New Louet, Spinning and Dyeing

Not sure if I told you or not but.... I got a new spinning wheel!! I LOVE my Ashford and can do almost anything on it EXCEPT very, VERY bulky, funky novelty yarns. Sooo, I looked online for a Louet which has a nice big orifice through which lots of 'interesting' fibers can be fed.

My first spinning on Louie? did indeed show that one CAN spin thread on a Louet. I've heard it said that you cannot spin fine laceweight yarn on this wheel. Not so... at least for me. :)

My second yarn was spun from some fiber that was included in my FANTASTIC E-bay deal I got on my wheel. I wasn't expecting any fiber but the seller threw in about 3 lbs of merino roving. Nice stuff! GREAT surprise!

Anyhooo, I've been messing with the fiber.. still not doing the chunky stuff yet but did spin up this PURTY stuff and then dyed it with Koolaid. I just LOVE the colors.. so soothing. Anyway, here are the pictures showing my dyeing steps.



I wet the spun/plied yarn with water -- allowed it to soak while I prepared the Koolaid.


I mixed up three colors of Koolaid in some old jars. I put in the complete koolaid package, added 1 cup of water and then 2 TBS of vinegar. Swirled to stir.




I squeezed the water out of the yarn which had been soaking and then slowly poured the Koolaid solutions onto the wet yarn. (I have mine layered in a microwave safe bowl.)



Next, the whole shebang went into the microwave. I nuked it on high for 1 minute. Allowed yarn to 'rest' for a minute or two. Nuked it again on high for 1.5 minutes. Allowed it to 'rest' for a minute. Nuked it on high for 30 seconds.

Then, I rinsed the warm yarn in warm water to remove any vinegar/Koolaid solution still in the yarn. (BTW, you will know when you've nuked your fiber enough when the Koolaid solution is pretty much clear - hardly any color left in it.)


Next the yarn went into the salad spinner.





Finished yarn:





Ok, so what are my plans for this yarn?? WEAVING on either my Cricket Loom or my Flip Loom. FUN!