Encompassing Designs
  • Home
  • Shop
    • Kits
    • Patterns >
      • Christine Little >
        • Signature Designs
        • New Designs
        • Seasonal Designs
      • Deborah Sweet
      • Susan Leslie
      • Patricia Perry
      • William Morris
    • Supplies >
      • Backings
      • Frames
      • Hooks
      • Books
      • Extra
    • Wool >
      • Abrashed
      • Antique JQ Colors
      • Custom Dyeing
      • Dyed Bundles
      • Dyed Spots
      • Dyed Values
      • Dyed Yarn
      • Natural & Colours
      • Plaids & Textures
      • Dye Books & Swatches
  • Ordering
  • Blog
  • Workshops
  • Our Story
  • Contact Us

We're just a bunch of pan handlers!

9/30/2013

2 Comments

 
PictureThis is what you call heads above the rest....I couldn't resist!
At Encompassing Designs we like to work smarter, not harder, so we’re always looking for ways to cut time from a job and minimize waste while continuing to offer quality you can rely on.   For years I’ve said I should have been an efficiency expert, if such a thing exists, but I don’t hold a candle to my son Shane.  
 
Give him a job and he will come up with a way to make it easier and faster....things I've never even considered.  I’m impressed that the apple didn’t fall too far from the tree and proud that he can beat his momma on a few things.  

Shane does the dyeing for the shop, draws patterns and does arm-long lists of  jobs that might not be seen on the surface but keeps the place running like a well-greased wheel. Everything he’s touched has been altered to work faster. I heard a saying once “Give a job to a lazy person and he'll find a way to do it faster”. Now Shane isn't lazy so that really doesn’t apply, but it could read, “Give a job to a genius and he’ll find a way to revolutionize the process.”  
 
Different dyeing techniques call for various timing for prep and execution.  Scrunching wool in a pan to spot can be labour intensive because the secret to the overall appeal is the tightness and height of the folds which of course, takes time to place.   Then the uniformity of the various colours can depend on how you place the dye over these folds.  Too high or floppy folds mean dye won’t seep to the bottom and you have to spend more time digging out between the flaps to find the white spots.  My son has the spot dye down to a science.  I'll admit his scrunching is superior to mine.…momma doesn’t have as much patience, so there’s more chance of being sloppy…the dear boy's words, not mine.  

Spot dyes require proper pans and we’ve looked for them in yard sales and hardware stores. We've tried glass, enamel and steel all with varying results.  I guess that would make Shane and I just a bunch of pan handlers.....   Most large open-faced pans  come with areas around the perimeter  that are lower than the center of the pan, a trough along the edge for drainage when cooking I guess. After my father passed away I found two large pans in his panty that have served us  very well over the years but I have never seen another pan like them so we pray they have a long life.  

These stainless steel vessels hold a half yard of wool comfortably and although they still have that channel around the outer perimeter I have found it can be useful to create a slightly darker edge that can be used for a bit of shading.  so if you have a grassy green spot and need a bit of a shadow under a bush, the darker edges are perfect!  

Most of the enameled or glass pans we found weren’t quite the right size; the glass was too elongated and the enameled one was overall too small to make the right kind of folds needed to support all the different colours in the spot.  So we toyed with the idea to have a few pans custom made and as we worked out the pros and cons the idea struck to have one fabricated large enough to hold an entire yard of wool and flat bottomed for even distribution of dye. 
 
So we contacted a local welder and requested a pan with the dimension of the inside of our oven.   As big as we could go without touching the inside walls of the stove.  It worked like a charm.  Of course everything had to be doubled, the formula and the water to sufficiently cover twice as much wool.  We don’t use it often, Shane says that it takes him more time scrunching the wool into the tiny folds in the larger pan than he is able to process in two ½ yds ones,  but I beg to differ and there might have to be a spot "dye off"  to see which one leads the race.  Even though it may take more time preparing the wool for the big pan, it does cut down on the energy spent in oven heat and that kind of efficiency saves money and, more importantly, dyes twice as much for the wool racks.   

So for all you dyers out there that sell wool, having a pan made to order can cut down on the time you are slaving over a the spot dye.   The pan cost $30.00 to have made and that was paid for with the first piece of wool dyed.  One thing we didn’t take into account was that the two older stoves we work on might not have the same dimensions inside the oven so the pan we had made only fits the one stove. Who’d of thunk?
   Even genius can learn from experience!  We had a second pan made and now we're covered. 

