I generally hold myself to a 12″ limit for the stacks of paper and piles of samples that clutter my desk, but this heap of spinning fiber pushed things over the top.

A week earlier we had received a sample of Greener Shades eco-friendly dyes, and Kim and I took them for a spin to test them out.  Between the two of us we dyed about 14lbs of fiber, yarn, and silk scarves in a crazy array of vibrant colors.  I can’t say enough good things about these dyes!  Not only are the colors incredibly rich, I had no trouble getting the dyes to exhaust – the fiber took up all of the dye and there was none left floating in the leftover water at the end of the process.  I usually use Jacquard dyes, but with those it’s sometimes difficult to get crazy colors like fucshia and teal to exhaust completely.

The starter set that we carry comes with nine different colors and a bag of citric acid, along with a page of really detailed instructions.  I also got really great results by using my usual stovetop dyeing method with vinegar.  If you’re just getting started with dyeing, we have a ton of free tutorials that can help you choose your materials and plan your project.

I’m trying to finish up some older spinning projects before I let myself go crazy with these new braids, but it’s hard to wait when everything is so grey outside and these colors are sitting in my spinning basket just waiting.