Natural wool dyeing 1. Avocado.

Yesterday, I tried to dye wool yarn for the first time. I tell you the truth, I want to dye all my yarn with plants from now on. I think people are divided by their opinions and preferences. I belong to those who love all the natural stuff in craft and in life. If I could I would live from my garden, have my sheep, spin my yarn, knit from it, eat only what I've grown and have chickens for eggs and cow for milk.
Let me show you the results.

I took 3 skeins of different yarns. In order of immersion into avocado water.
Number 1. Schachenmayr Regia for Hand-Dye 4 fädig / 4 Ply  - Fingering (14 wpi). It is superfine yarn, wool rich blend. 75% virgin wool and 25% polyamide. 100 gr = 420 m , 3,5 oz = 459 yds. 

Number 2. Rustic wool from Russian producer Pehorka. It is also 100% virgin wool, but without colouring. 100 g = 250 m, 3,5 oz = 273 yards. 

Number 3. Alafosslopi. White coloured or bleached. It is 100% wool of Icelandic sheep.
 100 g = 100 m, 3,5 oz = 109 yards. 

Before I started the process of extracting the colour from avocado I took skeins and rewound them into my armchair to make hanks. Then I immersed them into water bath. They were there for about 25 minutes.  

I would like to warn everyone who wants to try the process of natural dyeing to refer to more experienced people and books. I am writing everything here just for information. Please, don't take it as a complete recipe, you can ruin your precious yarn, because I made some mistakes. 

I took peals and stones from 2 avocados. They were freshly-used, so I didn't dry them or something. I cut only 1 stone into 2 parts. Then I put them into water, used stainless steel pot because I don't have aluminium yet, and heated them till they started simmer.  I think it simmered for 25 minutes until I saw that it got red colour

 

I immersed my first skein. and simmered. I think it can ruin some types of wool or another threads, because as I found out today, one day after, it is better to take your yarn from water bath and put it into dyeing bath with the same temperature! I didn't know it. Next time I will try to equalize the temperature so the wool doesn't felt!

Later I did the same with other yarns, but let them be there a little less time and after first yarn avocado water became paler. 

The results.