Thursday, May 31, 2007

Dyein' yarn at Patsy's

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Fellow knitting group member Patsy B. was kind enough to invite me over to her house yesterday to observe while she dyed up some roving, yarn, and some of her own handspun.

All the chemistry took place out on her pretty back deck:
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In various & sundry crock pots:

Mmmm-mmmmm! Nothin' like a big ol' pot of yarn!
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And a stainless steel pot on a burner on the grill:



Here are some of the mad scientist's potions:

better knitting through chemistry
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When the fiber had taken up all the dye it would take,


and had cooled down a bit, it was rinsed in a pan of lukewarm water:


and hung out in the backyard to dry:


As you can see, Patsy gravitates to warm colors, much like I gravitate to cool blue-greens:


That pretty dark green alpaca/llama/mohair blend was originally an incredibly soft, grayish-colored roving that Patsy is spinning up:


Who knows -- I might end up buying the finished product at her next yarn sale!

Thanks for having me, Patsy! :-)
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4 comments:

Bess said...

Oh what fun. I love to dye fibers - it's like so much magic. Like Harry Potter magic. I wish I could have been with you.

Hugs
b

Margaret said...

That does look like fun. And now that the weather is nice dyeing outside just makes sense. I'll have to get a crock pot and head out to the side porch in the shade.

That alpaca blend will knit up like a dream.

Liz R. said...

Looks like so much fun!!! You're welcome to come and dye with me if you want! I think I'm addicted!!

have a great weekend, Mary!!

Ranger Susie said...

So much fun! I've done it by putting the wool in old pickle jars with easter egg pellets and vinegar. I set it out like sun tea on the window sill.

I think we'll try food coloring this year (cause the cubs help me)and see what comes out.