Gansey sleeves

On Wed, 02 Aug 2006 16:15:44 GMT, spewed forth :

Really, I was thinking of trying 'solar' dyeing by putting the wool in a 50
gal black plastic trash bag with a couple of liters of dye, burping all the
air out, leaving it in the sun, and rolling it to agitate every hour or so.
I think on a good summer day I could get 150F for 4 hours. That means, it
would have to sit in the sun for 2 or 3 really hot days. Any thoughts on
whether it might work?


It works for Koolade in a glass jar, and I've "cooked" suspect yarn in
black plastic bags in the sun before.

My concern with using a trashbag as a dyeing container would be the
integrity of the bag. I'd think a 5-gallon plastic pickle bucket with
a lid would probably cook just as well and it'll be easier to handle,
too.

+++++++++++++

Reply to the list as I do not publish an email address to USENET.
This practice has cut my spam by more than 95%.
Of course, I did have to abandon a perfectly good email account...

Things like this come down to just trying it!

Solar constant is 7 watts/m^2 = ~100 cal/ min=~ the temperature of 3 ounces
of water goes up 1.8F =~ the temp of 1 liter goes up 11 degrees/hour,
assuming an albedo of 0. The area of a drum liner is ~1.5 m^2 so I should
be able to heat 1.5 L of water 44F in 4 hours, so I think dying in a big
heavy black plastic bag is right on the edge of doability. If I start with
110F water, I will be right on the lower edge of the reaction going (ever so
slowly). One question is how much dye can I dissolve in 1.5 l of working
fluid, so I may try an excess of dye, and let the dye reaction run for 2 or
3 days before I open the bag. Actually for dark colors, a really heavy,
clear plastic bag may be better???

I think a (white) plastic bucket has too high an albedo and too an small an
area (1/4 m^2) to absorb enough heat from sunlight to drive the dye
reaction. Then, I would need large amount of dye fluid to contact all of the
fiber. I am just not going to absorb all the necessary heat with the small
area of a plastic bucket

Next really hot day, I will try dyeing in a plastic bag, and let everyone
know how it works.

Aaron


"Wooly" wrote in message
news
On Wed, 02 Aug 2006 16:15:44 GMT, spewed forth :

Really, I was thinking of trying 'solar' dyeing by putting the wool in a
50
gal black plastic trash bag with a couple of liters of dye, burping all
the
air out, leaving it in the sun, and rolling it to agitate every hour or
so.
I think on a good summer day I could get 150F for 4 hours. That means, it
would have to sit in the sun for 2 or 3 really hot days. Any thoughts on
whether it might work?


It works for Koolade in a glass jar, and I've "cooked" suspect yarn in
black plastic bags in the sun before.

My concern with using a trashbag as a dyeing container would be the
integrity of the bag. I'd think a 5-gallon plastic pickle bucket with
a lid would probably cook just as well and it'll be easier to handle,
too.

+++++++++++++

Reply to the list as I do not publish an email address to USENET.
This practice has cut my spam by more than 95%.
Of course, I did have to abandon a perfectly good email account...

On Wed, 02 Aug 2006 18:55:19 GMT, spewed forth :

Things like this come down to just trying it!

snip eye-glazing science hehehe

You guys must have some wimpy sun out there in Mickey-land. I fried
an egg on the sidewalk one day last week as a demonstration for the
neighborhood kids when a couple of them were bragging they didn't need
to wear shoes.

Aside from the fact that the egg stuck to the sidewalk, it was a
perfect sunny-side up in less than 90 seconds. They figured out that
if the egg is cooking their feet probably are too. Now everybody is
wearing flipflops.

I start with "tap temperature" water for sun tea. Right now due to
ground heating and shallow distribution pipes that means water that's
between 75-80f. 20 minutes in a gallon glass jar on my front walk
takes the temp up to 115 and the tea is quite stout. I left a jar out
for two hours a couple of weeks ago and it was too hot to pick up when
I remembered it and went to retrieve it.

I don't have an "official" pickle bucket, but I do have a couple of 3-
or 4-gallon cat litter buckets with sealing lids. Tomorrow is
supposed to be another hot one, I'll toss out an experimental dyepot:
2 gal of water with a capful of yellow (notoriously hard to get good
yellow saturation) and some junk wool and let it cook all day. When I
pop the lid I'll take the water temp with my digital thermometer and
report on the results.

