It’s a Woolen Springtime

It’s in the air, I just know it is … Spring, that is.   I’m getting that “Spring Cleaning” kind of feeling now too.  Even though it’s only February, March and spring weather is right around the corner and I feel like repainting all the rooms of my house.  Oh, wait, that’s a lot of work!
Wouldn’t it be nice if you could just flip a switch and your wall colors would turn a different color? 
Can someone invent that please?
It’s not really feasible for me to paint all my rooms, but I can easily change the colors of WOOL!
Dyeing wool was my Saturday afternoon project.
These wool springtime colors just make me happy.  Aren’t they soooo  pretty? 
I have a project in my head which will use ALL of these colors. 
My supply of wool colors has been running low and I’ve found myself doing the “dye as you need it” method.  It’s so nice to be able to go and pick out exactly what color you need right when you need it rather than have to take the time to dye the color.  So for that reason, I like to have a supply of assorted basic colors on hand.  I can always quickly overdye these colors if I need them a bit darker or more mottled, so I’m saving time in the long run by taking an afternoon to dye a lot of wool.
I dyed up a bunch of assorted colors of greens too so that I can have my pick of leaf colors. 
Which reminds me,  I get quite a few emails which ask me where to find the wools.   I know I’ve mentioned it here, in my blog, but I guess since there are new readers coming in all the time, I’ll do a little review.
I used to get most of my wools from recycled clothing, like wool skirts found at thrift/Goodwill stores.  That’s the ideal way to do it because it’s  inexpensive as long as you’re willing to prepare the wool properly after you purchase it. 
As much fun as it is to go to different thrift stores, looking for the hidden treasures, I just don’t have the time anymore to do that … and besides, 100% wools are getting more and more difficult to find at thrift stores now because so many people are collecting it. 
So I do purchase new, off the bolt wool fabric. 
Off the bolt wool fabrics can be found at your local quilt stores, and please, please support your local quilt shops before going off to any other online shop.  They will really appreciate your business.
If you don’t have a local quilt shop, there are a few woolen mills that I highly recommend for wool.   Dorr wools and Woolrich wools are the two that I’m most familiar with and their wools are so beautiful that you’re sure to be addicted and will never want to go back to woolfelt again.  Oh, that might be a bad thing, because it is expensive but it’s worth it, I promise.
I know our local Joann fabrics has a small selection of wool suiting fabric, but it’s made in China quality. 
There are quite a few Ebay sellers that sell their hand-dyed wools.  Some of them are fellow bloggers too.
If any of you fellow wool lovers out there know of a wool source that sells quality wools, please give your suggestions in the comments.  
Ok, I’m off to babysit the grandson today at his house and I need to pack up my stitching things to take along with me.  I get a lot done during his naptime.
Oh .. here’s just a little sneak peak at my current project.  I’ll try to finish it up in the next few days so watch for the update on that.  It’s a spring penny rug tablerunner and here’s just a small sample of what it looks like ….
Yes, it’s a dark picture!  I want it to be a big surprise so I’m not giving too much away.  I’m so thrilled with how it’s coming along that I just can’t stitch fast enough to get it completed!
Happy Day everyone!