New Zealand Handspun and Overdyed

 

I am purging some of the overdyed turquoise New Zealand handspun that I have too much to use. If you are a knitter this stuff is especially useful and each ball that is overdyed is a slightly different pattern.

I have four colours of this handspun yarn that has been overdyed by me. It is 100% New Zealand sheepswool and is great for knitting with.

I am a weaver and I cannot use it in my warps but I do use tiny bits here and there in the weft and I will never be able to use all of so I want to share.

Today from 12-4 I will be demonstrating my mad spinning skills at the Circle Craft Co-op on Granville Island...

Come on down and say hello, there are many wonderful handmade gift ideas in Circle Craft.

Dyeing Day

Today I spent a few hours outside playing with the yarn that I have spun in the past and dyed yesterday. It was all dyed in the ball and I needed to make it into skeins so that it would dry

better and then back into balls once it was dry so it would fit on the Wall of Wool better. The dye pots were blue/violet/red and red/brown and it is always fascinating to see the different colours it can be on the different coloured yarns.

I buy yarn whenever I see it whether it is 'good' or not, always aware that I can over-dye it if it is ugly or if I have too much of

it. I have found some great bulk bags of yarn recently at Walmart that looks like soy wool that I have had in the past but it is not labeled so, it says '"unknown fibre".

The hand-spun I dyed is mostly thrum yarn, meaning I spun

wool thrums left over from wrap weaving into the yarn and double-plied it. I find that two-ply works best for me in the warp of my weaving, it does not pull apart so easily.