+++++++++++++

Reply to the list as I do not publish an email address to USENET.
This practice has cut my spam by more than 95%.
Of course, I did have to abandon a perfectly good email account...

Wooly,
Its 80F today, with a cool breeze off the Bay.

And, I got a wonderful package with this *huge* ball of Ivory Handspun. It
is nicer than the Irish handspun that has been the prize yarn of my stash.
Half an ounce and I could just play with it, and maybe waste it. But this
big ball demands respect and responsibility. I will have to do something
serious with it. Maybe, learn some lace stitches and make a shawl for my
wife.

Thanks! I am again in your debt.

Aaron

"Wooly" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 02 Aug 2006 18:55:19 GMT, spewed forth :

Things like this come down to just trying it!

snip eye-glazing science hehehe

You guys must have some wimpy sun out there in Mickey-land. I fried
an egg on the sidewalk one day last week as a demonstration for the
neighborhood kids when a couple of them were bragging they didn't need
to wear shoes.

Aside from the fact that the egg stuck to the sidewalk, it was a
perfect sunny-side up in less than 90 seconds. They figured out that
if the egg is cooking their feet probably are too. Now everybody is
wearing flipflops.

I start with "tap temperature" water for sun tea. Right now due to
ground heating and shallow distribution pipes that means water that's
between 75-80f. 20 minutes in a gallon glass jar on my front walk
takes the temp up to 115 and the tea is quite stout. I left a jar out
for two hours a couple of weeks ago and it was too hot to pick up when
I remembered it and went to retrieve it.

I don't have an "official" pickle bucket, but I do have a couple of 3-
or 4-gallon cat litter buckets with sealing lids. Tomorrow is
supposed to be another hot one, I'll toss out an experimental dyepot:
2 gal of water with a capful of yellow (notoriously hard to get good
yellow saturation) and some junk wool and let it cook all day. When I
pop the lid I'll take the water temp with my digital thermometer and
report on the results.

+++++++++++++

Reply to the list as I do not publish an email address to USENET.
This practice has cut my spam by more than 95%.
Of course, I did have to abandon a perfectly good email account...

On Thu, 03 Aug 2006 00:33:01 GMT, spewed forth :


And, I got a wonderful package with this *huge* ball of Ivory Handspun.

I wouldn't call it huge, but it is more than enough for a nice little
scarf.

It
is nicer than the Irish handspun that has been the prize yarn of my stash.

That's saying something, unless the Irish spinner couldn't be bothered
and gave you her "one too many whiskies" ends-of-balls :P

Half an ounce and I could just play with it, and maybe waste it.

I *do* have one sock I knitted, but the grist of that yarn is slightly
different. If you want it let me know, I'll frog the sock (what good
is a singleton sock?) scour and hang the yarn to dekink, and send it
on it's way.

Thanks! I am again in your debt.

You're no such thing. I got three nylon needles out of the deal, I'll
call it a fair swap after I send you the sock!

+++++++++++++

Reply to the list as I do not publish an email address to USENET.
This practice has cut my spam by more than 95%.
Of course, I did have to abandon a perfectly good email account...

On Wed, 02 Aug 2006 22:23:10 GMT, Wooly spewed forth :


I don't have an "official" pickle bucket, but I do have a couple of 3-
or 4-gallon cat litter buckets with sealing lids. Tomorrow is
supposed to be another hot one, I'll toss out an experimental dyepot:
2 gal of water with a capful of yellow (notoriously hard to get good
yellow saturation) and some junk wool and let it cook all day. When I
pop the lid I'll take the water temp with my digital thermometer and
report on the results.

I lied. All of my erstwhile litter buckets are busy. I can free one
up on the weekend though. News as it happens.

+++++++++++++

Reply to the list as I do not publish an email address to USENET.
This practice has cut my spam by more than 95%.
Of course, I did have to abandon a perfectly good email account...

"Wooly" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 03 Aug 2006 00:33:01 GMT, spewed forth :


snip

It
is nicer than the Irish handspun that has been the prize yarn of my
stash.

That's saying something, unless the Irish spinner couldn't be bothered
and gave you her "one too many whiskies" ends-of-balls :P

Firmer, but softer! Nicer!

