This was to be my first Guild event for many a year and I was both a little excited and nervous about meeting everyone again. I needn’t have worried!! Within a minute of our arriving at Sue and Robert’s farm, I felt like I had never been away, such was the warm welcome I received. If ever there is a dyeing event, I am always eager to join in the fun. Michele had prepared some sock yarn for me and I couldn’t wait to get started. After a cup of coffee and a natter, the dyers gathered around the tables, where Sue had laid out cookers, pans, jam jars, pipettes and, most important of all, some wonderful dyes! Shelly very kindly offered to help me with the process, as I felt a wee bit unsure; also, she had somewhat of a vested interest in the finished yarn as she would be using it! In my (biased perhaps) opinion, Michele is the font of all knowledge in all things, and it soon became apparent that i am not alone in this belief, as she was soon was busy helping many of the other dyers as well!! We had prepared the yarn the day before, stretching out the 20ft skein across the kitchen (the longest clear run in our house) and attaching woollen ties every 8ft. I must confess to being a bit puzzled what these ties were for. All became clear as Shelly explained what the jam jars were for. We placed a towel into our now filled pans (to stop the glass from shattering), and placed the jars carefully on the towel, before applying heat underneath. Once the water had reached the desired temperature, we removed the jars and added our chosen dyes (being a magpie I chose the brightest colours!) and lowered each section into one of the dyes (being careful to keep the tied area away from the dye), until all 20 ft of skein was resting in the four jars. Soon the water became clear, meaning the dyes had taken and we removed the skein from the jars and rinsed them in a bucket of water. There was plenty of time to sit and chat, with the ever attentive Sue keeping us refreshed with hot drinks and I managed to meet some of the newer members and beg articles for Threads(sorry everyone!) At last the moment of truth had arrived, and after squeezing the excess moisture from the skeins in a wrapped towel, we could finally admire our finished piece. It was fascinating to see how our choices of colour made each of our yarn look so different.
As they dried in the sun, I decided I was reasonably happy with mine, but mostly, I had so enjoyed the process. I can’t wait for my next dyeing adventure. I just want to send my profound thanks to Robert and Sue for all their hospitality, and especially to Sue for organising everything so perfectly. Billy Turner Comments are closed.
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