Teaching

Sylvia and I are teaching a class at Baaad Anna's Yarn Store.

It is called 'Hot Right Now', and it is a class on shawl design and publishing.
We have a number of students, and they are all doing VASTLY different patterns.

I am really blown away by the range of work that is going to come out of this class!

ALSO,
I taught another solar dye class at Baaad Anna's this past weekend. I LOVE teaching solar dyes.
It opens up this magical world of natural dyes to more people!!

Solar Dyeing

Today I taught a solar dye workshop at Baaad Anna's, and it was seriously awesome. I got to bring six rad people into the natural dye world!

I told them I would blog about me rinsing out a skein of solar dyed yarn from my last class. (Hi guys!! Thanks for being so awesome in class today!)

So here it is:
The yarn is dk weight 100% merino yarn from Pollika. Seriously fantastic yarn.

The mordant things were alum and cream of tartar.

The dyes were henna, onion skins, and logwood extract.

They had been sitting in the sun on my porch for a few months.

When I opened the yarn it smelled gross... but not that bad.

I rinsed it outside with the hose, and mint Dr.bronners soap.

Here it is!

All quiet here for a while

All has been quiet here for a while. I've been busy doing secretive things, and not so secretive I guess.

Want to hear something exciting!?
I WROTE AN ARTICLE FOR KNITSCENE!!
AHHH!!!!!
Want to see it!? Here it is!
It hits shelves on April 16th, or you can get a digital copy now I think?

There are many more exciting things coming... but thats a big one. Its about solar dyeing.

I teach about solar dyeing a lot, so its pretty exciting to be able to reach a bunch more people about it!

ALSO! I am teaching a stovetop dye class at Homesteaders Emporium on Sunday! So with that you get to learn about natural dyeing, and how to get a more consistent colour for fibres!

You should come hang out at that. I'm stoked to teach it!!
 

Teaching

I just got finished teaching a workshop on using the Ashford Knitter's Loom at Baaad Anna's Yarn Store.
I am always SO nervous whenever I teach.
I get nervous the night before, and begin to doubt myself, and question why I agree to teach.
BUT THEN!

I get to the class, and then I realize that teaching is just explaining what you know to other people!
I just get to show people things that i'm passionate about!

How rad is that!?

SO with that I have to admit tat I do like teaching! Wow.

Learning life lessons. 

Today was solar dyeing!

I taught a class on solar dyeing today.
It was at Baaad Anna's this afternoon!

It was a super group of people, and I am so excited to see what comes of the course today!
The jars will be put in their windows for a few months (as we don't get too much sun this time of the year!)

We used Alum and Cream of Tartar as mordant and modifiers, and cochineal, logwood extract, henna powder, onion skins, and blackbean water as dyestuff.

I taught a classs last night!

We learned stove-top natural dyeing!

Seriously- I had the best people in my class last night.
We dyed with onion skins and cochineal.

SO MUCH FUN!!
(It was at Baaad Anna's! We will do another in March!)