Dye Day

My cousin Carolyn is an excellent rug hooker.  When she took up the craft in earnest a few years ago, she phoned a family member and excitedly told them, "Guess what?  I'm a hooker and I'm hooking on a rug right now!"  Without missing a beat the person on the other end said, "You tell that husband of yours that if he's going to let you do that the least he can do is get you a decent mattress instead."  Funny people, my relatives.

Anyway, just as knitters eventually want to spin their own yarn, Carolyn wanted to dye her own rug fabric.  I have the equipment and space, she has the knowledge of what's desired, so we've teamed up to create dyed Dorr wool fabric for rug hooking (or any other craft it would work for). 

Eye of newt and tongue of dog........ oh wait, that's the other recipe.  I mean 1/8 tsp. Fushia and 1/16 tsp Lilac.

We dye a yard at a time and order a 15 yard bolt for each session, so there are lots of options to choose from.  The giant pile of color swatches on the corner of the table is a guide, but even with ultra precise dye measuring spoons (hard to call something that measures 1/128th of a teaspoon a spoon) we missed the mark on a couple of the pieces.  No matter - every color will appeal to someone, sometime.  And it was just fun to be so creative with someone who's so much fun.

The end result was a pile of pieces that she will take home, rinse again and dry, and label for sale at FLFF.

Five hours of fun in a pile





Who knew hooking could be such fun?