Wednesday, April 07, 2010

Dying to tell you ...


that I'm dying my own yarn!

(I know, I know, bad pun ... I couldn't resist.)

I started the year on a schedule to phase in new ventures for Phydeaux Designs, but life interfered (ahem, squished toe).  I'd planned on learning to dye yarn this summer, but thanks to said toe, I quickly swapped this venture with the one I've been alluding to in previous posts.  The beauty of self employment in your business of one (three, if you count my not so silent partners ... unless it's dinner time or they want the tuna instead of the salmon) is deftness.  Something doesn't work, you can immediately shift things around to accommodate.  No pitches, committees or majority votes involved.

So, I bumped up my dying schedule by a few months.  My very first skein is nearly exactly what I was shooting for - lots of sky blues, from pale to sunny.  I even have a brand new pair of mitts in my shop knit from that very yarn (I think that was the most fun I've ever had while knitting - couldn't wait to see what would happen with each row!).

My second skein ... not so much.  I don't have a photo (I don't want it to be seen in public) and it's not that it's BAD, it's just "meh."  I wanted a variegated red and I got a spotchy red.  You'll see it after I overdye it ... hopefully.

My third skein was an attempt to use more than one color family.  Since I only have blues and reds right now (more colors are ordered!), I went for ... lilacs, purples and pinks.  Well ... I got every possible shade of berry, which is not a bad thing - I love berries!  I wasn't sure about this one, but it's growing on me!  I'll be knitting up a pair of mitts this afternoon!



















I have a fourth skein drying right now that I'm loving - variegated pinks.  I'm shooting for one skein a night while I learn the ropes.  I may play with Easter egg dyes tonight (75% off at your local stores right now!).

To my wonderful hand dyed yarnie friends, do not worry, I am a total yarnaholic and will be back again and again.  :)  I'm nowhere near ready to actually sell my own hand dyed yarn - I have a lot to learn yet!  Somewhere down the road, I'll be looking for more test knitters, though.  Let me know if you're interested!

4 comments:

Sharon said...

Dyeing your own yarn--I'm totally jealous; however, I promised myself not to add one more fiber addiction to the list yet.

Love the berry colors!

Brenda said...

Thank you, Sharon! Oh my gosh, avoid it if possible! Now I'm not just addicted to yarn, but also blank yarn and acid dyes and now I'm even reading up on natural/plant dyes.

Clone, anyone?

:D

Lynn Lunger said...

Pretty, pretty!!! Love those berry colors. You are amazingly diverse and energetic. :^)

Brenda said...

Thank you, Lynn! Glad to know my attempt to appear more than I am (energetic, etc.) is working! :P