Have you ever golfed? I made a bit of a serious go at it several years ago -- I even took lessons....(which is so amusing to me now -- oh, the wool I could have bought with all of those green fees..... :-D). I was tired of everyone I work with leaving early to go and play, so for a couple of summers I decided that I would join them. The one thing I will already remember from my time golfing is that it doesn't matter how good you are, or how long you've been playing.....but everyone is capable of making an amazing and unbelievable shot (....like the time I was in the sand pit and chipped up, my ball went right into the hole!) Of course, you can also have a very horrible, not-at-all-what-you-expected shot, even if you are a pro.
I feel the same way about dyeing, especially dyeing slub yarn. Now I don't profess to be an expert dyer -- I'm not a chemist, I don't follow recipes, I may never be able to duplicate the same thing twice.....and it doesn't bother me. It's all part of the fun of dyeing for me -- the experimenting and playing and just never quite knowing for sure what you have until it's dry. Plus, early on I did try using recipes and not once did I get what I was expecting....so I've learned to trust my own eyes instead.
Okay, so back to the golf. Sometimes when I'm dyeing, I have that same golf luck...and wonderful, exciting and completely unexpected things happen -- waaaaay better than I was aiming for in the first place or I could have even hoped for.... And for me, it's why I love dyeing so much and why I find it such fun. Sometimes there are last minute surprises that happen in the cook-off pot (where I put my wool to simmer and set, once I declare it 'ready'), due to a little bit of transfer from one piece or skein to another...like the goldy-brown patches on these sky skeins.....
Of course, I've also have my fair share of 'mulligans' -- I just put them back into my dye cupboard and forget about them until the next time I dye, when they can be reincarnated..... one day I'll do a post with before and after shots -- I forgot to take pictures today).
So what prompted this philosophical reflection? I decided to dye up a bit of slub tonight....and on top of a dozen new skeins, I also breathed some new life into last months uggers ....and they are now whole (like the beauty, at the top of the post that was a too bright cerise). Some of the skeins are simply too pretty to contemplate cutting, let alone selling (LOL!). I will try to remember to take some snaps tomorrow....when the rest is dry....
