a very fibery day

the sun was shining! the temp was in the 50's! that spells perfect for some dyeing time in my studio. i had a pound of BFL in white with loosely blended brown in it and this stuff dyes up beautifully with so much depth to the darker reds, turquoises, purples... etc. - really fabulous! and i have some superwash BFL soaking now to dye tomorrow.

also, got inspired to make a run at the mass of snarl and mess which is my yarn stash. not sure what exactly inspired me except i'm wanting to find enough yarn of the same weight and in compatible colors to try out one of the many ideas in the new Kristin Nicholas book i just got, the title of which i can't remember, but is chock full of good stuff. it was unbelievable the number of baggies on the shelf with 2 or 3 balls of yarn, all of which now have a place in a basket with sort of similar type yarns.

the little bag in the photo here came about because of the new Homespun Handknit book. there is a pattern for a bag which is knit from the bottom up, starting with a square, and is something i'd not tried... and i like doing it that way. after the bottom part was done i just did the rest on my own as i wasn't crazy about how theirs looked. the bag is pictured on some roving i found in fiber stash diving recently. i'd forgotten how much i liked spinning the roving that came off the (since sold) Pat Green cottage industry carder. Lynne and i used to spend hours standing at the carder making gorgeous blends from a variety of colors and fibers.... mmmm - wool, alpaca, mohair curls, angora, silk... sigh! wishing i still had that carder! but the dumbest damn thing i did was selling my motorized Duncan carder. i must have had a huge fit of "i don't use this enough to justify keeping it", and there have been so many times since then that i've wished i'd kept it. must admit to looking at various sales lists in hopes of finding another one..... ah well, c'est la vie, Archie.