My surgeon’s nurse was fascinated by the knowledge that I had a flock of sheep. She let on that she liked to knit and shyly let on that she wanted some yarn. So, I was on a mission.

While I was home, I dethawed some blueberries and prepared to mordant some of my raw yarn I had prepared by the Pioneer Fiber Mill.

My scoured fleece beside finished yarn from Pioneer Fiber Mill. All from my sheep.

I modified a mordant recipe and procedure from Botanical Colors. Once I had finished mordanting the yarn, I was ready to dye it.

First, I had to mordant the yarn.

Meanwhile, I had been preparing the dye itself.

Simultaneously, I simmered the blueberries in cast iron.
Second, I started dyeing the yarn.

Once the blueberries had simmered for 45 minutes and cooled, I strained the liquid. I then placed the yarn in the strained dye for an hour. After rinsing the dyed yarn in cold water, I decided it needed to be simmered in the dye in cast iron for another hour. After that, I decided to let the yarn to sit in cooled dye overnight as I was looking for a much darker color.

I think it turned out great!

Needless to say, my surgeon’s nurse was thrilled with the gift and tickled that I remembered her shy request.