Wednesday, June 03, 2009


Pom-tastic cammo
Originally uploaded by littlekidd
This past weekend several friends and I spent a day learning to dye yarn. Before I left for this odyssey in color, I asked my son what color he might like for a hat. His reply: "Cammo. With a pom-pom."

This is KnitPicks bare merino bulky, pre-soaked with vinegar and then dyed using fiber-reactive dyes.

The dyeing was a gas, and easier than I thought. We spread out on tables all over my friend Christie's front lawn. She lives on the main drag in the little (and I mean LITTLE) town of Kelly, Wyoming. By the end of the day, we were surely the talk of the town.

Not knowing better, we didn't use combinations of yarn/dye to create very vibrant color. But we all had a great time experimenting. I have several other fairly subdued skeins in shades of blue and orange.

I loved the way the cammo skein turned out. Zack loves the hat, tho I don't expect any calls from the Pentagon requesting mass production.

TWO DAYS LATER:
When I showed Zack how to use the pom-pom maker he discovered his latent love of fiber creation. Not wanting him to burn through all my hand-dyed silk and cashmere to satisfy his crafty itch, I bought him a skein of Red Heart cammo yarn that he can shred to his delight. After making his first pom-pom with it, he announced that THIS pom-pom belongs on the hat I made him because, "No offense, Mom, but THIS yarn is really a much better cammo color than the hat." Red Heart vs. hand-dyed merino. You be the judge.