A Little Better, I Guess

I thought I’d get smart and not attempt the four different colorways in one afternoon. So I got smart and did five in one afternoon. I’m not kidding. But, four out of the five were one color, kettle-dyed deals that made things easier. (It just took almost half-an-hour apiece.)

To quote Edna Mode, “I started with the basics . . . ” Here’s some worsted weight merino yarn. (More of the stuff from KnitPicks.)

Once that was out of the way I decided I would kettle dye the Wensleydale locks I had bought at the Fiber Festival.

They were slightly felted, so I got them on sale. I plan to spin a whole lock right into the yarn as I’m spinning, so it’ll be a chunky, sort of novelty yarn. Hopefully the chunks will fit through my wheel’s orifice. I don’t want to have to babysit each lock through the hole and onto the bobbin. I picked a nice bright purple (made from Sapphire Blue and Pink). I had a sort of “blue, turquoise, purple” yarn in my head, so I thought this would be a perfect color. If not, I can always use it for a clown wig.

By the time I had rinsed the locks and the yarn, I looked over at a pile of drying fleece (Daisy’s) and thought, “Hmm. It’s already pre-soaked, why not dye these now?” And off I went on four batches of fleece. Purple in what was left of the Wensleydale dye bath, then turquoise in two batches, and finally some deep blue (Sapphire and Turquoise). I learned that turquoise NEVER exhausts. Or at least I exhausted before it. I had to dump the leftover dye water down the kitchen sink. The supposedly stainless steel sink. It left a greenish cast to the bottom four inches. Thankfully I was able to wipe it out with soap and a paper towel. But, anyway, here are the final puffs of fleece. Once they dry I’ll card them into an interesting mix and spin them with the Wensleydale locks.