Dyer Interview: Christine Eschbach of Into The Whirled

I was first attracted to Christine Eschbach's Into The Whirled hand painted yarns and spinning fiber by the wonderful photographs on her blog. Each one is a little gem. The colors are vibrant and juicy and saturated and satisfying.
So I reached out to her to see if she would be up for an interview. I was nervous, because I know from her blog that she is busy, and I was basically approaching her from out of the blue (well, she is not the only one of my interviewees that is true for). But I needn't have worried: She responded enthusiastically and (you'll see below) she put a ton of love into the interview.

How would you describe your method - hand painted? Kettle dyed? Jackson Pollack? :) Has it changed since you started dyeing?

Hand painting is my primary means of dye application. Time and time again I have tried to explore other techniques that are a little less restricting but always return to the predictable nature of hand painting. Let's just say that my obsessive tendencies get in the way of free style dyeing.

How do you apply heat to your product - microwave? Steam bath? How many pots do you have? Anything else about your setup that you think is interesting and don't mind sharing with other dyers?

Having taught myself from various tutorials on the Internet I have collected a wide variety of heating tools; many are still in use today, others sit at the bottom of a closet. As you might imagine each technique requires a specific tool, so it is safe to say that I have amassed at least a couple dozen 'pot-like' receptacles. These days I find myself favoring crock-pots for larger projects, steam baths for busy nights when I need to stray from the restrictions of the studio and the microwave for testing and quick dye projects. Oh and turkey roasters - lets not forget the roasters, they are great for larger crock-pot type projects.

Something interesting about my setup? Aside from being overcrowded, my studio and current production setup is pretty random. One of these days the dream of industrial steam tables and a wall of ovens will be realized. Ask me the same question in a couple years...

Where do you work? Do you have a special studio or do you use the kitchen, or work outside?

I would like to think that I work exclusively in my studio which once doubled as my office. However, that is often not the case - especially on dye day, oh and day after dye day. Have I mentioned that I dye four days a week? Let's just say I have a tendency to spread out into the kitchen, living room, guest room, porch, and, well, you get the idea. [My husband has the patience and tolerance of a SAINT!]

What made you want to start dyeing yarn & fiber?

As a spinner there seems to be a natural progression of the obsession...

Purchase drop spindle and fiber. Research and choose wheel. Join a fiber club. Attend festivals and buy lots of colourful fiber. Purchase four to eight pounds of raw fleece to hand wash and spin. Buy more colourful fiber. Grow curious and decide to try your hand at dyeing. It goes without saying that I followed that very path. I spent endless hours on the Internet, read every book published on the topic, and purchased some acid dyes. As it so often does, life got in the way and I tucked the dyes into my closet for another day.

After my father passed away in the winter of 2008 I found myself a little lost. The affairs of the estate were dealt with and I had a long winter, promising to be filled with grief, to contend with.

The passing of a parent or any loved one affects everyone differently. I found that reorganizing the entire house brought me some peace. I imagine that a therapist would have declared that I was taking stock of my life and determining what matters and how I fit into it all.

One night it hit me. Among other things, I had inherited dozens of canning jars, four crock-pots and a 3000 yard roll of plastic food wrap. Add to that the dye I had stuffed in my closet months ago - my grief-filled nights quickly turned into colour filled mornings.

Your photography is striking and appealing. Do you photograph your yarn & fiber outdoors, or do you just have enviably fantastic lighting in your home?

Thank you! My setup is simple. I work inside; in a corner of the studio are a couple windows, three lamps with daylight bulbs, a light tent, and a simple point and shoot camera. Eye catching photographs can be achieved with practice, time, and a whole lot of discarded photos.

What part of dyeing is the most satisfying to you?

Oh, tough choice! I would imagine an answer like "everything" would be a little boring for the reader, so let me think a moment. Time and time again I tell my customers that I simply fill the spinner's palette and they are the true artists; hands down, the most satisfying moment is Show and Tell! On the Into the Whirled Ravelry group, sharing is strongly encouraged for somewhat selfish reasons – I love to see what folks create with the tools I have provided!
 
Does any part of dyeing freak you out a little or irritate you?

Once I was able to move past the word "ACID" in "acid dye" I quickly realized that there really is little to fear when it comes to dyeing. However, not being afraid does not translate to throwing caution to the wind! Pardon me while I step up on a soap box and take this opportunity to add a small public service announcement for aspiring dyers: While dyeing is a relatively safe pastime, please take every precaution prescribed by the dye manufactures and protect your health!!


Lastly, do you have any heroes or guiding lights who you have learned from or been influenced by?

Perhaps the group most deserving of recognition are the unsung heroes and guiding lights who stand by my side every day of the week. Words cannot describe how much I appreciate all the friends and family that gave me the confidence and support I needed to launch and grow ITW.

There are two very talented individuals who have been a tremendous influence, especially over the past year: Jill Draper of Jill Draper Makes Stuff and Cal Patch of Hodge Podge Farm. Together they are known as Double Knot Studio. The talent, the knowledge, and the commitment to living as successful working artists is truly inspiring. Needless to say, I have endless amounts of respect for these ladies. After undergoing bilateral Carpal Tunnel release surgery I found myself unemployed with a choice: find a new job or focus my energy on ITW. With the encouragement of these two ladies I found the confidence to make the decision to leave the life of corporate America in my past and dedicate myself to a completely creative lifestyle.

Thank you so much, Cris, for putting your heart into this interview. I loved reading about your process. Your work is so lovely and you are so tremendously prolific. It's wonderful to see your business grow!

You can find Into The Whirled on the blog, in the shop, and, of course, on Facebook.
 

Some dyeing log entries

3/19/11
Lavender pink:
Tied 8 oz BFL in knots, did not presoak.
1 tsp red
1 tsp blue
1 tsp yellow
1 tsp citric acid
1/2 hour near-boil.
It came out nice.

While still in the dyewater in the pot. I didn't get a photo of it after drying.

3/22/11
And I probably screwed up the above.

I put a tsp of red in the pot with 1/2 lb of dry BFL tied up, heated it for over half an hour, took that out and let it cool in the sink.

The dye water was not exhausted so I added 1/2 tsp of yellow, ~1/8 tsp blue, and some more squirts of red liquid. It's a nice avocado green, based on the sample I put on the coffee filter. I tied up the lavender-pink-white and put it in the green. I don't know how this will come out. I don't expect a good outcome.

4/1/11
So the avocado over lavender actually did come out quite well.

ETA: I like how there are still plenty of bits that are pink; and it's a really nice pink, almost like a young rose. And the greens are good too, not too kelly or anything. And I like the parts that almost remained undyed. They got a little color in them, but pale enough for my taste. I wasn't sure about this when it first came out, but I'm happy with it now. I wonder how it will spin up? I would like to keep it to spin myself, although I'm listing it on the Etsy shop; but I can't say how I would spin it, or especially how I'd ply it.

The red, meanwhile, was a bit plain. The parts I tied up were hardly white at all, as the dye was so strong that it seeped in and there was very little masking.

Tonight I mixed 1 part red and 2 parts yellow, and separately 1 part red and 1 part blue (of the premixed liquid dyes), and put them on the red after soaking it. Then I microwaved it (3 min on, 3 min off, times 3). I did it in 4-oz lengths so I alternated the two pieces in the microwave. It's in the strainer now, and it looks (in wet form) like it will be quite pretty. Hard to tell when it's wet.