Getting Ready for the Ganseys

I'm nearly done with my Nanners and it's nearly August...so naturally I'm looking forward to the Diamond Gansey Socks for the Socks from the Toe Up KAL on Ravelry! All my stash sock yarn is self-striping and I knew that wouldn't do for gansey socks. Let's face it, I'm a cheapskate and even though I wanted a kettle-dyed yarn, I didn't want to go to the LYS to get it.

So last week was Coupon Commotion week at JoAnn. Armed with six 40% off coupons, I came away with 2 balls of Sensations Bamboo & Ewe in red and Red Heart Heart & Sole; 2 balls of Spring Stripe and 4 balls of Ivory - bring out the Crock Pot and the Wiltons!

I knew I wanted a kettle-dyed look and that was about all I was sure of. I didn't wait for the water to be hot before adding the yarn. It's superwash so I figured it could handle sitting in there. I let it soak some more in the plain water with some vinegar (I don't measure) because I didn't want the dye to have time to soak in all over the place and make solid yarn.

As for color, I pulled out Wiltons brown and burgundy hoping for something resembling fall leaves. I got orange. To make it a little more golden, I added several drops of McCormick's yellow. After I'd mixed the dye in my 4 cup measuring up, I dumped it in. I dumped it fairly evenly over all the yarn, but I didn't touch it at all or take too much care to get it all covered. I never stirred it, never disturbed it once. It soaked in extraordinarily fast so I let it cool, rinsed it, and hung it out on the plant hooks to dry. I think it looks how a kettle-dyed yarn ought to look.

I'm so excited to start the Diamond Gansey Socks!