Well, rats...

So, a little while ago, I dyed some tencel using a new (to me) two color gradation dying technique described on the Prochemical webpage. I even posted this picture:



Well, I wove what was intended to be another ruffly/differential shrinkage scarf with the warm toned tencel, washed it, and look what happened...


Gah! Yuck! Blech! What happened to all that gorgeous color?? LOL. (Good thing I have a sense of humor about these things...)

I've dyed tencel before and had the colors stay just gorgeously, not all come out in the wash. I think it was probably the process outlined by ProChem... Normally I use urea water instead of tap water with salt in it to form the basis of the dye bath (as they describe in their Low Water Immersion dying process), so perhaps that was the problem. So, I've dyed another batch in the same colorway, using a hybrid technique to do the gradated dying, but with the urea water. Hope that does the trick! I'll keep you posted.

On other fronts, I actually managed to get a wrap listed in my Etsy shop today - my first new listing, apart from commissions, in forever. Truly lame. And this poor wrap has been waiting to be listed for weeks...




I'll be listing more this week, so stay tuned!

Productive Weekend!

Wow, I am loving having the studio, I must say. I spent a good part of the day there on Saturday, a little time on Sunday morning (after the munchkins hunted down some Easter eggs), and then went back just for a little while last night. And I finished four scarves and a scarflette in two different color ways! Good grief!! Still have to twist some fringe, but I'm feeling very encouraged.

Managed to take some photos using my new mannequin (Bella says "She's a little scary, Mami..."), too...


Got it from eBay for about $50, including shipping. Not bad.

I feel like I haven't done a good job of showing scale in the photos for my Etsy shop, so hopefully the Scary Mannequin will help with that!


So, apart from twisting fringe on the second batch of scarves I wove over the weekend, I'm thinking of weaving a shawl/wrap for my shop, just so folks know that I actually make them. The idea being that they're nice for spring/summer weddings, and also customizable for, say, the bridesmaids or the mother of the bride or groom.

I've been hesitant to make one not as a custom item, just because they are kind of big, and I feel like it's one of those items that people are going to want very specific colors... But, hey, maybe I'll venture into Pantone's color forecast for this spring (check it out with that link!) and see if I can come up with something...