Winter Rainbows (or Don't Cry, Just Dye!)

Even a fiber fanatic with a myriad of interesting projects to distract her can succumb to cabin fever in the long thread of cold, grey January days. I know this. It happens to me occasionally when I can't get outside for a hike in the woods or a tad of spindle spinning in the bright afternoon sunlight. Last week I was feeling "blah" even though I was enjoying my knitting, weaving and spinning. When I saw that Bex at True Blue Fiber Friends was offering a microwave dyeing session on Saturday, it seemed like just the ticket to nudge myself out of my late January funk. Sure enough, I had a great time, learned a new technique, and came home with some colorful rovings to spin.



The roving I dyed was 12 ounces of 50%/50% wool/mohair that has been in the spinning fiber stash for a few years. Thanks to the mohair, it has beaucoup luster. I bought it with the intention of spinning sock yarn. On Saturday Bex mixed a nice array of Country Classics protein-fiber dyes and gave a demonstration of applying the dyes to your yarn or fiber, wrapping it in plastic wrap, and heat-setting the dyes in the microwave. Over the years I've done lots of dyeing in many techniques, but I've done very little microwave dyeing. The Country Classics are premixed protein-fiber dyes. No checking acid levels or fussing with dye assistants is required. And the microwave method was a revelation. Just a few zaps of Ready Kilowatt, and presto, the fibers/yarns are dyed!

For the blue roving above I painted alternating areas with Cornflower Blue and Mountain Aqua. Then using a sponge brush, I dabbed random splotches of Purple on top of the other colors.

For the remaining 8 ounces, I painted areas with Pine Green, Turkey Red and Chestnut. After it had dried, this color combination reminded me of our raspberry bushes when they are producing fruit.



After so much fun, I'm looking at my cream/white fiber and yarn stash with new eyes. Now I KNOW what I'm going to do with that natural-colored Durasport sock yarn, and that bag of ivory Border Leicester roving, and oh yeah, that very large bag of snowy merino top ... And yes, now I'm in the market for an inexpensive microwave oven for dyeing. It just proves what I'd suspected. Sometimes the surefire way to jog oneself out of a January funk is simply to dye!