Making Ugly
I mentioned yesterday that I had dyed more fibre, two batches of corriedale. I've taken to calling one of them, Clown Vomit. Clown Vomit didn't exactly turn out the way I'd planned, but I wasn't discouraged right away because sometimes the ugliest roving can spin up beautifully. Not so with Clown Vomit. The colours I used were a dull blue, a rusty red and some pale yellow tossed in for fun. They looked great together when I was testing them on small bits of fluff, but on a larger scale in the roving, the result was disappointing. I tried spinning it up yesterday and the result of that was even worse. I have learned some things.
I desaturated the dyes too much. I added a bit too much black to the colours, and they turned out much darker and gloomier than I had intended.
Colours that don't mix well shouldn't be placed close together. While blue and red tend to make purple, my particular shades made a dull, dirty brown where they combined. Not good. Also, since fibre blends during the drafting process, the colours mixed further while I was spinning. Usually this makes a pretty transition from one colour to the next, but if the colours in question turn to mud where the dyes mingle, they'll do the same when they blend while dry. Very bad. Very uggo. I think the result would have actually been quite nice if I had left more undyed fibre between the red and blue areas.
Anyway, Clown Vomit has been retired, but I'm not throwing it away because maybe if I overdye it in a dark navy I can make it pretty again. For now it's resting in a bag out of my sight.
The second batch of corriedale turned out much better than Clown Vomit. This one is called, Boring Irises. I went with purple, green and brown. I didn't mix my own brown this time, I used Gaywool's Logwood without altering it. It looked rich when it was freshly mixed in the jar but it actually turned out kind of flat; next time I'm going to warm it up with some red or yellow. I was really worried about making my colours too bright, and I ended up over-desaturating my green and purple. The roving isn't awful, but it isn't great. It's...boring.
I'm just really glad my first attempt turned out so well. If Clown Vomit had come first I would have been so discouraged. At least I know I can come up with some nice stuff. I need to stop being afraid of bright colours.
I finished spinning and plying the first half of the Ocean polwarth last night, and right now it's getting a bath. I'll have a photo tomorrow when it's dry.
Oh, and today is our fiftieth day without smoking. 50.
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Comments
I want to see your clown vomit. Can you bring it to the SnB on Tuesday? If not I'll see it on Saturday when I come up for the spinning class. I'm so proud of you and the no smoking. You and Jeremy ROCK!! Let's not forget Alex. He rocks too.
Rochelle · Mar 24 · 3:54 PM
congrats on 50 days. every smoke-free day is an accomplishment.
elise · Mar 24 · 11:15 PM
50 DAYS?! Congratulations! That's a major accomplishment.
Susie · Mar 27 · 7:06 AM