Day Exceeds Most Optimistic Expectations. That should be the headline. What a beautiful day yesterday. I honestly thought we'd be running back and forth between the dye pots outside and the AC in the LRB. But it turned out to be so pleasant, that we all just camped out in our comfy spinning chairs under the trees, with our fiber and yarn perking away in the colors.
Combine the usual delightful fiber/bff time at the farm with the added drama of dye pot serendipity, and you have yourself one jolly spring day, let me tell you.
Misty's four lovely daughters (yes, they're quads) added their color sense to several of the colorways that emerged from the steamer, and they also enjoyed lovin' on the big dogs and collecting eggs.
We used several different dye methods, but they all start with soaking the fiber in soap and/or vinegar.
Ms. Amy, a high school art teacher, hand painted some roving, rolled it in plastic wrap...
...see, kind of like a cinnamon roll, and stuck it in the roaster to steam.
Beth shows off a wrapped roving about to start steaming.
She also put some fiber into the kettle to get a more monochromatic effect. Beth likes purple...
Trying to get a shot of the cool dye solution in one of our crock pots, all I could see was the reflection of the beautiful trees overhead.
Ah, here we go... isn't this like something you'd see Harry Potter concoct for one of his classes?
Ms. Amy and I tried some solar dyeing on the front porch. We put some fiber into vinegar water in a big pickle jar...
Added several colors in powder form...
And watched the warm solution move the dye around and around through the fibers. This method is fun when you want to let go of all control and just let the elements do the work.
And the colors that emerged.... man... these ladies have wild imaginations. Lots and lots of brights...
And some really luscious neutrals...
The rich colors just kept on coming! In fact, we had such a good time, and had set up such a lovely safari Dye Camp in the back yard that I imposed on Rita to come back today to dye more fiber!
