this and that

first... a shameless promotion:  Kate took lots and lots of newly dyed spinning fibers to Northwest Wools

today, including BFL, superwash BFL, merino/tencel... all really beautiful!

the first photo is my granddog, Tiki, a big ole lovin' Chinook.  she tries very hard to get along with our 2 spoiled pooches, but doesn't meet with a lot of success.  they tolerate her and that's about all.

it's a sunny and hot day.  when i went to the garden to water thirsty plants, i took my camera and found this sweet rosebud getting ready to open.  it's one of the "old" roses and i don't remember its name... but Lynne will know.  after it opens i'll take another pic.
i just have to use an expression i heard Whoopi use in describing Glenn Beck on The View.  and since i have a congested-cough-all-night-get-no-sleep-dreaded-lurgy kind of thing wearing me out, i'll use it this way.... i feel "like a sack of dog mess" and will now take myself to the sofa and see if possibly there is anything worth having on tv while i try to nap.

time flies/flees... so i guess i must be having a good time.  seriously, the days and weeks seem to just disappear into the past with great speed!  today we had a small family get-together for lunch.  Pop came with Judy,  Jordan and Maisy (both Jen and Maggie were working), and David, Della and Max also came.  it was a beautiful spring-type day and perfect for swings, blowing bubbles, climbing an apple tree and putting the hammock to good use!  Pop seemed to enjoy being here with kids, grands and great-grands, and after lunch, he got in  a good nap in his favorite chair    and i did the kind thing ... and did not take a pic of him sleeping.

the answer is YES!

proving i should believe in my intuition... year old dye solutions, even after being exposed to extremes in weather, are still usable... and in fact, are good and reliable and true to color!   bravo!!

Dyeing again....

today i began the process of resurrecting my dye studio, beginning with the banishing of wet dogs left here to dry off after their morning walk!  in the cleaning out mania last summer in preparation for putting the house on the market, there were lots of things that got sent to recycle or banished to the dump, and now i'm having trouble finding my most favorite old old very old beat up roaster pan for steaming.  i think it's just plain gone, never to be found.  i did find, however, many jars of what used to be dye stock solution and through evaporation had become dye powder again.  i put boiling water in them and returned them to solution state...  and on friday will try the grand experiment of pouring them on fiber and see what happens.  my intuition says they will still do the job, proving that the colors will be true... and light- and wash-fast after a year of sitting in my studio through the heat of summer and a very cold winter.  so, tomorrow, after doctor appt, then lunch with my brother Curbhead, i'll go to good will in search of another roaster pan.. and any other bargains too good to pass up.  and i'll post the results of the grand experiment.

regarding fiber dyeing and color, i was looking through Dazzling Knits by Patricia Werner and read this, which so well expresses my thoughts on putting colors together.. "No one dies, fortunes aren't lost, wars don't spontaneously ignite if you put hot pink next to yellow!  You learn in the doing..... Have fun and don't take colors too seriously."   There's lots in this book that i really love!!