Today's Episode: The girl and yarn decide to make a go of it. After some complicated rituals (baths, bondage), things get Red, Hot, and Heavy. Sadly, this installment ends with one of them getting dumped.
To start this whole process, I had to gather some ingredients. Four bunches of beets, and a ginormous pot. The pot was a difficulty for quite a while, but I finally found what I needed at a flea market for $10.
I heated water in a normal sized pot, and I scrubbed the beets while I was waiting. Beets, having been grown in the ground, are seriously dirty, and I recommend a scrub brush for cleaning. Once they were clean, I plopped them in the water.
While they were cooking, I tied my skeins of yarn. They were only secured in one place, so I added three more ties (using leftover yarn from my Cobblestone) to each. This helped prevent tangles later on.
I also whipped up this recipe:
1 tbsp Champagne Vinegar
1.5 tsp Basalmic Vinegar
1 tbsp Walnut Oil
3 tbsp Olive Oil
Lemon Pepper to taste (about 1/4 tsp, probably)
Dried Parsley flakes to tasteMix all ingredients.
When the beets were soft (about 30 minutes), I fished them out of the water and peeled them. When the beets are ready, the skin slides right off. I kept out 3 beets for myself, chopped them up, and had them with the above dressing. Delicious! The rest of the beets I chopped up, and returned to the water for another 30 minutes.
While I was waiting, I filled up the big pot with warmish water. I added some vinegar, and then the skeins of yarn.
I turned off the heat on the beets, and strained out as many as I could with a slotted spoon. I added some cold water to the pot to cool it down, and then waited impatiently for the beet water to reach the same temperature as the yarn water. I scooped some out with a plastic container, and then poured it through a colander into the yarn pot.
Having transferred all the beet water over, I heated the yarn pot on low. I checked on it every 10 minutes or so, and stirred gently with my hand. The yarn isn't superwash, so I wanted all of my movements to be gentle, and to not let the yarn sit for too long in any hot spots.
After about an hour, I unceremoniously dumped all of the yarn in the bathtub.
Tune in next time (the last episode, I promise) for cleansing, a surprising twist, and of course, a happy ending.
I can't wait to see how it turns out! It certainly looks delicious.
Posted by: carla | February 14, 2008 at 11:46 PM
Lemon pepper, you say?
Posted by: Dave | February 15, 2008 at 07:34 AM
oooh and mmmmm!!!! I will have to try that dressing. We get beets with our CSA and I have no idea what to do with them!
interesting color it dyed the yarn. I am VERY anxious to see what it really looks like!
Posted by: stacey | February 15, 2008 at 07:35 AM
Intriguing! Interesting! Delicious! Waiting eagerly for the next installment!
Posted by: Liz K. | February 15, 2008 at 08:33 AM
OMG this made me giggle so much. First the intro. then I was trying to figure out why in heck you were going to use two different kinds of vinegar and oil to dye yarn! Perhaps I need more sleep...
Posted by: Jessica | February 15, 2008 at 09:31 AM
I've never dyed yarn, what an interesting process to watch! I love beetroot, how wonderful that you get to eat too.
Posted by: Denise | February 15, 2008 at 09:54 AM
Oh my! I can't wait to see what happens!
Posted by: margene | February 15, 2008 at 10:47 AM
YUM.
Can't wait!!! I smell success ahead. (And it smells a little bit like beets with champagne vinaigrette...)
Posted by: Stella | February 15, 2008 at 11:28 AM
I laughed, I cried, now I'm begging for more! Can hardly wait to see how the yarn turned out. I'm glad you ate the cooked beets and included your beet dressing recipe. I love beets. I think they are an under-rated veggie.
Posted by: Kim | February 15, 2008 at 11:59 AM
That last picture is not quite as promising as I had hoped, but we still must await the surprising twist! :-) Don't keep us in suspense for too long, okay? ;-)
Posted by: Beth S. | February 15, 2008 at 12:26 PM
What an awesome idea! Even though beets are notorious for staining everything they touch, I never would have thought to use them to dye yarn (which is surprising because I wonder if just about everything could be used to dye yarn). Can't wait to see the finale, after that tense cliffhanger ending!
Posted by: Ariel | February 15, 2008 at 01:11 PM
I hope you ate the beet greens too. Those are yummy.
Posted by: Juno | February 15, 2008 at 01:15 PM
Oh man, that "Today's Episode" synopsis had me laughing in my cubicle like a crazy person! I'm psyched to see how it turns out!
Posted by: Faith | February 15, 2008 at 03:09 PM
You can't beet that! Hah! How I crack myself up. You are so very brave!
Posted by: kseio | February 15, 2008 at 04:24 PM
I felt dirty reading this. :)
Posted by: Sacha | February 15, 2008 at 10:24 PM