Artisan Dyers

I love to dye yarns, fibers, fabric, anything. But I can be tempted by fibers that others have dyed. What fun to spin up something that I didn't mix, stir, heat and serve! There are so many options out there, how to choose?

I like to buy from people I know, which narrows the field somewhat, and makes it easier to resist every pretty fiber that comes down the Internet. These fibers came from three friends, purchased at different times, but (snort) oddly they all go nicely together. It's easy, I say, to put stuff together like this if one is consistent (read obsessed) with a limited range of colors.

I've been knitting mittens, an easy travel project, small and portable. This pattern was adapted from Selbuvotter, adjusted a bit to accommodate my larger gauge. These were knit on US 2's, starting with the lace cuff:



This wool is from Anne, at Wooly Wonka Fibers. She dyed some Shetland wool in reds and oranges, which I plied with some solid red that I had dyed.



The blue and yellow, also the other red at the finger tips, comes from Steph at Wooly Daisy. I bought this from her at a local spin-in, where resistance was futile. I stayed away from the table for the first few hours, until a nice young woman came up to ask advice on what to buy for her spinner sister (danger, danger Will Rogers). She bought lovely merino from Steph, while I picked up 7 ounces of an unknown wool in three colors: reds, blues and yellows.

I spun up most of this wool that very afternoon. The packets were about an ounce each, which neatly fit onto my bobbins. I plied them by running them into balls later that evening, and plying from both ends.

Now I just needed some orange, and I had some nice yarn spun from batts from Linda, at Grafton Fibers :



There are several bits of yarn left, ready for the next project:



more mittens? a hat? gloves? socks? Perhaps I need to buy more fiber and spin up enough for a shawl?

This way lies madness. We all know. But it's all good.