Ta Da!

We tried our hand at using natural dyes last evening and it went great. For our first try we were very pleased with our end product! I used Turmeric, Paprika and Cinnamon all with excellent results. Sorry the pics are a bit funky, when I used the flash on my camera the colours were not accurate at all.

So here are the four skeins that we have dyed so far. I need to brush up on my yarn gathering skills, yes they do look a bit messy.

The skein on the left was dyed using Paprika. Once fully rinsed it came out a very nice muted pink/peach colour. On the right is the Turmeric. This skein was dyed in the second Turmeric dye bath so it came out a light yellow.

On the left I used Cinnamon. This was my favorite.It turned out a light brown that almost has a purplish tint to it. The right was the first dye bath of Turmeric. Because this was the first one the yellow came out more gold and was a lot more bold than the second.

We have two more skeins left to dye. I think we will try using artichokes and berries. The problem with using natural dyes it that you love the colours so much that rather than use them, you just want to sit and admire them.

So, I have joined my first swap. It is a Save Handmade Swap and was organized through the blog birdandlittlebird@typepad.com. I already have my partner and am very excited to get started. Tomorrow Max has the day off and we're going ice skating at Yerba Buena Gardens in San Francisco. This is his first time and I have the weakest ankles on earth, I think I'll bring some Charmin and Ibuprofen!

An Experiment..............

After a meeting at school the other day Max's wonderful handwork teacher unveiled the skeins of wool that she and the children had dyed. The range of colours was amazing. This has inspired Max and I to try our hand at dyeing wool using all natural dyes. I went by the local Indian food store and bought a 7 oz packet of Turmeric (only $1.99, what a steal) and then we went by Dharma Trading Co. and picked up a large 50% Merino 50% Wool skein. I looked up instructions on the net and the pot is almost ready for the wool. I'll let you know how it goes!

Here are some pics of Max and his classmates.