A day filled with color

I was exhausted!  The kind of exhaustion you feel at the end of a really great day filled with activity…a good feeling.   I sat down 

Painting handspun yarn for a project

to write this post last night and couldn’t keep my eyes open, so I went to bed at 10:30.  I can’t remember the last time I went to bed at 10:30 on a Saturday night!  I am now refreshed and ready to share our story. 

Yesterday the studio was reserved for a group who wanted to come and dye some fibers and yarns.  Becky, from Harvest Home Farm, had coordinated the event for the group. I didn’t know who or how many to expect (neither did Becky!).  I looked out the studio window to find a parade of people from children to teens to adults headed toward the studio with fibers in tow. (And be sure and check out Becky and her familys farm ministry by clicking on the link to their farm!) 

It took me a bit of time to get everyone organized…seeing the treasures they brought to dye, what they envisioned for the end product, and if they wanted solid or multicolors.  

We started some folks with canning jar dyeing…it was a crowd pleaser.  Each dyer filled their canning jar with wet fleece, added

Spot dyeing is a quick and easy dyeing technique that yields beautiful results!

three colors of dye powder, some water and covered the jars.  Then into the hot water bath for 30 minutes.  There’s always a few

Posing for the camera and showing off our colors!

squeels of delight when they dump out the jars of dyed fiber to find a colorful surprise. 

We experimented with painting yarn, spot dyeing, rainbow dyeing locks, and immersion baths. We had yarn and fibers baking in the oven, steaming on the hot plate, and processing in the water bath canner! About half-way through the day we realized that it was HOT in there! Early spring was in the air, so we opened the studio door to let some of the cool air in…refreshing!

Several hours later and the patio was filled with color! But…the group wasn’t done yet. There were some very new handspinners in the group that were eager to try out all of the spinning wheels…so this called for an impromptu spinning class! They were “naturals”! At the end of the day we not only had bags full of colorful fibers, but we had peaked interest in spinning. Thanks to all of you for visiting…I look forward to welcoming you back soon for more spinning and dyeing!

Canning jar dyeing produces colorful results!

The afternoon also brought a surprise visit from a fiber friend from Madison along with her mother who decided to take a day trip to Black River Falls to stock up on some weaving supplies.  Caprice has become an avid weaver and spinner who is a frequent visitor here to take classes.  Their visit was the icing on the cake yesterday!

Dyeing locks of fibers

The happy group at the end of the day showing off their work!

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