Okay, so you guys know I dye yarn, right?  And I’ve been dyeing yarn for my sole income for the last 10 years (I quit my “day job” for the State of Louisiana on April 21, 2006).  And I plan to continue dyeing yarn for the foreseeable future because there will always be knitters and there will always be new color combinations, new techniques, and new trends.

But for as long as I have been doing this, I have known that summer time is a hard time for selling yarn.  People are out vacationing, enjoying summertime outdoor activities, and so forth.   Typically my sales go down and my utility bills are double or even triple what they are the rest of the year.  And each summer I feel the  pinch.  A lot.

So, I am not giving up yarns, not at all.  I’m just expanding my dyeing empire!   🙂

This past Saturday one of my granddaughters came over and we explored the idea of dyeing t-shirts!   She did a couple, I did a couple, and then after she left I did a couple more.  You can click on any of the pictures to see them full size.

First she selected one of the spiral variations on a shirt for herself, and I made a skull face for her brother. Her spiral came out looking like …. Ta-DAA!! A SPIRAL!   Very cool.    I’m not fond of the skull design, anyway, so I probably won’t do more of those.

Fronts

Backs

Then we both made (an attempt at) heart shapes.  Someone on Facebook commented they look almost like brain scans, so obviously this is one design I need to practice some more on; lots of people like hearts, and i want mine to be recognizable.

And then after Devyn left I did another spiral and a rollercoaster.  This version of the spiral is the one commonly seen.

Fronts

Backs

There are loads of techniques and tutorials for all sorts of shapes and designs — some of which are incredibly common (almost pedestrian) as well as some very intricate ideas.  Since this is not something I contemplate doing a lot of, I want to get really good at a dozen or do designs, so that I can execute the shapes and then make them unique with various color combinations.

And, as this “ties” in with the yarn dyeing — I would LOVE to be able to take some of my regular colorways and make them available in yarns with matching t-shirts, or even tote bags, which would be awesome holiday gifts.  

Again, this isn’t to replace the yarns, but to supplement my income in a related-but-different market.   Doing something on my own behalf is certainly better than stressing through the summer months, wondering if I’ll make it until the fall.   😀

By the way, the spiral is a size Large and rollercoaster is a size X-Large, and will be available for  purchase.   I just need to do some research on pricing before I post them for sale officially.

Update (27Jul16) — The XL “Roller Coaster” is now sold.  🙂
The size L “spiral” remains available for $20 + s/h.  Just email me if you want to claim it.  

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