Spinning and Dyeing at Historic Sites

Wow, I've been very lax about posting! I have been writing this post in my head for weeks, but am finally getting down in print.

In late October we went to the Bolton Historic Site's fall rendezvous. We set up a "store front" so I could get some pictures and, hopefully, sell a little yarn.

What great fun it was to spin on my antique wheel in 18th century clothing while talking to people about fiber! I sold a decent amount of fiber, considering I really wasn't trying, and made contact with someone from the spinning group that meets at the Daniel Boone Homestead. I have been trying to get in touch with that group for a while but not having any luck.

The next weekend we went to Historic Londontown in Edgewater MD and I dyed some yarn with cochineal and weld. I really wanted to experiment with 17th and 18th century techniques over a wood fire.

I forgot the cream of tartar at home so the cochineal came out more purple and the weld was very subtle. But the two colors look nice together.

I have been researching more period texts on dyeing and have found a couple from the late 18th century. The Country Dyer's Assistant from 1798 and The Dyer's Assistant in the Art of Dying Wool and Woolen Garments... from 1800 are fascinating reads. I also purchased Organic Fiber Dyeing: The Colonial Williamsburg Method helpful in dyeing larger quanities. Most of their recipes call for Glaubers Salts and I haven't found any recipes of the period using salts in the dyebath. So more research to come.

Internet Problems,,,,Again

Another tractor trailer drove down our road and ripped the phone line off of the pole yesterday. For a change the line wasn't ripped off the house. I was at work all day long, but my daughter said the line was hanging in the road and cars were driving under it. Then a school bus came along and someone lifted the line up so the bus could drive underneath. The fire police came and cut the line and coiled it up in our front yard, much to the chagrin of the tech who came today to fix the line. He said the police could have called it in as an emergency then Verizon would have dispatched someone right away (yeah right.) 

The tech who came out today was the same one who fixed the line in August. He only comes to Berks County 12-15 times a year so he was surprised to be back at our place. He was able to move the wire up the pole about a foot and that also tightened up the wire so hopefully it won't get snagged again. The only good part about having the phone line disconnected was the lack of internet on election night. It was nice to not be able to get caught up in all the political drama.