I'm Dyeing in the Back Room

Frequently I love to dye.   I enjoy the surprise that you can get out of every dye pot.  I love when colors break and they turn out totally NOT what you were expecting.  I also really like the fact that when a color is not something that you really care for it can go back into the dye pot again and again.  Like when I was wanting to use up that bit of blue Wiltons food coloring that was left in the bottom of a pan on a large handful of mystery locks that someone had given me.

I got this.  It was ok, just not really my style what so ever.  I'm more of an earthtones kinda gal, so I decided to have a little fun. I carded it up and got this.

Which is way to similar to easter egg colors for me.  So I added a bit of blue to the ole dye pot.

And added some yellow dry acid dye powder to the batts at various spots.

Then I emerged  the batts half way and left them while I went to put up the Sheeples for the evening.  

Afterwards I pushed them under and let them brew for a while.

I still wasn't crazy about it, so I added some sprinkles of leaf green acid dye on top.

Sounds like the cooking in some far fetched fairy tale doesn't it?  Hehe, but the results are much better.

I pulled it out and got this.  

This is pretty, but like I said, I'm more of an earthtone kinda gal, so back in the dye pot it went.  

This time with a little red spinkled on, especially on the green spots.

Out she came again, and I knew I was getting closer.  Part of the fun with all of this is seeing how differently the finished yard looks from the dyed fiber.  Did I say I enjoy this?  Its is fun.  It is part mad scientist and part wild cooking in the back room.  

  

Here is the finished sample to the left.  Though both of these are fine, actually even pretty, I enjoy the one to left better.  Its nice to know when you dye there are no mistakes, you can just keep over dyeing until you reach black if necessary.  A nice black yarn is always useful.    

While I always enjoy natural colors more I will have this to play with on my new South West Spindle from Dancing Goats when I take their class this weekend at Fiber Fling.  Its the first time I've gone to something like this.  A friend and I are even going to spend the night.

Now I think I'm gonna have to go play with some of that alpaca I got in the mail last week from a swap that I made with a new Face Book friend.  I really think I need to blend some of it up with  a little Amos fuzz to take with me also.