Wednesday, April 8, 2009

~*Got Wool?*~

Hello Dear Friends! Got Wool? I do! Actually, I have had this wool for several years now, but it was all in the form of blazers, skirts, coats, shorts, etc. This has been accumulating & being stored in laundry baskets in the corner of my work room (4 over flowing baskets full!)... and I had been putting off the task of ripping it apart so it could actually be used for hooking. Well, I FINALLY did it! Yippee! After tearing it apart, I now have 3 full baskets (needing washed for the second time, of course) of good hooking wool!



Now, it looks like I need to probably get the dye out to play! Since I'm not too knowledgeable about that... can I ask YOU for help? What do YOU all do with the red/blue/green plaids? Can they be over dyed? Do they have to just be dyed black? What about hooking them alone? Do you like the outcome? Do they always have to be used for hooking rooster feathers? (I've never hooked a rooster rug ~ do I need to?) What are your suggestions for my red/blue/green plaids? I have a bunch of them!



Thanks in advance for your comments and suggestions!

Warm smiles to you...
Betty

7 comments:

  1. I am thinking that would look good if I over dyed it to prim the colors and braided a nice rug with it, lol.

    Debbie

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  2. I'll be watching to see what you come up with! Hope you had a beautiful spring day your way.
    :)Ginger

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  3. Betty, I don't dye (I depend on Judy) so I can't give you any feedback there but I'm sure many of your friends will chime in with ideas. But good for you for tearing and ripping all of this wool up. Feels good, doesn't it, to finally get something done that you've been putting off. You surely are one busy lady.

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  4. My first suggestion would be to 'marry' some of the wools - the really bright colors will be toned down quite a bit and hopefully be useable. Put several pieces in a kettle on the stove with water and add a bit of Tide detergent or J&J baby shampoo. This will allow the dye in the wool to bleed out. After simmering for 30-45 minutes, add some vinegar and watch the magic after it's reabsorbed. Let us know how it turns out!

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  5. Betty - hook them as is!! They make fantastic borders! Or you can braid a border for a rug with them - the funkier the plaid, the cooler the results! :D
    If some are just a little too bright for you, you can marry some together, to kind of dull out the bright ones, but still keep the basic plaid colors.
    And... last but not least, if you hate them altogether, LOL then overdye them black!!! Fun funky plaids all overdyed with a soft primitive black makes THE MOST AMAZING background in rugs!!
    Give me a holler if you need help with dying!! xo Bren

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  6. Hi Betty!! Happy Spring!!! Another way to tone some of the colors down is to overdye a few pieces with it's complimentary color.....like use red over green, blue over orange, vice versa, etc... or you could drab some pieces down using browns.... I would play around with smaller pieces first just to see how the dye absorbs etc... FUN!!!! Happy Easter!! Cathy

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  7. Oh what fun!!!
    Another suggestion is to do what Karen Kahle calls "Marbleizing".
    If you have odd bits of light colored solids or neutral textures...layer these with some of the plaids and simmer together to bleed some interesting patterns on the lighter wools. That's the in a nutshell version...email/call me for more exact directions!!!

    Another easy winner is Cushing's Khaki Drab...really works to tone down screaming brights and blend odd combinations into perfect mates!

    Have fun dear friend ~ Laurie

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