Our 11-year old granddaughter stayed with us over the weekend.  We went to Blackwater Falls near Davis, West Virginia, and walked to the falls.  It was a crisp, sunny day.  A bit chilly for our picnic but by sitting in the sun we managed to stay comfortable.

After we got home, Jayne and I dyed some Knit Picks Stroll fingering-weight yarn using Easter egg dye and some food coloring.  We soaked the yarn in water with three tablespoons of white vinegar before we left in the morning so it would be ready for us when we came home.

She decided on teal, purple and pink dyes alternating the colors all the way around the oval of yarn.  I bought some 20ml syringes to apply the dye.  They worked much better than the cheap squeeze bottles I used before.  The syringes did not leak or drip.

Once all the dye was on the yarn, we wrapped it in plastic wrap and placed the bundle in a glass dish.  Then we microwaved it for two minutes, let it cool anywhere from 5-15 minutes, and repeated that process for a total of four times to heat set the dye. (I was so involved that I forgot to take more pictures.  Oops!)

When the yarn was cool, she rinsed it thoroughly in warm to cool water with a little bit of clear soap.  The yarn absorbed most of the dye and she only had a small amount of purple dye wash out.  By Sunday morning the yarn was ready to wind into a ball.

I’ve already started knitting a pair of Helen Stewart’s Dorsal Fin socks (her choice) for her with the yarn she dyed.