I'm Blue.....da ba dee...

I took a little trip to dye land last week.
I was just itching to get into some wool.

I soaked the cormo wool in water over night.
Then I got out the indigo start I received from
a natural dye class I took last year.

Now, in the old days, indigo dye was made in a large vat,
over a period of months,
steeping and stirring
and adding urine from preteen boys to cure it.
As I do not have any preteen boys' urine....icky...
I choose to use chemicals.

This age old process is how your blue jeans get blue!

I love the chemical reactions!
The mossy yellow, green bath,
adding chemicals to the vat  if it gets too acid or alkaline.
Laying the  pre wetted fiber in to the pot at 125 degrees,
slowly so as not to add oxygen.
Then slowly pulling out the green fibers.
Almost instantly as the fiber hits the air.....
the green turns blue!!!
Such a cool process!
The deeper the color you want,
the more times you dip the dyed fiber in the vat!
A quick vinegar water bath, let it dry,
then off to be carded and spun into wonderful yarn!
Watch.....

Ahhhh, bird songs and country music in the back yard!

After I had dyed all of the fiber,
I started looking for other things to dye:
an old white tank top,
my dyeing apron....what fun!

I also dyed some corridale with Easter egg dyes.
I was hoping for pink with subtle shades of green and yellow.
The green did not work.
But I had lots of fun painting on the wool,
wrapping it in saran,
steaming it in my homemade steamer.....
then rinse and dry.

I spun it into some luscious yarn that is so soft,
I may save it for something special for myself.

I am blessed to be having this much fun!