I'm Addicted to Colour

I think i've jumped off the deep end.

Here's KC's wool, soaking wet and ready for the dye pot:

I soaked the fibre overnight in a stock pot so that it would absorb the dye relatively evenly.  Not too evenly, though.  I wanted a little variation in the finished colour.

I mixed all this Lemon-Lime Kool-Aid with a potful of cool water and squeezed in a bit of Mio Cherry Blackberry.  The red was to dull down the green a little so that i would end up with something more leafy and less Lego.

I wish the picture showed better the way the dye broke into layers inside the pot.  Through the yellow green, i could see blues and red on the bottom.  I was a little nervous, at first, since i hadn't realised that Lemon-Lime could break, but it turned out okay.

the yarn immediately after submersion...

... and after about ten minutes (the colour in this shot is closer to actual)

The pot took a long time to heat, but as soon as it reached a simmer, the dye exhausted and my yarn was done.  I let it sit for several hours (the agony) until i could stick my hands into the pot comfortably.  Then i rinsed gently and treated it as i would any finished spun or knitted object (soap, rinse, rinse).

And here is the finished product, hanging in my shower!

The colour doesn't represent perfectly on screen (this is a little yellow here), but it's very close--a nice, subdued green just as i wanted!

Of course, i did say at the start that i jumped off the deep end, didn't i?  You see, i wasn't satisfied with dyeing just my handspun today.  No, no.  After all that research into dyeing methods, i had to try something else, something a little trickier, something a little more colourful...

KnitPicks Bare Stroll Top, superwash wool and nylon

I really wanted to use my crockpot for this one.  I coiled one third of the dry top on the bottom of the crock, sprinkled 2/3 of a Grape Kool-Aid packet on top, and poured 2 cups of cool water all over it.  I did this again with the next third of dry top, but this time i used one packet of Lemon-Lime.  The last third sat on top of everything and i sprinkled it with more Grape--the rest of the first packet and another whole packet.  I added more water and pressed everything into the crockpot, but not too aggressively.  I wanted white bits and colourful bits.

this is what it looked like before i put on the lid and turned it on high

After 45 minutes, the water was clear, so i shut it off and let everything cool enough that i could handle the fibre comfortably.  This went much faster in the crock than in the stock pot.

I learned something dyeing the top.  I had wondered why dyed top looks fuzzier than natural top and the reason seems to be the handling of the fibre while wet.  It stuck to my hands and would pull away.  I was relieved that the ropes of fibre held their shape despite this.

you can see how the purple broke up a little into blues and reds

the green broke, too.  i wonder if this is more likely when sprinkling dry powder on dry fibre.

I'm absurdly pleased with myself and already planning the next project.  I look forward to spinning my very own colour creation.