Something New

Spring has gotten into me. I want newness.

I want freshness. I don't want soggy brown leaves or crusty, dry soil.

I want to feel, be, taste alive.

From now on, I will do or try something new every day. Little things, mostly, like getting out of the other side of the bed. (Which I refused to do today, when prompted by my 4 y.o.) Or rearranging the books into a new order (for us, any sense of 'order' would be new).

Today, in preparation for becoming a felting teacher and selling kits on Etsy, I tried dyeing wool roving for the first time. (New Thing #1)

I started off with the purest, softest, still-smells-like-sheep merino.

Then I dyed 3 oz lilac and 1 oz 'golden straw.' (I use Dharma Acid Dyes.)

Here's the golden straw, just after its dye bath. It's dripping wet in the sink.

Hanging up to dry, the lilac roving. It's dripping a bit, too, and you can see where the colors saturated more heavily in some areas than in others. I prefer that, although some people want a uniform color throughout.

Dyeing wool roving is very, very different from dyeing silk. It's more delicate. I don't want the wool to felt during the dyeing process. It forces me to be present, another new thing for me. I cannot rush off, or skip steps, or let it sit and boil. I have to stand there and gently fold the wool over so that it takes the dye evenly (if that's what I want). I have to wait, patiently, for nature to take its course.

This is very hard for someone like me, who always likes to force things a bit, to suit her own timeline.

And now, I am going to work on subplots...not new, but maybe the end result will be.