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
A quick peek of what's on my rug frame...
"Thank the Bees" runner...
I'm hooking it with my naturally, plant-dyed wools...
Thank YOU Bees:)
Hope you have a beautiful day...I'm heading back to the gardens!
~Laurie
This year I finally got the chance to work on the south side of our yard...
my new DYE garden...
marigolds, calendula, coreopsis, asters, rudbeckia, dahlias, zinnias, purple basil, sunflowers...with some rosemary, sage, nastursiums, squash and peppers, too ;)
Of course it was THE HOTTEST weather when I was out there building the beds.
On April 16th we had 15+ inches of snow...
and on May 29th it was in the high 90's...feeling like well over 100 degrees.
I re-did my lavender bed, too:)
Everything is growing...this pic is from this morning:)
My happy place...thanks for visiting!
~L
P.S. back soon with a preview of my newest rug design...hooked in all naturally plant dyed wool;)
Bolts and bolts of new WOOL have arrived in the studio and will be posted on the Website and Etsy Shop soon!
Today I'm working on getting the wool kits and patterns for Hilda's Flower...
the 2018 edition of my annual LJFibers Rug Projects!
a peek at just a few of the wool piles...
...including my gorgeous plant-dyed wools...saxon blue and glowing greens...a combination of saxon blue and fustic.
Today it may still be cold and snowy outside...but inside it's warm and wooly!
Have a great day ~ Laurie
Stillwater, Minnesota
Saturday October 7, 2017
I didn't have time to take photos, but Cathy over at Orange Sink came, she's a great photographer...see her post here
The past few days have been spent unpacking and putting things back together in the studio.
It's tight here...I've still got boxes of my folks stuff to sort through...they are filling up our very limited storage...
but...I'm making-do;)
Last evening I began listing my new, Hand-Plant-Dyed wool in the Etsy shop.
I'll being listing more wool over the next few days!
Dyed in small batches, these gorgeous fat quarters are truly one of a kind and won't be listed on the main website, just in the Etsy shop...or in person at the studio.
The studio is open by appointment. I'm still not able to have "regular" hours.
We got a bit of frost overnight...glad I picked the last of the peppers
...it was an amazing plant yielding over 20 peppers
Some of theses are tiny compared to the ones I've been eating this past month...but they are still sweet and delicious!
I'll be back soon...
I've been invited to teach at Rug Week 2018 in Sauder Village...I'll share all the details in the next post!
Thanks for visiting ~ Laurie
Celebrating Labor Day in the backyard playing with plant dyes
Trying to find my "groove" after nearly 3 years of care-taking...
slowly finding my way back...
Wishing you all a happy day ~ Laurie
