||HomeMichelle Plumb purchased skeins of Marr Haven worsted weight at the Michigan Fiber Festival in 2000 with the intention of dyeing the yarn. The trees in Michigan were exceptionally colorful that fall so she chose their wonderful colors to dye the yarn.
Then she graciously shared her technique with all of us. See the bottom of the page for the 2004 update.
First she wound the skeins into center pull balls, put the selected dye colors into livestock syringes and injected the colors into the yarn balls at random.
 | Note the protective gloves.
he dyes are Jacquard Textiles acid dyes. You can see how the wool accepts the colors and wicks it along the strand of yarn. |  |
Michelle created this process on her own and says, "It gives an unpredictable color spread (in a good way) with a nice pebbly effect." I agree with her comment of "terrific results"
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Here are the finished skeins and talented Michelle with her beautiful sweater. A friend commented to Michelle that sometimes the colors change with each individual stitch. |  |
| 2004 update. Michelle wrote me, "The jacket turned out to be too bulky and warm (even for Michigan!), so I ripped it out and reknit the yarn into a broken rib vest. It brings out the colors much better and the sweater ripped out with no problems. I found each yarn end, put it on my umbrella swift and just unwound away. Then I washed the skeins to take the kinks out; it was as if the yarn were brand new. You couldn't tell it had been knit and ripped. Michelle is an encouragement to all of us who hesitate to change something that is already so nice; but change can make it even more pleasurable. Thanks, Michelle! |  |