I've some Ramie top on the wheel right now, in a lovely colour called earth.  It's a really nice brown and because it is ramie, it has a bit of a sheen.   This top has been really nice to spin, although when I stopped last night, my non-drafting fingers (the ones holding the fibre) were black with either dirt or excess dye.  Still, the yarn should be quite nice when done and any dye or dirt will get washed out when I wet finish it.


I'm still plodding away on the inkle loom with the pick-up pattern.   I did the math and I still have 2 weeks to go before I finish, if and only if, I manage to do my 3 inches a day.   I'm guessing that there will be a few days it won't happen, so it will likely be closer to 3 weeks.  

I had a single skein of a white tweed yarn which was exceptionally ugly.  It was bright white with some dots of colour and it looked totally wrong.  I dyed it a grey which in reality is a bit darker than this photo.  I started making mittens with it.  The first mitten was almost done but every time I looked at it, I saw fingerless mitts instead.   I ended up ripping back the first mitt and changing it up.  There are a bit shorter than I normally make fingerless mitts.  I usually like them to come up past my knuckles, to keep my fingers warm.  However I've found that when they are that long, they don't lend themselves to activities like spinning or playing the banjo.  So these shorter ones allow for those sorts of activities easily. 

I need to set up a Pysanky work station, so I can start on Easter Eggs this year.   My daughter was in the city, so she stopped by the shop and picked up a few dyes that I needed.  There was a new brand out, the same price as the basic dyes so I got her to get a few so I can sample them for differences.   I'm wondering though if they are just the traditional dyes, repackaged.   Different colour names, all with a Canadian cultural theme, but with the similar price point and a similar colour selection, it could be the same dyes, in a different envelope.