Fairy Tale with a twist

One of my most recent Audible audiobook finds was a wonderful book called A Curse Dark as Gold by Elizabeth Bunce. At one point on the Audible site there was actually a button that said something like "books for knitters" which totally thrilled me. This was such a great find for me since I've be learning to spin as the story takes place in a wool mill.

A Curse Dark as Gold is the story of Charlotte Miller, the daughter of a long line of wool millers, and her challenges running a struggling mill. The story is a retelling of the fairy tale Rumplestiltskin, and the author does a wonderful job of creating a unique and interesting storyline.

The book is full of fiber references, most of them based on historical research. Like the detailed description of  Jack Spinner (Rumplestiltskin) using a drop spindle and a loom. Although in the disclaimer at the end the author admits that some of the technology is a little forward for the time period in the book. She goes into a good deal of detail about the textile process starting from the raw wool into the woven cloth and the cloth dyeing process, which is really rare for a fantasy novel.

All in all this was a wonderful book, with a strong heroine and lots of wool. It had elements of fantasy, historical fiction and even a bit of suspense woven into a fantastic tale.

Dyeing to Dye

I've recently learned to spin but rather than buy colored wool roving I've decided to buy a bunch that is undyed and neutral colored so that I can learn to dye. Learning to dye is also exciting because I love playing with color and the thought of having custom colored yarn is too tempting. This is my first attempt at dying my own wool roving:

I've looked at various home dying tutorials but one of my favorites was on YouTube by a user named jennscharf. Her video shows how to simply dye the wool roving by placing it in a metal turkey pan, pouring vinegar water over it and then dripping food coloring and blending with a fork. Then you bake it in the oven for a couple hours. (Please check out the YouTube video for exact instructions.) I tried this process and am really pleased with the results.

Sit and Spin

This holiday season was a really lucrative one for me. Usually I try not to be materialistic and just enjoy the season and my family, but I have to say that getting an antique style spinning wheel for my birthday (Dec 23) was really a highlight.

My mom, who is really great at reading my mind I might add, decided that it would be the perfect investment for me. I certainly agree as I have not been able to stop playing with it for weeks. I spun all of the little bag of wool roving I owned, and a whole bag that was given to me by a wonderful coworker. And I've already had to order more to feed my fiber craving. I LOVE spinning on a wheel and I feel like I'm really catching on to it quickly.