Blue and White

This particular shade of blue does some interesting things when mixed with orchid. I'm considering dyeing a skein of crochet thread with this blue. Then, unwinding the skein, rewinding it on a different size ruler, and then over dyeing it with orchid to make assorted shades of purple.

It's amazing how much fun I can have with a few quart jars, a big ball of crochet cotton, and some dye. 

Thought I'd Try Some Freeform Crochet

I love what the dye did to this skein of crochet thread. I'm playing with some of my line drawings and freeform crochet. This piece is being designed as I go along. 

Playing With The Dyed Thread

I've been playing with the dyed threads and here's what I've made so far. None of the designs is original. I am using motifs from 300 crochet patterns and I'm using patterns I've found on the internet. I'm playing with small motifs and bits of edgings. 

The brown dyed thread is the most fascinating. I never would have guessed I'd get grays in the variations from brown dye. 

I gave up on filet crochet because it just didn't look right done in variegated thread. I still haven't figured out how I'm going to use these in a quilt, but I also haven't finished playing with the threads. I've got 6 more colors to play with. 

Deb Thuman's Blog: What The Latest Colors Look Like

Deb Thuman's Blog: What The Latest Colors Look Like

What The Latest Colors Look Like

I unwound the skeins today and saw just what I created. I love the variegated colors and the bits of white. This wasn't quite what I was aiming at, but I like the results. Dyeing is not for the anal retentive. 

Trying For Pastel Colors

I tried for pastel colors today. Obviously, I didn't get what I was aiming at. The first dye batch used 1/2 teaspoon of dye per quart jar. This batch used 1/4 teaspoon per quart jar. Next time, I'll use 1/8 teaspoon. 


Last time, I didn't scrub the skein of crochet cotton and it dyed just fine. I'm using the same crochet cotton this time. I had bought the extra giant size ball of white. This time, there are parts of the skeins that didn't dye so well. I'm going to get much more variation in the color which I think will work well when I crochet something. 


No, I didn't make two batches of orange. One is orange and one is red. 

Dyeing

I've been wanting to take some white crochet thread and dye it. So  I did. It's not dry yet. I wrapped the thread around a quilt ruler, slid the thread off, and tied it in four places. This should make white spots here and there. Can't wait to use it to crochet something. 

I did my dyeing in quart jars using about 1/2 tsp. of dye in each jar. That might be a tad too much dye. I'd like the yellow and the deep green to be less concentrated. Next batch of crochet will go into jars with 1/4 tsp of dye. 


I've got an idea floating in my brain about how to use all these odds and end pieces in a quilt. 

Some Experiments Work Better Than Others

I made soap yesterday using the melt and pour method. This is goat's milk soap. I bought some stamps to make designs in the soap. Just a couple gentle taps said the ad. I hammered on these suckers and I'm not all that impressed. However, I really like the stamps and I know they will do fun things with clay.


The ridges in the back of the soap come from the bottom of the silicone meat loaf pan. I'm not big on meat loaf and Jim bought me the pan at the ReStore for very little money. 

I'm Dyeing

White crochet can be so boring. So... I did some math, converted 3 gallons of dye to about a pint of dye, and stuck a crochet piece in each jar. One jar has plain crochet thread in it. I'm seeing what the dye will and won't do and how the tread works up after it's dyed. 


I put the pan full of jars out in the sun to keep the dye water hot. Or at least very warm. I'm thinking the dye will work better if the liquid is kept warm. 


I'll take the pieces out of the dye in about 5 hours and see what I made. Then I'll post photos.