A Tale of Two Rovings

So, I actually only have one of the two roving's; the other one is still with my Hand dyed Roving Swap partner. I spent the morning dying my brains out, what fun! And I'm happy to say that I'm very pleased with the results! But first things first, I must give credit where credit is due. Thanks to Loribird's How to Braid Roving tute on her blog, From the Wool Room. And another thanks to Star and her fiber dying tutes on her blog, Keep on Knitting in the Free World. There are links to both of these blogs in the Crafty Blogs I Frequent section of my blog. Now, for the good stuff!

My very first roving braid! Yay me!



I started by soaking my roving two ounces at a time in hot water with a bit of vinegar in it. I'm not the most patient person in the world so a thirty minute soak seemed like f-o-r-e-v-e-r... Besides where's the fun in watching wool soak?



While that was soaking, I mixed up my dyes; blue, purple, green, and gold. At first I used all Wilton cake dyes, but the purple separated and it turned out mostly blue... so I added some red kool aid and crossed my fingers.



This was the fun part! Squirt away! A little blue here... some green here... squirt of purple... then a bit of gold... And let me just say, I now have a new respect for my microwave!





The results:







I just love the way they all turned out! The two blue and purple ones are going to be sent to my partner. Not sure about the other three yet. Maybe I'll spin them up myself!

I also have been working on my SSS8 offerings. Here's a sneak peek! Soon-to-be-felted coin purses:



and 100% cotton water bottle cozies:



Whew, that was a blog and a half!
Craft On Everyone!