Handpainted Merino Wool

I started with Patons Classic Merino in Winter White. I unskeined it and wound it into a hank. I soaked it in water with a couple glugs of vinegar. The dye was supposed to be able to stay without it, but I decided to put it in just for my own peace of mind!








I squirted the dye left over from our Tie-Dye fun onto the yarn and wrapped it in plastic wrap. I squished the yarn/dye a little through the wrap to distribute it a little.









Then I folded the yarn in half and wrapped it with more plastic wrap. I popped it in the microwave for about 3 minutes just for good measure and let it sit for about 8 hours.














The yarn after I unwrapped it, before being rinsed.












Close up of the purple not rinsed.















The yarn is rinsed now.














Close up of the purple rinsed.













After rinsing the yarn, my hand was very blue. The picture doesn't show it as blue as it was in real life.













Twisted up, the colors show up nice.











I put the yarn back on the laundry basket I used to wind it into a hank. Plopped the basket over the Sit and Spin and started winding my ball. It was nice to have the yarn spin so my arms didn't have to work so much!!















All wound into a center pull ball.











And just for fun, I put the ball band back on!

My "Swift"

When ever I needed to roll up a skein/hank of yarn after dyeing it or from Purewool, I had to find something (or someone) to hold my yarn. I tried several different methods before I found the one that works the best...






the car seat handle!







It is the right size to fit the skeins of Purewool and if I prop it up against the footstool, I don't have to work too hard to get it to unwind.

Of course, a REAL swift would be even easier and I'm still hoping to make one, but in the meantime, this gets the job done!





Sitting next to the yarn in the seat of the carseat, is my "ball winder". I first wrap the yarn around a book a few times, then I slide it off and "sandwich" it between the handles of two flat wooden spatulas. Then I wind the yarn around the handles to make the ball. When I'm done with the ball, I pull the spatulas out one at a time. And Presto, a center pull ball!