Time well spent

I recently managed to get hold of some chunky-weight 100% wool for dyeing (no, I'm not giving a link in case you all go off and buy up the remaining stocks!) so I was finally able to have a go with the Omega dyes that my daughters got for my birthday last November.
Although the website is not particularly user-friendly, the same cannot be said for the dyes themselves. It couldn't be easier, no smelly vinegar, no messy soda-ash and the dye is in crystal form so no mucky powder to blow around everywhere either. You simply mix with hot water and off you go.



I dyed 1000g altogether, using submersion and hand-painting techniques (actually, hand-painting sounds a bit too technical, sploshing colour around in squeezy bottles would be more accurate, along with a bit of flinging of crystals directly onto the wet wool). The solid colours were submersed in a nice big preserving pan that I found in our local flea-market, and the variegated colours were shoved in my biggest casserole dish and shoved in the microwave.
Close ups:





Because of this happy colourful sploshing episode there has been absolutely no progress on Bethany's prom dress, but sssssh, don't tell her. I will get started soon but I need to find a large, flat space that isn't covered in clutter to start what I always think is the scariest part - cutting out the fabric pieces. If you make a mistake at this point, you're stuffed! When I made my wedding dress, nearly twenty years ago, I made my mum make the first cut as I was so scared of cocking it right up. Needless to say, the dress turned out fine (which is more than can be said for the marriage, but that's a whole other story) so I guess that now, as then, I'm probably worrying over nothing.