A lovely surprise…

A few days ago I was tidying up the bottom shelf on the potting bench were I do my backyard dyeing. My nest of old enamel pans needed a good scrubbing…

Now, I admit to being so consumed these past many years with caring for may Mom & Dad that many things just were left untouched…and my memory is a bit foggy…but I don’t think I’ve touched these in a couple years! 

What a delightful surprise in the bottom pan… 

5+ ounces of lovely dried marigolds! 

I do remember dropping a handful in the pan after a walk thru the garden and dead-heading. But usually I have a basket or handful of mixed blooms… zinnia, marigold, coreopsis and rudbeckia 

  and that is what I’d toss in the old hen basket! 

Again, I have no idea how long this mess has been accumulating… 

So it was definitely time to stew it up! 

Oh so lovely… 

  Today I’m firing up the pots to stew up the old marigolds… 

Hope you will visit again to see the results…

Be well, be safe, be kind, be creative ~L

Happy Independence Day!

My post today is not about fireworks, picnics or parades…
it’s about the magic in my dye pots…

Natural dyeing…or as I prefer to call it Plant Dyeing is a SLOW process, often spanning several days. I want to coax every bit of loveliness nature has to offer out of each plant.

To begin, I mordant the wool in alum and cream of tartar, then wash and dry it to have ready for the gardens bounty. I harvest a bit each day and save until enough for a dye run. A good ratio of plant material to wool is 1:1…so to dye a fat quarter of wool it takes about 3 to 4 ounces of plant material…that’s a lot of blossoms;) The 1st run gives rich, saturated colors. Subsequent runs yield softer values that sometime shift in color. Playing with modifiers often dramatically… magically changes things.

I’ll be back soon with results from run #3

Wishing you a magical, safe and happy 4th
~ Laurie