Greetings!

So I'm finally getting my Blog on the road. I hope it gets easier as it's just taken me two hours to get my photo into my profile!

Dyeing my fingers

I spent an afternoon this week, dyeing wool. I've done this before, using acid dyes and boiling on the stove, but this time I wanted to space dye in order to get a variegated effect. I'd bought some undyed sock wool for this purpose, during a shopping trip to Get Knitted in Bristol, and soaked it in vinegar solution while I researched technique. My son was very disappointed as he thought he was having spaghetti for dinner!

I mixed up an assortment of dye powders with water in jam jars, covered a tray with clingfilm and lay out the skeins of wool. Then I poured over the dye in blocks of colour, made an enclosing parcel with the clingfilm, and steamed over a pan of boiling water in a steaming basket balanced on a jam jar. I also dyed some pre-dyed sock wool that was not variegated enough for my taste. I was really thrilled with the results.

I've started knitting Grumperina's Jaywalker socks from MagKnits (sorry, can't do links yet) You might guess that I like blues, turquoise, purple....

The colour is pretty fast - my fingertips and nails are still somewhat turquoise some five days later!