The Irish stuff, I bought at yarn store in Wells, England. It was a two
skein sample that they had, and were not going to carry. The YS owner sold
it to me inexpensively, and I fear that Irish spinners were cheated once
again. I started a pair of socks out it on the plane home, but my SIL
assures me that it is NOT a sock yarn (unless one is a penitent on a walking
pilgrimage to the distant Holy Land). I still love the color, and I KNOW
whatever I make out of it will wear like iron : )

I am happy now, but if that sock with the other grist is lonesome, you can
send it to me, and I will incorporate it in my beginner's lace project.


Aaron
Snip

Hi Aaron,

Really, I was thinking of trying 'solar' dyeing by putting the wool in a 50
gal black plastic trash bag with a couple of liters of dye, burping all the
air out, leaving it in the sun, and rolling it to agitate every hour or so.
I think on a good summer day I could get 150F for 4 hours. That means, it
would have to sit in the sun for 2 or 3 really hot days. Any thoughts on
whether it might work?

Sorry I'm behind on reading again and mostly lurking these days. We
had plumbing breaks in the sections that weren't changed before and
have been dealing with that. Digging up half the yard ourselves to
save $$$ is not a lot of fun, but you've gotta do what you've gotta
do!

I did want to express my concern about trash bags. I understand they
are coated with some kind of pesticide. Sure, it will probably wash
right out, but I wonder if the chemical might react with your dye and
give less than desireable results.

You could take 2 boxes, one slightly bigger than the other, glue
aluminum foil shiny side out to the inside one, stick it into the
bigger one, and shove wadded up paper in between them for insulation.
Or just paint the inside of the inner box with a non-toxic black paint
to suck up heat from the sun. Put your yarn and dye solution into
clear plastic oven bags, and viola, you've got a solar cooker. Just
point it south, prop it on a brick or rock to angle it for best solar
gain, and you're going to have a nice oven effect in short order. The
only time you really need to check on it is when the sun has moved,
every 1-2 hours or so, just go out and resight the box roughly to
track the sun's movement across the sky. I understand using oven bags
means you don't have to find a piece of glass to enclose the top of
your oven. I've also seen plans where they put a dark colored pot
into the oven bag for maximum heat gain, again to avoid trying to find
glass large enough to cover the box.

Leah

I buy 55 gallon drum liners that are used for all kinds of uses including
lining drums for storing food grade products, so they do not have any
pesticides in them. I used 50 gal in the calcs because I was rounding down
for back of envelope calculations.

I do not use many pesticides around here. I even have my wife picking up
spiders from inside the house and putting them outside. Thanks for your
concern.

Aaron


"Leah" wrote in message
...
Hi Aaron,

Really, I was thinking of trying 'solar' dyeing by putting the wool in a
50
gal black plastic trash bag with a couple of liters of dye, burping all
the
air out, leaving it in the sun, and rolling it to agitate every hour or
so.
I think on a good summer day I could get 150F for 4 hours. That means, it
would have to sit in the sun for 2 or 3 really hot days. Any thoughts on
whether it might work?

Sorry I'm behind on reading again and mostly lurking these days. We
had plumbing breaks in the sections that weren't changed before and
have been dealing with that. Digging up half the yard ourselves to
save $$$ is not a lot of fun, but you've gotta do what you've gotta
do!

I did want to express my concern about trash bags. I understand they
are coated with some kind of pesticide. Sure, it will probably wash
right out, but I wonder if the chemical might react with your dye and
give less than desireable results.

You could take 2 boxes, one slightly bigger than the other, glue
aluminum foil shiny side out to the inside one, stick it into the
bigger one, and shove wadded up paper in between them for insulation.
Or just paint the inside of the inner box with a non-toxic black paint
to suck up heat from the sun. Put your yarn and dye solution into
clear plastic oven bags, and viola, you've got a solar cooker. Just
point it south, prop it on a brick or rock to angle it for best solar
gain, and you're going to have a nice oven effect in short order. The
only time you really need to check on it is when the sun has moved,
every 1-2 hours or so, just go out and resight the box roughly to
track the sun's movement across the sky. I understand using oven bags
means you don't have to find a piece of glass to enclose the top of
your oven. I've also seen plans where they put a dark colored pot
into the oven bag for maximum heat gain, again to avoid trying to find
glass large enough to cover the box.

Leah