Dyeing to dye!!

Today is the day that I dye!!  Please notice the spelling… as in D-Y-E…no I am not going to slit my wrist or anything!!   We’re talking Wool dyeing!!

Now take a good look at the wool…it’s jackets, skirts, pants and all 100% wool..’recycled’ is the word we are looking for..pretty blah looking wool…all beige, brown, cream coloured…some with checks…

So I got my pot ready (it is a pot that will be my forever dyeing pot as I can NEVER cook in it again… dyes are toxic).

Water goes into the pot and it starts to boil while I get everything else ready…like newspaper…

and rubber gloves…I will double these up as I don’t have any heavy duty…

Some old tongs that will become my dyeing tongs…

Some old ice cream buckets- great for rinsing and carrying wet wool…

And some Gaywool dyes…thanks to Claire I have a wonderful selection…such a sweet heart for lending me her dyes…

This is what I bought (pretty pathetic I know but it’s a start)…they are the dyes Claire doesn’t have yet…

  I mixed a 1/4 teaspoon of the dye into the pot of boiling water, stirred and then put in the wool…let sit and…. ..then remove when you like the colour…easy or what!! 

 

Remove and put into an ice cream bucket and rinse until all the colour runs out.  Wash with soap and water and then dry in the dryer.

Remember that boring wool in the basket….well what do you think now?     

The camera does not do this wool justice…the colours are MUCH nicer…gorgeous…if I do say so myself!! ;o)

I could get addicted to this stuff…

Have a merry Monday and Happy Quilting!!

Knotty By Nature…

What do two knotty but nice quilting friends do after spending two hours in Starbucks discussing everything from patterns, fabric, wool, bloggers, family, quilting..yakkity yak…yak yak….?  Why they head off to the Knotty By Nature Fiber Arts Shop of course!!  That’s what my friend Claire and I did on Friday!!  What a fun day…so good to spend some time with her after four months of just emailing!!

And what a Knotty shop Claire discovered!

A wool knit bike greets you at the doorway…  If you are a knitter than THIS is the shop for you..they have everything!!

This is Claire standing in front of a wool felted mat!!  If it fell it would not be pretty sight as it must weigh a ton!!

 

Why are two quilters in a wool yarn shop you ask??  Well, Claire wanted to show me this….

..Gaywool Dyes…and look at at the delicious colours!!

This is Ryan, the owner of the shop…cute isn’t he?…I think I taught him a few years ago….;o)!  Shop owner?..Is it just me or as I get older everyone else gets younger…?  Claire has become such a good customer that Ryan greeted her like a long lost friend.  I think he was excited to show her his newest colours!!  AND lovely colours they were!!  I am officially on the dye band wagon…

Ryan has other lovely things too…buttons…and pulls for zippers, creams and lotions….

Lovely, gorgeous roving for wool felting…

Yarns for knitters…

Books and wool felt…

Wool felted roses…

…and darling little lambs..

If you ever find yourself in Victoria, then pop into Ryan’s Knotty by Nature shop…it’s right downtown on Government!!  You’ll love it!

So today I am hoping for rain….as I am dyeing to dye!!  Claire lent me her dyes and I bought a few of my own…so stay tuned!! 

Have a special Sunday and Happy Quilting!!

We’re Going to the Dogs….

Yes, my blog has finally gone to the dogs….

Living the life of Rylie….

Yoh…I’m Rylie and today is my first birthday! Yes, that was me when I was just a little guy…Seems like only yesterday when my parents picked me up and took me home with them…I was pretty scared…but then I saw that I was going to have an older sister to show me the ropes. Molly wasn’t very friendly…at first…she was clearly QUEEN of the household. But with my winning personality…(grin)…she grew to like me..and now we are the best of buddies!! She is now Princess and I am Queen…(don’t tell her I said that!! Hee hee)

I am the hit of the dog park…everyone wants to know what kind of a dog I am…sheesh…can’t they tell that I’m a Cock-a-Poo…a very exotic Cock-a-Poo. OK…OK… I lean a little to the Cocker side but that’s OK because Molly is also a Cock-a-Poo and she leans towards the Poo side…so we balance each other out!

We just got back from holidays…my first EVER!! I am now an official Snow-dog…my parents say that they are Snow Birds but I am CLEARLY a dog! (They aren’t the brightest sometimes..but that’s OK, I still love them.) We sure had fun…nothing like laying amongst the palm trees on a hot winter’s day, having a dog park fit for a Queen and ice cream in my own bowl….ahhhh..it’s a snow-dog’s life! (Well maybe not ice cream every night but hey, this IS my posting and a dog CAN dream!!)

(Here I am with my pal, Sadie..a friend from Salt Lake City.)

Yeah, I don’t mean to brag…but…I’ve got it pretty good around here…a bowl full of kibbles to feast on whenever I want, walks on command ;o), a trip to the dog park to meet with my friends, and did I mention that I have my own bed…it’s the biggest, fluffiest bed…and I share it with my parents and Molly- after all it would be pretty lonely if I didn’t!

I have the coolest back yard full of incredible toys.  And there is a dog next door so of course I HAVE to bark just in case he should get any ideas. I mean I don’t mind sharing with Molly but I draw the limit to male dogs! After all I am Queen…so that includes our neighbourhood!

It’s been a perfect first year for me and I am planning on doing some serious celebrating today.  I’ll probably get some new ‘chew toys’ wrapped up in doggy paper…but what I REALLY want is an ice cream cake –all to myself!! OK..Ok.. I’ll settle for a bowl of the usual… That would make my first birthday perfect!

Hey, this blogging isn’t that hard…once the paws adjust to the keyboard…think I’ll start my own…I’ve always wanted followers!!

I’m supposed to tell you to~ have a Super Saturday and Happy Quilting!!