And, It Was All Yellow

Saffron, fiber, & water simmering 

 This weekend has been consumed with dyeing in the fiber.  I took some tips from Skeevy, a fellow Ktogger (see previous post), in dyeing with saffron.  What have I learned from this jaunt into hand dyeing  fiber?  Saffron is the most expensive spice in the world to harvest, a handcarder is a must, and my husband is employee of the month.  This picture doesn't really do justice to the beautiful yellow that the saffron produced.  I would recommend saffron for a natural dye in the future, although it isn't entirely economical to large amounts of fiber.  I ended up with a beautiful bright color that I spun and eventually plied with a natural dark shetland fiber.  It took about a day and a half before the skein was dyed, spun, plied, and washed before I finally finished.  I have decided to enter this skein in a sheep and wool competition.  I think this has opened up a whole new world for me with regards to dyeing fiber.  I like the way that it has depth and dimension in color when it is spun before the dyeing.  This fiber, on the other hand,

Finished skein drying

was actually pretty even in color.  Skeevy, the aforementioned Ktogger, has good recommendations for dying in Kool-Aid.  That is my very next project.  I feel like using natural dyes is so low maintenance that it is a no brainer.  I think Mr. Cutthroat is very happy to have this project wrapped up.  He was stressed on trying to help me wind my yarn and keep the yellow dye from penetrating everything in our kitchen.  He thinks the dyeing is done.  And, it is-until next weekend!