washing the Hawaiian crewel

What do you do on a Friday night when you can't go anywhere because Portland is utterly unprepared to handle snow? You wet wash vintage Hawaian crewel work, of course! I did some color testing before taking the plunge, and used cold water with a little Dawn. A lot of dirt came out. The water was running brown for several rinses.

before washing

Here is what it looked like before washing. It was very grungy, especially the light areas. The sky was once light blue, but it faded in the light over the years. You can see the blue below the surface, on the underside of the yarn. 

Now it is drying. It may take a while since it is kind of thick, but I'm looking forward to seeing what it looks like without all the dirt. From the "wet" photos, it looks promising!