Handpainted Yarn

Secret Squirrel sent me some undyed Trekking yarn and some food colouring in my April SP10 package and I decided I was sick of ebay and sick of tidying up so I got busy.

I soaked the yarn for about an hour in 8 pints of water and 1 cup of white vinegar. Then I painted on blue and yellow food colouring with a paint brush. Left it to sit for another hour or so and then cooked it for 5 minutes in my microwave. Here is my very first attempt at dyeing in the sink having a wash after it had cooked - look how clear the water is - the dye must have stuck fast!!!

I gave it a gentle wring and hung it up overnight to dry. This morning, since I don't have a swift and it looked pretty gruesome in its stripy hank, I used the kitchen table to rewind the skein into this rather pretty looking hank.

What do you think?