Happy Dye Day!

I've been dyeing over here--a whole weekend of dyeing stuff. Most days I can get in a couple loads, but some days it takes all day to get through one load, what with the time it sits and the time for rinsing and washing and then the drying. Oy.

But The EGE needed new running tights--I think I mentioned this somewhere but don't remember where or to whom--and I ordered some women's white cotton tights for him from DharmaTrading.com. (Here are the leggings I love; he has five pair, I have, ummmm. I have more than that. Let's not go there, OK? If you order them, keep in mind that they run large: he wears a large; I had to order the extra-small, which is a joke.) He wanted one pair in each of our favorite colors, so I had to find other stuff to make up loads--I loathe bucket dyeing and am not going to use the washing machine for just one piece--even on the smallest load setting, it's still horribly wasteful. So: lots of dyeing this past weekend. The last load is in the dryer now, and he has new tights (which look fabulous but not so great with the rest of his Running Outfit, which consists of a couple layers of ancient long-sleeved t-shirts that are just the ugliest things in this house. But nobody asked me. So he has faded old stuff, including --wait. Here's what my husband wears when he runs: tights, then spandex shorts over those, then a pair of large cotton shorts with pockets (for cat food, of course) over those. Then three long-sleeved t-shirts--none of them 100% cotton, so none of them in fabulous colors. Then one more t-shirt over those, in a faded yellowish color. Why all the layers? I have no idea--something about keeping his body warm and how sweating is good for you or something. He wears the same thing in the summer. He is an alien. But an alien with fabulous new tights!)

Anyway, so I also dyed these sweaters.

They're from BJ's. They gave me the purple one because it had big faded swaths and they knew nobody would buy it and I could dye it. I liked it so much I bought the others for $20 each. One size, 100% cotton. Nubby and comfortable X two~~

The first one is the color it was--I tried to overdue it fuchsia, and it might be a tad bit rosier, but mostly it was just too dark. The purple one is slightly darker than it was. The next three are the ones that thrill me.

The pink one was an off-white. I dyed it pink and then wadded it up and rubber-banded it and put it in the fuchsia, which I made just slightly darker than hot pink, so it's got a streaky, clumpy look I adore. The brilliant orange one was a brilliant coral, but I don't particularly care for coral, so I put it in the orange dye bath. I LOVE the color it came out.

And this last one is my favorite--it was a robin's egg blue--a tint of green, mostly pastel. Eh. But I wanted to see what a chartreuse dye bath would do, and wow! I love this green--it's not as chartreuse as my usual green because of the blue base, but it's gorgeous anyway. I can't get an accurate color here, but this is pretty close. It's just more saturated and brilliant--a really, really nice green. I wore it yesterday with purple leggings. For Mardi Gras, of course.

Speaking of: we had a Mardi Gras feast last night, our own version: red beans and rice, coconut shrimp, red wine, pecan pie drizzled with caramel. No, we did not cook this stuff from scratch--it was one of those occasions when we break away from our usual diet and eat prepared foods--boxed Zatarain's, frozen shrimp, frozen pie. I have got to say, though, that this coconut shrimp from SeaPak is my new favorite food. I hope I get over it soon (OK: we've had it three times in the past week: this is why I stick to a simple, repetitive diet, because I get obsessed with something and want to eat it every single day. Because it might mean my body is craving some nutrient, I indulge it for a while, but this is getting ridiculous. Also expensive.).

So that's what's going on here. I've got a bunch of new leggings I love and fabulous sweaters that are long enough to wear over the leggings. Of course, it's 79 degrees here today, so leggings-and-sweater weather is kind of iffy for the rest of the year for most people. Me? I'll be cold until June~~