Further Adventures In Dyeing

I re-dyed another two skeins with the stronger dye -- it definitely makes a difference! I've started knitting a scarf with the first two skeins. The second ones are for a hat and possibly mittens.

The collection of washcloths for the women's shelter is going well -- counting the one I'm currently knitting, I've got 19. That means I only need 11 more before I'm ready for the first delivery.

I was a bit annoyed with a poster on the 'Peace Work' group last week. She posted in the thread for the washcloths for the shelter, asking if once I have enough washcloths, would I be okay with sending future cloths to Hurricane Ike victims. Now, don't get me wrong, I have nothing against helping victims of the hurricane. What annoyed me is a) hijacking the shelter thread and b) assuming that once I have enough for a delivery I'd be finished, especially since I stated at the beginning that this would be on-going, not just a one-time thing. So I told her to do the research, find out where things should be sent and start a new thread for it. And that yes, sending the washcloths to hurricane victims would be fine, as long as people didn't forget the women's shelter. She didn't bother to reply, or set up a new thread, although someone else brought the topic up again several days later. When I asked them to start a new thread, they did.

And that brings me to a public service announcement. The Houston Food Bank is in desperate need of monetary donations to help purchase food so that they can meet the demand in the wake of the hurricane. They're estimating that they will need to distribute 700,000 pounds of food every day for the next several weeks at least. No, you didn't read that wrong -- 700,000 pounds of food daily. If you can spare even a little, please donate!

Looking Better!

Well, judging by the lack of comments, no one is reading this. Oh, well, hopefully someone will stumble across it soon.

So, I redyed 2 of the skeins yesterday. I'd mixed up new dye, about 4 times stronger than I originally used. I repainted the skeins entirely, and it looks like the colors are much brighter and more vibrant. This ought to knit up into some amazingly brilliant fall color

Perhaps Not Such A Failure

So, the yarn has begun to dry overnight, and I took it outside and looked at it in the sun this morning. It's not as bad as I thought, although the russet and vermilion will definitely need to be dyed again. And I may touch up the burnt orange a bit -- depends on how it looks once the yarn is completely dry.

On a bright note, I got more washcloths and toiletries for 'A Fresh Start' yesterday. Counting the washcloth I'll be finishing today, that's 8 washcloths so far. The shelter's maximum capacity seems to be 20 women, so I want to have 30 bundles before I make the first delivery. That way, if they're full up, every woman there will get a bundle and they'll still have some left to give new arrivals as other women leave. No toys for the kids yet, though -- that part of the idea may not pan out.

Is anyone even reading this?

Dyeing Failure

So I spent the day turning balls of yarn into skeins so I could dye it, and tonight I was ready. I set my yarn to soaking, mixed my dyes, got all my supplies together and proceeded to paint the six skeins I wanted to play with. My colors were rich fall colors, and I was eagerly anticipating the gorgeous yarns that would result.

Nope. Not at all the deep rich colors I was looking for. Instead of a rich vermilion, I got a pinkish red. Instead of a russet, I got an orangish red. Instead of a deep burnt orange, I got a run-of-the-mill orange. And the gold ochre was a pale gold.

On top of that, the sport weight skeins (two of the six) burned. I don't know if I can salvage anything, but I'm not betting on it. And I was going to knit myself mittens with those!

Now don't get me wrong -- the yarns are really pretty. They're just not the colors I want to get. And they aren't colors I'll wear.

I'm going to try dyeing the four skeins that didn't burn again, this time with stronger dyes. Hopefully, that will do the job!