A Day To Dye

Today is Labor Day. I went out and walked in the pasture with the sheep this morning while it was cool after the shower we had.    The wind is blowing pretty hard outside and the temp is on the rise.  So I decided today would be a great day to spin  and relax.  I retrieved my last roving that I dyed in the Spring.  I am working hard to dye wools that I will want to wear when I am done... I LOVE COLOR and tend to come out with too bright colors!  It is very hard for me to add some gray or brown to tone things down but I am working at it.   This roving will make a pretty scarf and probably a pair of socks. What do you think?  This is about 8 oz of Dolly's wool.

  I always dye or paint yarn and rovings on the stainless steel table on the porch.  I couldn't have the windows open due to the strong breeze blowing things around.   I gathered my supplies:

Dyes, wool roving, vinegar, bottles, gloves, measuring spoons and cup and foam brushes, foil and pan, hot water, some jars to mix colors in,.

Next I need to get my roving ready to dye.  I use 2 or 3 layers of rovings.  I hold two ends of the roving and wind the roving around some pegs.  I then do this again and hold the ends together.  I do this so that I can make two balls of yarn that will spin about alike if I decide to make socks. 

Then I gently tie the skein in 3 or 4 places with thin strips of gauze and then let it soak in warm water to moisten the roving so the dyes will move and melt together.

Putting the rovings together.

I lay out the moistened rovings on a couple of layers of foil.  And mix the dyes with boiling water and vinegar.  I add grey or brown to all my colors to make this rich and wearable.  I love bright colors so adding the tiny amount of gray or brown almost hurts.  But I do not wear loud colors and enjoy the sutle colors of muted reds, greens, blues.  Today I am adding silver grey to all the colors. 

I know what you are thinking...but these colors will blend.  I wrapped the foil around the roving and put it in a large baking pan in the oven on 175 for about an hour.

Come back soon to see the results...I love to see the results.