Dye-version

Jen was over last Friday, to say goodbye on her way to Ireland, and to take advantage of my dyeing experience. She spilled coffee on a favorite white sweater, and wanted to overdye it black and cover the stain.

We did get the sweater pretty close to black - a very dark grey-purple - but there was still a lot of the color left in the bath. I thought it was a pity to waste it. So yesterday I heated the dye up again, and plopped in a couple ounces each of silk roving and washed alpaca, let it sit while I lunched. I do like the results. The silk compacted a bit in the mesh bag, so the dyeing isn't even, but it ranges from pewter to anthracite. And the alpaca picked up a bit more of a purple shade of grey, which is nice, as I have grey alpaca already.

I'm suspecting a silk-blend laceweight might be in my future, for something drapey and slate-colored that shows off that bit of uneven color  and the sheen in the silk.