Cocobolo out of the Dyepot

Yesterday afternoon the yarn dyed in color extracted from cocobolo sawdust and chips was rescued from the rinse water it had been soaking in. It takes a long time and many changes of water to get all the particulates out of the yarn, especially if the yarn is wool.



The yarn is still a little bit damp, so it will dry somewhat lighter in value than it is now. After it dries completely, the skein go into a cool tumble dryer for a few minutes to shake out the last remnants of sawdust. Silk and tencel don't hang onto the particulates too much, but wool is very clingy.

The warp on the jacquard loom is lashed on again, and the tension evened out. First I wove an inch of plain weave to make sure the hooks were all behaving properly, then a 4-inch sample of another woven portrait:



It's always difficult to be sure there's enough contrast in the image, and a fine line between too little contrast, and the recipient thinking "oh my, those wrinkles show so much!"



I think I need to tweak the contrast a bit more, and adjust the aspect ratio a tiny bit. It's only off by a small fraction, but enough to be obvious to anybody who knows the subjects.

In any case, I'm happy to report that the loom is operating perfectly!