Another dyeing failure

I’m beginning to wonder if the sheep that were sheared last year wore acrylic fleece instead of wool.

Sigh

For my latest attempt in natural dyeing, I was sure this was going to work. There were great instructions over at Knit By A Hen Shop. She used black bean “water” to dye her yarn and they turned lovely shades of blue.  I desperately want those colors!!

I followed the instructions relgiously this time, including letting the yarn soak in the dye for 48 hours after being heated. We rotated the jar several times a day to make sure the yarn was well-coated.

Because of the advice on the blog, I wasn’t concerned when it didn’t turn from purplish to blue … at first. But I just knew when I pulled the yarn out to rinse it that it hadn’t dyed at all.

AT. ALL. folks.

sigh

So, I’m back to doing dyeing this yarn with non-natural colorants – probably food coloring again. Oddly enough, I just discovered this post by Love Knitting: “How to dye wool and other fibers with food coloring“. They recommend adding some vinegar to the dye bath as well as soaking in a vinegar solution. I still don’t think that would have helped in this latest attempt.

I don’t fault the black bean dyeing process; I’m thinking there is just something “off” with how I’m doing it, or with this wool.

I do have some non-mystery wool in my stash that is un-dyed and could be experimented on, but I’m reluctant. It’s one thing to have a “failure” with this wool I don’t care about and completely another for hoarded stashed wool :-).

I have some exciting news to share: I’m hoping to open an Etsy shop in the near future! I have been making stitch markers for friends for almost a year now and want to be able to share these with the rest of the world!

This style of large stitch markers is one of my favorites. And it all resulted from an accidental purchase – I thought those colorful rings where going to be different than what they were.  I found a way to make them work, and love the bright, fun colors they offer!

I’ve also been playing with some polymer clay stitch marker designs. I made these several months ago, but this week I finally constructed a drying board so I can put a finish coat over them. It doesn’t look pretty, but I wanted something inexpensive and easy to set up in case this is a one-time event LOL. Those are straightened paper clips I’m using for hooks; the beading wire I bought ended up to be far too thin for good support. And who doesn’t have 1,000 spare paper clips lying around.  Well, actually we don’t … now!