One thing I will caution about.  Make sure the pan's inside corners are smooth.  No areas where dye can settle in and later ooze out to stain the next piece of wool. Explain to the person making up the pan that there can't be any areas that leave gaps or where dyed water can get in.

Picture
The pan to the left is the normal size we would use to dye a 1/2 yd piece of wool.
Picture
Look at all those folds of delicious colour! Grass and foliage, here I come!
The dye formula used for this demonstration was Kermit.  See it on the site by clicking the link:
http://www.encompassingdesigns.com/dyed-spots.html
2 Comments
SUE CUDMORE
2/20/2017 04:34:15 pm

Hi I am just reading some of your blogs. I am new to rug hooking. I just noticed in the picture with you holding up the Kermit green dyed wool there is geometric rug on the floor. Do you have another picture of that rug or do you have a pattern for it? I think I have fallen in love even though there is very little I can see of the rug. I have gathered together a lot of recycled wool but do not have a lot of each color and am thinking this would work for me. Here is hoping you will be able to help me out. I have been immensely enjoying your blogs. Working my way through the older and more up to date ones. Very very very enjoyable and informative. Hope you will be able to give me some advice on that rug

Reply
Charlene
4/21/2025 08:31:03 pm

EFFECTIVE LOVE SPELL TO GET EX HUSBAND/BOYFRIEND OR EX WIFE/GIRLFRIEND AND CURE HERPES AND INFERTILITY THAT WORKS WITHIN 24 HOURS.

Contact Great Odunga at [email protected] OR Whats App/CALL +2348167159012

I got my ex husband back to me and also got fertile and gave birth to twin girls after 12 years of marriage.
When I came online last year, I saw a testimony about Great Odunga and how he has been helping people with marriage issues and I decided to contact him. We spoke on email at [email protected] and later he gave me his Whats-App number which is +2348167159012. He assured me he would help me get my ex husband back after 3 years of no contact. Great Odunga is the best spell caster I must say. My husband called me after 24 hours of contact. The third day, I received natural herbs for fertility and after using it, I became fertile and conceived. My husband and I reconnected, had sex and I was pregnant. Presently I am happy to say I am the mother of twin girls and this is ALL THANKS TO GREAT ODUNGA. I came online to say this: If you need help, I believe you are saved with this man.

Contact his email at [email protected] OR [email protected]

Whats App/Call +2348167159012 and you too will give a testimony too to help others

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Christine Little has been ranked #5​ out of the 60 top rug hooking bloggers by Rug Hooking Magazine!

    Picture
    Picture
    Max Anderson, Australia, recipient of my Nova Scotia Treasures rug.  An award of excellence for promoting Canada through his writing.  
    Picture
    Picture

    RSS Feed

    Archives

    May 2025
    March 2025
    February 2025
    August 2024
    January 2024
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    July 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    November 2021
    October 2021
    July 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012

    Picture
    Picture
    Gift Certificates are available for that special rug hooker in your life!  Any denomination, no expiry date! 

    Categories
    (Click on the categories for past blogs)

    All
    Announcements
    Beginner Class
    Christmas
    Colour Planning
    Contests
    Copyright
    Coupon
    Customer Rugs
    Cutter Servicing
    Dyeing
    Equipment
    Featured Hooker
    Giveaway Draw
    Guest Blogger
    Guest Blogger
    Health & Fitness
    Home & Heart
    Hooked Rugs
    Hooking Groups
    Hook In Talk
    Initially Yours
    Jibber Jabber
    Just A Bit Of Fun!
    Life's Experiences
    Life's Experiences
    New Design
    New Ideas
    Pattern Of The Week
    Patterns Hooked
    Pets
    Rants
    Recipes
    Rememberingfbe7326ff7
    Rug Schools
    Show & Tell
    Show-tell
    The Rant
    Tips Technique
    Tips Techniquef0cd117ab4
    Visitors
    Workshops

    Picture
    Picture
    Picture





















    Picture
    We have a pot to "Fiz" in!

Shop Hours:
Monday - Friday 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM 
Saturdays 12:00 PM - 4:00 PM
We are closed during ice and snow storms
​so please call ahead.  If school is cancelled we probably are closed as well.  

Toll Free: 1-855-624-0370
Local:  902-624-0370​
[email protected]

498 Main Street
P.O. Box 437
Mahone Bay, N.S.
Canada B0J 2E0

​Follow us and keep up to date
on our specials, new products
​and events!
Picture
Picture
Picture


Home
Shop
Ordering
Blog
Our Story
Workshops

Contact Us




​​​© Copyright 2023 Encompassing Designs. Website by SKYSAIL