Looking for Gold

Feb 16

Did you ever pick out paint, and the color looked great on that little swatch card in the hardware store, but when you put it on a whole wall it was all too much "more"? That same thing happens with yarn.

I've been trying to come up with the perfect "gold" yarn, but it's hard. It can't be too yellow, too orange, or too brown. What looks good on a small swatch can be way too intense in a full skein or two of silk yarn.

It was time to approach this scientifically. I picked three different mixes of gold, scarlett and blue dyes, and then tested them at different strengths.

You can tell this is scientific, because - graduated cylinders! After the dyeing was done, I had 15 samples from which to choose.

DyeingDye studioHand-dyedSilk

Esther Benedict

I always knew I would weave. From the time I got my first potholder loom as a child I was enchanted with taking thread and making it into cloth. It took another twenty years, though before I finally got myself a real, grown-up loom, and another twenty years after that for me to decide to make weaving part of my livelihood. I enjoy most fiber arts, including spinning, dyeing, sewing and embroidery, as well as weaving. I haven't give up my day job - I'm still a law firm administrator, as I have been for about thirty years. I like working for lawyers - they're smart, demanding people who keep me on my toes. I keep them organized. I live in Oxnard, California with my husband Bruce, a dachshund named Rosie and a Siamese cat called Bijou.

Looking for Gold

Respect the Chemicals

Sewing Carpet Rags