Before I Dye....

I need new colors of thread for the wicker.  Thus the title...

I dug through my stash of crochet cotton and found a few balls that I could use... But, I also found a perfectly good spool of antique stuff that doesn't even have a number size on it.

I do like the color and I wonder why I didn't use it earlier...

So, Sidetracked Sadie is on the premises once again.

I had a chair all wired and somewhat ready to go.  I had to try the thread to make sure that it was good.  Didn't I?

First photo is the first row of the front.  I am looping all the way across and then all the way back.  This part will get bent forward, thus the backward look to the loops.

Second photo... Starting to do even weave across.  I will also start bending the wires forward now.

I always start with the bottom and then do the top.  That way, there is less chance of messing up what I have already woven.

When I get enough woven to wrap around the front of the chair and down to the bottom edge of the seat base, I start with another two rows of overhand loops and go all the way around the chair.

After that, I usually do about ten rows of plain weave just to bring it down far enough so that you can see the design that I put in next...

I am never sure, at this point, where the design is going to go from here.  That is, unless I am trying to follow the pattern of a photo of a real chair.

It's more fun to let the chair talk to me.

This will keep me busy while the pot is boiling.

The part I hate about dying my own thread is the unwinding the ball.  You have to do this in order to get an even dye job.

This is the part that Tessie loves.  She says, "It's like having my own amusement park! Spin it again!!!"

That's one.  Only three more to go, unless I unearth others.

I will tie it loosely in four places so that it doesn't tangle in the pot while it is wet.

I am going back to work now and I am going to try to get all of the dying done today. 

Tomorrow, I will have to unwind the skeins and put them back in ball form after they are dry.  This is not a fast process.  I guess that I should get back to it, before Tessie starts unwinding it just to have another ride.  That is even more fun to watch though.  She hangs on one of the lower arm connections and gets a running start and jumps on.  Over and over.

Thank goodness for my ball winder, or I might just have to pay her to do that for the second portion.  I doubt that she would stay on the job for a whole ball.  Dizziness usually ensues after a few rounds.

See you tomorrow.