30 January, 2009

Happy Chinese New Year

I know this is a couple of days late but better late than never. Here is a money tree to bring you good fortune for the year.Here is a lion dance out the front of one of the buildings on our street.
This year is the Year of the Ox. May it be better for you than forcasted!

20 January, 2009

Food Colour Yarn Dyeing

OK, when I should be packing for my 2 month trip to Hong Kong, I'm dyeing yarn with food colouring! I bought bamboo & footscray from The Yarn Workshop. Incidentally, the person who owns this actually lives in Hong Kong. She directed me where to get the powdered food colouring & I couldn't return to Hong Kong without having used it!

Anyway, here are my results & I'm kinda impressed! Both yarns were dyed the exact same way and yet both of them came out totally different! Here is a photo of both of the yarns painted.

Of course, I was not thinking. It was food colouring. I could do this in the kitchen. I didn't need any safety precautions! Here is my reminder that next time, I need to wear gloves!

I microwaved both of these. Then rinsed, washed & balled! These photos don't show the actual beautiful colours but you can certainly see the difference! The bamboo is the lighter colour but it is actually very, very cool! I love the way both of these turned out. I will definitely be picking up more food colouring dyes while in HK
















This is the bamboo in the skein
and then in the ball.

This is the footscray which is mainly wool in the skeing & then in the ball. During each process, just as with dyeing fabric, the colours were always changing.

During each process, just as with dyeing fabric, the colours were always changing. I loved the way these turned out & will definitely be doing it again soon!