally found the BALL recipe site here.  Pay special attention to the instructions and the type of pectin called for.  I noticed that some of them looked odd and then realized that they called for liquid pectin.

UPDATE 2:  They moved the recipes page to here.

UPDATE 4:  My recipes are better.   Check out A Simple Jar of Jam on my sidebar.  You can get a free preview by following the link.  You can buy the book from my Etsy site:  www.rurification.com

[If you want more recipes, you could go over to the Sure Jell site, but remember those cooking directions will NOT work with Ball Pectin!]

Another thing that REALLY bugged me was the quantity of pectin inside the jar when you open it up new.

I opened this fresh jar just before I took the pic so you can see that NEW, it's only just over half full.   The first jar I opened was the same. 

That is total marketing B.S.  And as a consumer, it really ticked me off. 

Now for the good news.

Ball makes great pectin and I love it because you can use as little sugar as you want.  Make sure to get the Low or No-Sugar Needed Pectin.   That's what I'm showing here. 

Photo: Rose petal jam [recipe tomorrow!] that I made with it today.

Here is the basic process for using BALL pectin.

1.  Stir the pectin in the cold fruit/juice or water.   NO SUGAR YET.  Really.  I'm serious.  Don't go there.
2.  Bring to a boil and boil HARD for 1 minute.   I always do 2 minutes just in case.
3.  Add the sugar.
4.  Bring to a boil again and boil HARD for 1 minute.   I always do 2 minutes just in case.
5.  Put in sterilized jars and process to seal.

A lot of old recipes have you adding the pectin to the sugar.   That doesn't work with Ball.   I know.   I've tried it.    Use Ball pectin the way I described above.

Notes:

• Hard boil means it's boiling so hard you can't stir it down.   Keep stirring.   If the boil goes away, it's not boiling hard enough.   When it boils even with you stirring, it's a hard boil. 
• Sometimes you need to soak your fruit or whatever overnight with the sugar.   Don't worry about that.  DO NOT stir Ball pectin into the sugar/fruit mix.  [I know.  I tried it.]   Dissolve your Ball pectin in cold water instead.  3 cups is nice and you can boil it down quite a bit as you're getting it to the hard boil stage.
• Add the sugar only after the Ball pectin has been activated by the 1 minute hard boil.    It doesn't matter if you're adding just dry sugar, or petals and sugar that have been sitting overnight.  I've done it both ways with success. 
• To convert an old recipe, just re-arrange the order in which you add things.   Add the pectin to cold fruit/juice or water, boil, add sugar or fruit/sugar mix, boil.    You'll still be able to use those recipes - you'll just need to adjust your thinking a bit.
• Take the opportunity to reduce the sugar you use in those old recipes.   You'll probably find that you can cut out 1/3 of it and not even notice.   Play around.  It's an excuse to make more jam. 

Good luck!  Let me know how this works for you.