Dyeing in the Cold

Monday I broke another rule. In my online class with Elizabeth Barton I had gotten to the point where I was gathering fabrics for a project and realized I needed some other colors. The rules of hand-dyeing say that the room temperature should be in the seventies or above and, since my dyeing is done in an unheated basement, the only dyeing that gets done during the winter months in my house is snow dyeing. But now I really needed that fabric.

So I took a chance. Sun was pouring in the basement windows but the temperature was still in the fifties when I began. I did all the mixing and pouring in the basement but brought the fabric upstairs to batch overnight. And it worked!

I am of two minds about the results: it is wonderful that I have the fabric I need and that I now know I can dye all year round. But that forced vacation from dyeing was rather nice--one thing that couldn't find its way on the to-do list for a few months of the year. Nor during that time could I use dyeing as yet another way to put off making final design decisions.

But perhaps I should not stop analyzing, enjoy the fruits of my rule-breaking, and get back to working on my project. And if you are still reading, thanks for the company!