New Drum Carder and Dying Wool with Kool-Aid

I got a drum carder last week, and finally got a chance to use it today.  I have wanted one for years, so this was a pretty big day for me.  No more carding for hours on end by hand.  Yes!  Anyway, the one I got is the Fancy Kitty Kitten 90/120 fine fiber drum carder with a brush attachment.  It is made by a very talented wood worker Ron Anderson.  I am very pleased with the carder and the customer service provided.  He seems like a great guy, and really offers these carders at a fantastic price.  If he did not sell these, I probably still wouldn't own one right now.  I find it unbelievable that a hand crafted drum carder sold by an individual, is less expensive then a manufactured one. Crazy huh?  So, if you are thinking about getting a drum carder.  Definitely check out Fancy Kitty.  They sell wool pickers and handmade crotchet hooks too. (I want you to know that I don't receive anything for saying this.  I don't even know Ron Anderson.  I just truly like his products, and good people should be recommended to others!)

Now onto the fun part.  I carded up all of my nasty tangled wool and dyed it with food coloring and Kool-aid.  I put several pieces of roving in the same color dye, and just pulled some out sooner than others for different color saturation levels.  I was very pleased with the outcome and can not wait to do some felting!  Hmmm, what should I make?

There are tons of great tutorials on the web about how to do this, just Google dying wool/yarn with Kool-aid.  Give it a try.  It comes in lots of yummy smelling flavors.  Don't be mean like me though.  I told my daughter the pink one was cotton candy.  I thought she knew I was joking, but she put it up to her mouth and went to take a bite.  I stopped her with just a few fibers on her lips.  No harm done!  She was mad though, grumbling "Mom. You tricked me!"  What can I say...I'm evil!