My goodness, my feet have hardly touched the ground in the last couple of weeks, but finally, I'm getting my head above water and set aside this afternoon for some "me time". I just received the parcel of wool felt I'd ordered some time ago and armed with a bag full of different Kool-aid flavours, I set to and began to dye.
I began by soaking the felt in a bowl of detergent for a while, to wet it thoroughly.
To begin with I used the microwave method. Dissolved a packet of Kool-aid in a small amount of water, added the wet felt, and cooked on high until the water was clear. I soon discovered that it was taking rather longer in the microwave than it normally does on the hob, so I put a kettle on to boil and did the rest in a saucepan. Same procedure - dissolve the powder, dilute with boiling water and add the felt. Stir a little and boil until the water is clear, about 5 mins maximum.
Rinsed in cold water and hung the dyed felt to dry, pegging the empty packet on the felt so that I have a record of which flavour dyed which colour. Interesting to note that the colour of the packet doesn't always indicate the colour of the dye.
And for once, I remembered that using the "invisible" kool-aid wasn't sensible.
Saturday, October 14, 2006 at 1:21PM 
Another discovery at the show was Annie Sherburne's "Eco Annie" collection. Her approach to making good use of what we already have with style was remarkable and whilst I was there, at least, her message was reaching a sympathetic audience. This yarn is made from 50% recycled textiles and 50% new wool and has a satisfying crunchy texture. As with the Massey-Rogers collection, the stylish packaging and eye for detail makes all the difference. 
