Wool Dyeing

the oxygen tubing is long around here

so I can slowly dye wool

the colors are close to true

just a little darker in person

most recipes from

Beautiful Wool by Laurice Heath

turns out it's available at the 

I Love Rug Hooking Website

 some of these were overdyed again the next day

the top three are now a darker

primitive green

*****

I'll be off work until at least December 1st

my breathing has improved

still attached to the oxygen though

With my job 

I am required to return with no limitations

I need to be mobile

to walk from one end of the hospital to the other at times

(it's not that big of a hospital but when you can't breathe

especially while wearing an N95 mask...)

I need to push heavy equipment, to move patients

and stand in surgery for hours

This is one of the reasons I push myself

a little

everyday

I feel much better than I did 2 weeks ago

if all goes well in 2 more weeks I can return

Thank goodness for curbside pick up at the grocery store

Wishing you a beautiful day!

The Dye Pots Are Out

http://altoonsultan.blogspot.com/2009/08/dyeing-day.html

I found the above photo on Pinterest

then followed the link to the blog

very good reading...

My dye pots are full

at the moment there are three pots of green

simmering away

it's a work day so only those today

I'm getting ready to open my etsy store again

FB buyers made me dizzy over the weekend

think it will be easier to just sell out right 

we'll see

I'm very happy with all the sales I made this year

a good dent has been made in the sewing room,

the wool room and a debt or two

I'll let you know when the shop is open

I'm going to do wool ...over dyed for now,

cotton bundles...so much awesome Moda and such from the past

finished hooked rugs and other decor

whatever I can live without

it's a dreary day in Ohio

good for dyeing

not so bad for going to work

September Dye-A-Thon

dyed this morning

these are all from one pot

all the same base (cream) wool...

love the variety

from yesterdays dye pots

lighter than I'd planned

but still loving them

three pots are cooling on the stove

2 different barn reds

1 forest foliage

they'll be quite mottled 

as they'll have to sit until after work

 

*****

now I need to go through my packets of dye

figure out what I can do with it

maybe buy just a few more packets of certain colors...

 

After and Before

from the book

Antiuqe Colors for Primitive Rugs

colors are fairly accurate

the top greens are less faded looking in person

top

olive green/plum  #27

full recipe

1/2 cup each in two pots

bottom 

bronze/green  #26

full recipe

1/2 cup each in two pots

these are the 2 wools overdyed with #26

they were sort of faded peach and pink 

quite hookable now! 

They dye pots and supplies have been bleached

stored away for another time

I really must get to finishing 

the pieces I've hooked the past few months

Back to work after 4 days off...

UGH!

Results and Progress

as always my photography skills are lacking

just using my phone

these are fairly true colors

I prefer my dyeing to be over a mix of wool

that way you have much more variety to hook with

these will mix in nicely with my stash

the red was one pot

the blue two batches

I follow the directions somewhat

usually I double the recipe

using approximately a yard of wool per pot

I like mottled so stirring is limited

 

when dyeing it's important to read how

much wool the recipe/formula calls for

adjust accordingly 

to the amount of wool you are dyeing

there is so much online to help dyers...

try Pinterest for amazing inspiration

another shot from a different room

the blues are deeper in person

the tan was a total failure

I was going for an antique shade

ended up with a pale pink-orange-flesh tone

it's going back in the over dye pile

 ( it looks much worse in person)

the red recipe was from Barb/Emma Lou book

the blue from Mad Hen formula

there are two stacks of khaki drab/olive green

that came out nicely

just can't get a good pic of them

*****

 I'm cleaning up my dye mess today

will work on more soon

to get that "ugly" stash usable

this is back on the frame again

 found my words...

About Wool Dyeing

all images in this post from Pinterest

I learned to dye in

a class given by Barb and Emma Lou

it was heavenly!

 the blurry photo above is 

the list of colors by Cushing

the dyes they wrote their book using

I've had one of these charts

hanging in my kitchen cupboard ever since

no matter where I've lived

 

a page from the back of the book

always loved seeing which wools they used to overdye

shortly after they wrote their book

Cushing changed a few of the dyes

so not all recipes will be perfect...

that is always true 

because of variations in water anyway

the cover is a photo of one of Barb's rug

oh, to see it in person was a treat every time 

using the dyes above

the spoons below 

I've dyed a lot of wool over the years 

if I were to start dyeing now

I would probably use Pro Chem dyes

just to avoid those tiny bags inside 

the Cushing enevelopes

I did purchase some a few years back

to dye some Polly Minick recipes

for red and blue

plus

most of the newer recipes are written for Pro Chem dyes

this dye book has always called to me

but I have way too much Cushing to change now

in my stash of recipes:

these recipes from Wendy Miller are great

have the book but not the swatches

love these recipes

too bad the book is hiding from me

especially good over Dorr oatmeal

I have some swatches to show you tomorrow

they are on a little white card each

with a doodle

can't remember who sold them

each recipe is for 1/4 yard

 Karen Kahle's swatches...

would love a set of these just to asmire

one really should keep track of dye recipes

successes and failures

do you think I do? 

I think this is Julies Butler's...

what fun it would be to see each swatch and recipe

*****

wool dyeing is very easy

check out YouTube for plenty of how to videos

when I use up / sell off

my stash of dyes I will most likely switch to 

all as-is hooking

 there is so much available today 

compared to when I started hooking in the 90's

Happy Thursday!

it's dreary and humid here in Ohio

not a good day for taking photos

hoping tomorrow you'll be able to see a table full

of newly dyed wool

 

 

 

Dyeing In Progress

today is the day

wool finally made it into the pots

three pots done

two more on the stove

I'll show all the wool when I put the pots away

later this week

the stack on the dye table is growing

I'm nearly done with one closet

a few stacks of too thin and too loose wool

still in the sewing room

wondering where to donate 

some cleaning done in between

I'm a a major procrastinator

so any time I actually feel like cleaning

I do 

the cats are very busy following me around

came across a bunch of red dot 

from when I was planning on selling patterns on linen

(only 4 or 5 years ago)

since then 

I've come to realize I hate drawing patterns on linen for others

for myself I can have errors galore

hope you're having a great week too!

 

Dyeing Day

my sister and her husband are here from NC

they've been having a great visit with Mom

plus giving me some much needed rest

today I am staying home

all day

it's a little dreary

a little cool

the perfect day for playing in the dye pots

I have a large collection of Cushing dyes and recipes

I enjoy Karen's recipes

for their simplicity and gorgeous colors

 Primitive Spirit

this link will take you to Karen's etsy shop

I can highly recommend her little books

full of dye recipes and wonderful information

in the past I have used these recipes so many times

that wool has been hooked and I sorely miss it in my stash

so many perfect backgrounds here

the recipes are simple

marbleizing is a great way to get started "dyeing"

 

I also have her Lavender book 

which also includes background recipes

*****

I have tons of dye books and recipes

right now I'm in the mood for softer shades

subtle variations

I'm in no way connected with Karen

simply sharing some information

hoping to encourage others to dye some wool

it will make your work unique

I recently purchased some of her marbled wool

from her esty shop a ~ it's heavenly

quite inspiring too!

Wishing you all a wonderful day