FAIL

Okay I am a huge bum. I actually have a lot of things I've been meaning to blog but because I am lazy and spent my entire break either asleep or beating up aliens (apparently I've hit one of my two annual video game binges) instead of knitting or spinning or dyeing or at the very least taking pictures of things that I've been working on... yeah. I am a bum.

In between naps I did finish a hat and mittens though, and sometime this week I will find the time and functionality to photograph them. The mittens are awesome. They're my first handspun FO and I love then.

I got a monstrous order of fiber from Sheep Shed this week. About 2 pounds of mill ends and a pound of superwash. Its nicer stuff than I expected, though as anticipated its probably too scratchy for me to use next to skin (the mill ends anyway - my feet are rather less opinionated than the rest of me so the superwash is good and sock worthy). But anyway, its good stuff to practice with and I have many ideas for how to use it.

I did find the functionality to try dyeing a few ounces of it. I would like to say this went well, but it was only half successful. I overdyed a length of the mill ends (its a streaked black/white so the white took up color) which worked reasonably well and then dyed some of the superwash. The superwash did not want to take up the dye. I'm still not sure what happened. I finally gave up on it this morning when after re-heat setting, two vinegar soaks, a dozen regular soaks and at least three sythrapol baths it was STILL BLEEDING. I am used to a little extra color coming out of the superwash because I always put in a bit of extra dye (superwash being fussy about taking it up evenly), but this was ridiculous.

I have no idea what went wrong. Which is sometimes just the way of things... but still. Very annoying. I'll try another go at it this week. Wish me luck.