The Dye Contest: Day Three

Pics were made today of all the yarns and rovings that I have dyed thus far. Some will need to be overdyed to get the colors the way the designer submitted them. Before I do that, though, I will send the designer a pic for her/him to consider. Happy accidents happen with dyeing every day. I don't want to take that experience away from people who have been so eager to join this adventure with me.

The Dye Contest has put me way behind where I need to be for the conference that I will be attending in California this week. But, the fact is that I am having so much fun that it is difficult to worry. The colors combinations are truly spectacular. Working with colors that were selected by other people has done what I hoped it would do; I have broken away from the idea that blues are best. Not everyone wants blue, or purple, or green. Some people will want orange. Other people are moved by yellow. The point is that my rigid, inflexible attraction for certain colors has been rattled by a rather large earthquake of my own design. Here are of some of the submissions.

My bathtub sure does come in handy when I want to pre-soak the roving and the skeins. A lot of dirt comes out of these fibers when they get washed. I'm surprized by the sand and grit that comes out of them, but I kind of like the reminder that animals are an important part of this process. I try to make sure that no animals are harmed in the process and I also focus on not letting even the smallest scrap of the fleece goes to waste. I nearly cried the first day that I scoured a fleece and the agitation of the washing machine partially felted some of the wool rendering it useless for my purposes. It is a reminder that being conscious has benefits!