What I did instead of ordering thread:

Okay, it is now Monday.... I didn't get back during the weekend, as promised... to explain these photos... It was a busy weekend! :)

Here is the story... and it will make some of the 'real' hand-dyed thread geniuses cringe!
I was going through several thread catalogs, and making a long list of 'wants'... with the idea of ordering some variegated thread... I couldn't find the color combos I wanted... so I went to the online Etsy and Ebay stores. There I found some lovely colors, but not exactly in the sizes I wished. You see, I have several patterns/color combos in mind.
This was on a Sunday... plus I live about 60+ miles from the nearest store that would have dye... so I went into the kitchen!
I wound several small 'hanks' around a drawer front.. tied them, discovering with the very first attempt that tying in more than two places is a NECESSITY!!! (I should have thought of that!)
Then I got out the only 'dyes' in the house: egg/food dyes! Soon I found that only the red didn't wash out... of course! (This was an OLD set of food colors, so the red was RED #40 of course, which remains in our bodies for months!!!)
Next I went to the precious (read: expensive) bottles of 'safe, vegetable' dyes I use for cake decorating. These make very pretty frosting colors, and the thread was pretty too... so long as I used cold water to wash the thread. As soon as I turned on the HOT water... they all changed color to woodsy, natural tones.
The green coloring, which includes some tumeric, etc. turned into the only color that could be used.... but I am not sure just how stable it will be... I have seen tumeric-dyed wool yarns, but don't know much about it.

Finally, a light bulb went off in my head. There are colors in my acrylic paint that are very 'staining'.... we have to be very careful not to be messy painters when using certain colors, or they will leave permanent stains on our shirt sleeves, rugs, tiling, etc. Ahah!!! something more to try!
So I went to get the Hooker's Green, Cobalt Blue, and Cadmium Yellow... please wear gloves or be very careful with these colors... they contain certain metal/mineral elements that are as toxic as any fabric dye. I 'painted' on the colors, also using the Red#40 food dye...... and then washed many times in HOT water and strong detergent. After many rinses that remained clear, I finished my 'Home dying' experiment!

I am in the process of tatting motifs with these colors.
I think this was the very HARD WAY to go about experimenting.... but it was tons of fun.. and I am getting ideas for what color combos I would use most!!!

I did buy some REAL dye... so will have to try this again!
But, first, I must finish several motifs, etc..... all my shuttles are in use!