PlazaJen: Passion Knit

Yesterday, some of the knit crew gathered on our back patio & began a very exciting adventure: hand-dyeing our own yarn. It was blustery cold, and at times, raining. So we had some outside circumstances contributing some challenges! But Kristin was an awesome teacher, and we learned a ton on how to do the dyeing, the different processes, and all the steps to creating our own versions of the $30 skeins you buy in the store!

My focus was on dyeing sock yarn - I have some merino worsted, as well, but I think I'm going to wait for another day. I wanted to learn & experiment, and see what might work, and what might result in something dreadful, before I ventured in to creating wool for an entire sweater. (Kudos to the ladies who jumped in with both feet, though! They'll be knitting sweaters soon!) I'm happy to say that I absolutely love each skein I dyed, for they are each very different, but were really fun in their own ways. I have four complete skeins, with a fifth partially-dyed & needing more done to it - it can wait until next time. We used acid dyes, and didn't do a whole lot of mixing/experimenting with shades, since we had a nice assortment to start with. The sock yarn also can be used for lacey-type scarves, and one or two might become that, instead of footwear.

Here are the skeins! They are all on my Flickr page as well.

My first skein, definitely looking a lot like the landscape around us right now!


Beth is a saint, for she created the enormous skeins for self-striping sock yarn. Purple, Orange & Red. Pippi Longstocking, get out of my way.


I love these colors...they are what I gravitate towards. I'd like them a bit brighter, but again, for a first-time out-of-the-box adventure, I'm happy!


My last skein, half-immersion (purple), half-handpaint. Jungle Fever, baby!


And yes, after 5 or so hours of dyeing, eating, tidying up, etc., I collapsed & took one of those naps that feel like you've been professionally sedated & when the phone rang & woke me up, I had no idea 1. where I was, 2. what day it was, & 3. what time it was. Later, when I went to bed, I even beat James to the Land of Nod, and he almost always falls asleep before I do. Play dates tucker me out! And yet I'm already looking forward to doing it again soon!