One of these things just doesn’t belong.
I have spent the last week or so doing experiments in hand dyeing yarn. Right now, I am just kettle dyeing as I don’t have the set up in my studio for hand painting yet. (Oh, it’s coming…the day is fast approaching…)
Colour theory is fascinating…sometimes you need a lot less of one colour than another, when you are blending to make a third. Sometimes, when you don’t read the label and use the “wrong” red, surprising, beautiful things happen.
Sometimes, when you vary the process on Experiment #4, something turns out differently.
See that green in the top right corner? NOT what I had in mind, and not at all in keeping with the first three skeins. I got the colour all wrong AND I changed one little step in the process. As a result (I think) and it came out nearly entirely solid, save for that weird little yellow splotch. Definitely not a keeper. Back into the dye bath with ye.
And it overdyed into this wonderful colourway:
It’s actually my favourite so far, I think. (Although that red-purple is really gorgeous!) The question now is, could I ever replicate it? Unlikely but it might be fun to try.
Wonder what’s on this evening’s experiment docket?
I know…Orange!!
First Light Handcrafts 
I love all of these! I’ve got my things lined up to dye, but I need to hit some thrift shops for pots and other dyeing tools first. And it’s pretty wet right now where we live, so I should probably wait until it gets a little drier. 🙂 But those are great! When can we expect you to open a yarn company?
Thank you so much, Josiah! Let me tell you…an inexpensive slow cooker, a wooden spoon, and some measuring cups and spoons are all that’s really required 🙂 But I, too, am going to look for a two burner hot plate (I already have a single burner one that was free to me) and a long metal pan in which I’d be able to spread the skeins out and paint them.
I am not sure I am in any place to open my own dyeworks just yet 😉 But it did cross my mind to sell some on Etsy when I feel I am ready.
The “mistake” is my favorite! You make dyeing seem so intriguing!