to dye for

I've been in a little bit of a slow down after this past week. Since having posted those two Rikke hats, I now have two more requests for them, because I wasn't hat-bound enough. I do get a little bit of a break because I had to order the yarn for them.

A Saturday Sit n Knit at the library calls for something quick and easy. I grabbed up my latest thing on the needles which happened to be a pair of gauntlets I was making for myself from some art yarn I had spun nearly a year ago...seems funny saying that because I have only been on this journey for a little over a year.

I needed something brainless and pattern-less to work on since there is mostly chatting that goes on.

I couldn't take my other project because it is the Stephen West and I need concentration for that one.

And of course having bragged how I "got that" brioche stitch, I promptly went home and had to rip it out again! Do Not...I repeat Do Not try to watch Stepbrothers while working on brioche. That was just plain foolish on my part! I now realize I need like 20 straight uninterrupted hours to get that whole section done.

Since moving I haven't gotten the fiber piles organized yet, if they ever were. Most of it is in the work shed in the garage. The last couple of days have been fairly warm so I have been playing with fiber out there, a little bit. Today I decided to experiment with dyes.

Usually I do things in the hap-hazard color splash, I call it artistic way, but my son calls it my mad scientist mode.  I guess I could see that from his point of view.

The directions I got with my dyes were some what lacking so I improvise, so what. I have learned since I did the last dye experiment that I needed more mordant to make the yarn color fast. I had green hands for days after plying this.

This time I made up some dye mix, plenty of vinegar.  I have some natural yarn that I have been saving for a dye day. Don don don!

After I laid the yarn out on plastic wrap, and squirted my dye on it, I realized two things right away. One... the dye mix was too light and pastel-ly looking. Two...I don't have a microwave!!! Crap!! 

Then I look over and realize - THREE ...I already had this cooking in the crock pot! Crap again!

Oh Well! Wrap it up and hope for the best!

 

And actually, it didn't come out looking too bad.

And when this dries ( I think this is coopworth) I think I will comb it, and attempt to diz it. Maybe add a little sparkle to it. We'll see.

 

happy fiber-ing :) xoxo