Dye or Die, that is the question

The great Saturday dyeing adventure was postponed by
1. A serious mess caused by a cat who wanted to help me repot a couple of plants. Amazing how far the dirt from a knocked over bag can go.
2. An unexpected trip to the bookstore compliments of my nephew who "needed to go get a book" and asked if I wanted to go along. I can never turn down an opportunity to go to a bookstore especially since the closest thing to a bookstore in this town is Walmart; and because my car can't go very far. I thought he was after a particular book, but actually he had no clue so there was much time looking, sampling and asking my opinion about various science fantasy of which I have scant knowledge. And of course, I had to do my bit of browsing too. I came out with one paperback, one knitting magazine because I liked the sweater on the cover and a copy of Spin Off. Nope, I don't spin...at least not yet :-)

But finally the time was right. I had decided to make little mini skeins to practice on and with the assistance of my swift, aka chair arms, and a little wrapping thingy aka an old throwaway clothes hanger, and with a cat's supervision I created a number of little guys. And no the yarn isn't yellow but hey, that's the way the picture turned out.

So, that done, I put a few of them to soak in the vinegar mixture and then the "fun" began. The plan was to create a yellow, orange, and pink combo. Hmm...so I ended up with orange and orange and darker orange. I used Kool Aid and Wilton icing color and had a grand time making a huge mess even if the yarn didn't quite work out. But then the adventure changed and I kept expecting the CSI team to arrive at the door!

So I got to spend significant time cleaning up the crime scene. I really thought I had cleaned up
every last drop but I'm still finding splatters in the weirdest places.

The dyeing area was at least clear of splatter but still quite the mess. The large jar of animal crackers survived and that was important! By this time, I was tired. Cleaning isn't nearly as fun as making the mess! So I took some leftover dye and some undissolved Kool Aid remants and just sort of dumped them on one of the skeins and then it was steaming time. And time for a mug of Chai and some blog reading. I was anxious to know how Ann's
day had gone and so with tea in hand, and the house smelling like a giant pack of Juicy Fruit, I settled in. I was enjoying her post so much and then realized that now my house smelled like rotten Juicy Fruit...or maybe that spill above really wasn't Kool Aid. WTF??? OMG the steaming pan went dry. What a God awful smell! So after rescuing them and popping them into the microwave, doors were opened -- fans turned up on high and when it was finally slightly more tolerable I decided that maybe Sunday would be a better day. And went to bed

And, yes, I have pictures of the "finished" yarn but ummm...I can't find the camera. I guess before I start another adventure I will have a bit of a search through this still slighly malodorous house on the prairie.