I'm always experimenting and trying something new with fiber. My latest journey has involved lace-weight merino wool. I read about this yarn on the Yarn Harlot's blog when she was using it to make a mystery stole. (At $14 US for over 1400 yards, I figured it was cheap enough to play around with and if the experiments went poorly, I wouldn't be feeling the pain in my wallet.) So I ordered a couple of skeins online from the Loopy Ewe - nice folks, give them a shout -and off I went!
After trying my hand crocheting with a lace-weight yarn for the first time, it wasn't long before I became "bored" with the seemingly endless repetition of tiny white stitches.
Enter our hero.
All together now...
"Hey. Kool-Aid!"
I mixed up a yarn bath of powdered drink mix (and a little vinegar for acidity) being careful not 
to agitate the wool in the hot water. Afterall, felting is fun too, but that was not the goal this time. Like magic, I could almost immediately see the color moving into the fiber.
After about 30 minutes (more time than needed, I know, but I wanted to be sure) I drained the now-clear water, gently blotted the excess water and hung the hank to dry overnight.
The next day, I could hardly wait to stretch the hank onto the swift and ball up the luscious fiber!
The colors were amazing! The vareigated effect, no doubt from not stirring the fiber in the pot of 
hot water, was nearly hypnotizing. My mouth was nearly watering as I gazed on the deep burgundies, the rich rubies and the lighter crimson highlights. I was torn between just standing there staring at the yarn and a desire to have it balled up so I could start (yet another) project.
In the end, I couldn't have been more pleased with the resulting ball of endless possibilities. 
I immediately started a lacy shawl to give as a gift next month, but you'll have to wait for pictures of that until it's finished!
Until then,
SDOSAS!
~Jer
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