Dye lots and lots
Tuesday September 18th 2007, 3:47 pm
Filed under: To dye for

So, having been successful with the niece’s sweater, I went back to the dyepot. There was a cashmere turtleneck the color of a dustbunny, so I threw some purple at it. This was the first try:

now, that wasn’t much of an improvement

Now, can you just picture yourself bounding out of bed in the morning, eager to start a new day full of verve and vigor, glad the weather’s cooling because at last you get to wear that fabulous sweater?

Yeah, me neither.  Even the birds ignored it.  Try again.

Second tryOkay, that’s better.


7 Comments so far
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If the birds ignore, you know you need to go back to the drawing board.

Comment by Amanda 09.23.07 @ 6:18 pm

Lol! One actually showed up after the second go-round, and I caught its picture. Fuzzy and indistinct, and I didn’t post it–but I debated.

Comment by AlisonH 09.23.07 @ 7:09 pm

Hello, I’m Sidney. May I intrude? I am fairly new to dyeing (and totally new to blogging), though I do know to use different dyes for animal vs. vegetable fibers. What I would like to know is, can you squirt little dabs of ink on wool or cotton yarns when you are space-dying your skeins? If so, is there anything I need to know? Thank you!

Comment by Sidney 10.06.07 @ 10:59 am

You’re not intruding at all, sure, go ahead and ask away. When you say ink, I hope you’re meaning dye, and hey, the fun is in the playing with it and seeing how it all plays out in the finished yarn and then the finished project.

Most of my own dyeing has been of the full-scale immersion variety, so I’m not an expert on space dyeing, although I love the effects. I did do a dye party once with some friends where we space-dyed some roving, wrapped it up in microwave-proof saran wrap (so it wouldn’t melt), and then steamed it on raised racks in the dyepots. I don’t have a raised rack I’m willing to sacrifice–just as a matter of sheer laziness that I haven’t gotten one–so my skeins get dunked in the water.

Comment by AlisonH 10.06.07 @ 11:16 am

I’m so new I didn’t figure out how to get your reply. Lol. Yes, I did mean ink. I have some dyes, too – but what happens if you add ink? I’m thinking either it will bleed or fade rather than behaving. Do any of you have first hand experience?

Comment by Sidney 10.07.07 @ 9:27 am

My only experiences with ink have been along the lines of oh, oops, trying to get it out after a pen exploded or the like. Dunno what to tell you there.

Comment by AlisonH 10.07.07 @ 11:08 am

Thank you, anyway. I’ve enjoyed your web page.

Comment by Sidney 10.08.07 @ 6:33 am



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