Earlier this year I included in a post that I was entering a dye-my-own-yarn phase. If you want a refresher go back to the post from January 7th.
I participated in yet another dyeing class (I think that made 4 official classes), virtually, the weekend of the Super Bowl. And that of course was right before Ice-aggedon and Snow-pocolypse occurred. In fact, I had to depart the class a bit early so that I could drive to Fbg from Dallas and arrive in time for kick-off. Which I did. Yay!
The class was taught by a woman in Vermont, Tamara White, aka Farmer Tam, at Wing and a Prayer Farm. I learned many things over two days and probably the most important part was that there are soooo many variables, no two attempts may be the same and there are very few “rules” in regard to timing, amounts, or even plants choices. If you don’t like what you get on Monday, throw it in another dye bath on Tuesday. I was really taken with her relaxed manner of teaching as it made me feel comfortable and not afraid to experiment.
Unfortunately, that didn’t mesh with my idea of “quickly” coming up with some acceptable almost matching yarn. Hmmm. I’m all for venturing into new territory but what I’d really been hoping for was a strict definition that would get me, my one. skein. of yarn.
This was turning out to be reminiscent of the $64 Tomato. That, my friends, is a very funny book about the author’s gardening adventures and misadventures. William Alexander is the author and you can find it, of course, on Amazon
Ok, so I found the bag that contained the project and took another look at it. And you know, with the new shawl accessory implements that I found at another virtual yarn event, the existing shawl is long enough. While throwing it around my body in a dramatic sweep is not really possible, it is definitely copious enough to wrap, pin, wear and keep my shoulders warm.
It’s a very pretty wrap, the yarn is very soft and the pattern was fun to work. It’s called The Diamond Love Scarf and was designed by Jennifer Matlock of little m Expressions. You can find her and the pattern on Ravelry and by clicking on the pattern name above.
Back to the whole yarn dyeing thing. Part of my thought process has been that it would be very cool to dye yarn using plants from my garden. Now that I’m not bent on a specific color, I might have more fun with the experimenting. There are some great books out there about this topic. You’ll see cover pics below of the ones that I ended up owning (after getting an armload from the library to peruse). All three are chock full of information. Wild Color has a section with tabs like you see on the cover that show you the colors possible for each part of each plant.
And so, while I would definitely rather by crocheting, I might still play with the dye pots. I still have raw yarn that needs a color and the flowers are beginning to wake up in my garden.
Happy gardening, play with your dog, hug your loved ones.