Back to the drawing board

Dammit, I thought I was doing better. And then I go try the merino/silk blend again and I get ye olde partially felted fiber.

I adore the coloring, but can you see the wavy bits near the top? Yeah, the outside kind of felted, again. I seem to be able to handle the 80/20 BFL/silk but not 80/20 merino/silk. Hmph, I can make the Finn behave, too.

I'm just going to suck it up and start directly applying dye and then steaming. I prefer kettle dyeing since it's less of a mess (for me) and I like the watercolor/color blending. We'll see if it's a rinsing problem or a cooking problem.
Isn't it pretty (well, if you like rusty-orange colored wool)? I love how the silk takes up the dye differently and puts in little shiny bits.