Jump in, already.

I'm sure anyone who has read this blog for more than, oh, two days, has realized that when it comes to trying new things, I tend to read a whole lot on the subject first. Eventually I hit a point where I'm looking at the raw materials of the project (in this case, natural dye stuffs) and thinking "I can read about this for the rest of my life, or just try it already." This infomration overload point, for the natural dye project, hit at about two AM, yesterday. I'd finished the section of "Bright Earth" that was about dyes and the invention of modern chemistry, and my brain was melting, and I thought "I need to get some more chemistry books" and then I thought "You really need to get a grip, for crying out loud." Then I went to bed.

This morning, bright and early, I started stewing hibiscus flowers (dried) for dye:

I poured boiling water over them, then simmered for an hour, then I'm letting them sit for an hour. This is being mentioned so that later when I can't remember what I did, I can look here and see. This SHOULD produce some nice purple sock yarn. Yes, I will sell it. Natural dyes aren't as light-fast as synthetic dyes, but I'm doing all I can (mordants, heat, etc) to make it as colorfast as possible. Tomorrow, I may be dyeing with madder. Maybe. And I need to get some safflower. And try dyeing with spices. And...

My size-five circular needle I usually use for knitting sleeves is currently holding the last sleeve of "Innsvinget", which really plays hell with the idea of using it to knit on the Russian Prime. So I'm thinking of actually SEWING THE SECOND SLEEVE INTO INNSVINGET today. If you hear reports of plagues of locusts or rivers of blood in South Carolina, you know what happened.

...the Goober just ran up and took a big slug out of my drink, which she thought was water. It was ginger ale. I REALLY wish I had a photo of the face she made. But since I don't, here's a shot of the view from my chair, most mornings.

Is it possible to be loved to death? Ah well. What a way to go.