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Crazy as a Loom

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Kingsbury's Most Wanted....

I am doing the happy dance.   Today was the BEST day!!!!!!
Finally.........it happened.
Success!!!!!!!!!
Bubbalee has been captured.
For all of you who have followed this story, you know how much this means.



As you can see, she is not willingly giving up her promiscuous ways.   She was more than a little annoyed.

L and I have been taking care of her, and worrying about her, and trying to catch her for almost a year.
I was beginning to lose hope of ever stopping the vicious cycle of her having litter after litter of kittens.
L kept saying we were going to catch her, but I had my doubts.
Finally, we enlisted the help of the neighbors, remember she had her kittens under their shed.  Bunnynose, aka Pete, is theirs.  Well, it seems, that after the kittens were gone, she started hanging around with Pete, and wandering into their house with him.  They, wisely, ignored her.  She ate, she came in, she went out.
At this point, I took my big crate over for them.
They couldn't pick her up, but eventually she let them pet her.
At this time, I stopped putting food out for her, to encourage her to settle in where she was.
Today, she wandered close to the crate, and they quickly pushed her in and slammed the door.
She is at the vet's now.
Hallelujah, and thank you God.
I can't tell you how incredibly happy and relieved I am.  It will be the best money I've spent in a while.
For sure.
They have agreed to keep her, and now she will have a peaceful life without being at the mercy of something she doesn't even understand.

I dyed today.

Measured the dye.....for medium color, 3 tspns per lb of fabric.


Mix it up in a larger container.....2 cups of water for 3 tspns of dye.
I am not very exact on this measurement.
I add water until it looks good.


My husband would say that's the nickey-hokey way to do it, my father would have told me it was the half-assed way.
But it's my way.


Then I put the mixed up dye in this big plastic tub, 2.5 gallons of water for every lb of fabric.
Yeah, OK.
Now to add the salt, 1.5lb for every lb of fabric.


Stir it up good.  I have an old wooden spoon for this.
Now mind you, if you want the color darker, you need to increase all these values.


Now add all that lovely white fabric I've been cutting all week.
Check out my WHITE hair in the front.
I USED to dye THAT orange.


But let's just stick to fabric today.
Mix it all up good.


After the fabric has soaked in the dye bath, it gets removed from this container, and put back in the
dye bath, with soda ash (dye activator) added to it, 5 tblspns per lb of fabric.
As you can see, you have to weigh the fabric first so you know what you are dealing with.


After it has soaked in this combination for a while, it needs to be rinsed.  And you have 50 lbs of yellow fabric.  Voila.
Just like that.
All in all friends, simply a day to DYE for.
I mean it.

21 comments:

LA said...

Congratulations, Hilary!!!! I've been rooting for you and your cause!!! Thank you so much for caring about Bubbalee and her little ones (and the fact that there will be no NEW little ones!)

Deb said...

That is the best news so far today. No more kittens from Bubbalee. You should be very proud of yourself for even caring so much for a homeless cat.If only more would. That is a big job dying material. Very interesting to see what you do. Drop by tomorrow Hilary. I have a give-away to celebrate my birthday (gag!) Hugs, Deb=^..^=x4

TexWisGirl said...

oh, congratulations on getting Bubbalee to the vet!!! once she comes home (and glad to hear she actually will HAVE a home) she can settle in and settle down to a long, happy life...

fiberdance said...

So glad you caught Bubbalee-you can see just how much she loved being in that crate-
Love the color of the dye-I dye a lot of wool for spinning and its one of my favorite things to do-I always get a surprise.

Jabberwarpy said...

I could NOT be happier for you! Your persistence and good will paid off in the end. Yay yay yay.

Nancy said...

Awesome!! I've been thinking about her crossing your road and hoping she's been okay. Such good news :))))

joyceetta said...

I am so happy for Bubbalee that you and L didn't give up. She will have a much better quality of life now....and so will the two of you....free from worrying so much!

A Brit in Tennessee said...

Yippee !!
She's not a happy camper, but now the cycle stops, and she has a chance at being well cared for an loved lots....
You've done good :)
~Jo

Linda said...

so happy to hear about Bubbalee!! Whoot

Anonymous said...

Oh goody... I hope they can tame her enough so that she can go to a good home and be an indoor cat where it's safe... and pregnancy free!

DI

Hilary said...

You got her! That's wonderful. You and L and the folks who have been allowing her into their home are all angels. You're terrific! She's had enough of a tough life. Now she needs some loving hands. Thank you so much for not giving up on her.

Anonymous said...

Congratulations to you and your neighbor on catching Bubbalee. We're been rooting for you!!
The Tuesday Weavers were having a dye day today as well. There were several that were painting their bamboo warps. Carl and I were working on immersion dyes. We'd had some very old sheets donated and we needed some color! And, a good time was had by all!!
Carol

Restless Knitter said...

So happy for Bubbalee! She's so lucky to have you all.

Gayle said...

I am just thrilled with the Bubbalee news! Wow. I have worried and fretted about her right along with you. What a nice piece of news today. I have wondered about the process of using the dye. I enjoyed reading all of this.
Thanks.

Marsel said...

Hooray! I'm glad you're not planning to keep Bubbalee yourself, because somehow I have a feeling you are going to be on her bad-list for a while, lol! It's great news, though, whether she thinks so or not.

That is some dying project...you don't do anything by halves, do you?! :)

claudia w said...

As soon as I saw your title I knew! Hurrah! For you and for Bubbalee. She doesn't know just how lucky she is!
That fabric dyeing looks too complicated for me. I would get all the measurements mixed up and end up with something other than what I intended.
Good for you on all counts!!!

Anonymous said...

Hurray for Bubbalee, she is on her way to a healthy life. You are one good egg Hillary! By the way, I like your hair just the way it is.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for sharing your knowledge with us...I have never dyed before and now I want to try it out! I think a small batch for me though.

I am doing my own happy dance for Bubbalee, don't let that hissing fool ya :-) a few days of Pete's company, a safe place to bunk down and never ending food will make her a convert in no time.

Denise at Autumn Sky said...

I never comment but I am very happy about Ms. Bubbalee for her new life and home....and for you to stop worrying about her.

Sharon said...

Great news for Ms Kitty, even if she doesn't know it. As for the gray - I love it. Stop dyeing your hair - it's pretty as is and the dye is not good for you. Keep the dye in the dye pots!

SpinMeAYarn said...

woohoo!
delighted that you finally caught Miss Bubbalee!
it is great for her not to be at the mercy of those hormones any more!!!
and it is the most humane way to ensure little kittens are not being bred continuously.
both our cats have been 'done', only way to go...
love all the yellow fabric.
glad your hair isn't yellow or orange, hair is never actually grey, it's the blend of some white hairs in with our natural brown hairs that make it look grey from a distance, but it is not Gray, just a blend of the pigmented and pigmentless.

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