Dying to Dye

So, I have some leftover yarn from my zauberball (looove my gloves!). I want to make something crazy with it, so I decided on some socks. I'm still vacillating between funky argyle and something less...um...challenging. But, I have decided that the perfect solid color to go with my lovely orange to purple fade would have to be a yummy turquoise! I couldn't find the perfect color, so I decided to make my own. YAY! I started with a skein of natural sock yarn that I'm fairly certain Madalene (of Knit One, Weave Too in Edwardsville) didn't charge me enough for.

After reading up on the process in the What a Kool Way to Die group on Ravlery, I mixed up four colors of Kool-Aid: Berry Blue, Ice Blue Raspberry Lemonade, and a mix of Lemonade with each of the blues, giving me two blues and two greens. The mixtures were pretty concentrated, with only about a half cup of water each. After soaking the yarn, I heated it to 180ish on the stove. My plan was to paint the 4 colors on in different spots and let them move around a bit. Wrong. I squirted the colors on, and the yarn sucked them up so fast they didn't get a chance to float! So, I mixed up a more dilute batch of the Ice Blue, moved the yarn out of the way and poured it into the water. That got rid of the white spots. I also sprinkled a bit of the Berry Blue and Lemonade in various spots to increase the contrast. I let the whole thing simmer until all the dye was gone (which didn't take long at all).

I LOVE the color of the finished yarn. I am 'living with it' for a few days while I decide if I want to throw it back in the pot and sprinkle a bit more Lemonade to bring out a bit more green and a little more Berry Blue to get a few more dark spots.