October 30 2022

 


 


 


 






 


 


 


May 11


 


 Woad in bloom. Simple and sweetly scented.


 


It looks a little weedy next to the fancy tulips, but it's just as precious to me.

 

October 30 2018


Several limbs of the beautiful old Kwanzan cherry had to be removed. The backyard is very different now.  The light is harsher and when I go outdoors I feel more exposed.


At least the hickory tree out front is still full. A pair of downy woodpeckers visited yesterday. I don't know who made this giant nest = maybe squirrels?


Some of the day's work. Handspun wool and indigo.

Coreopsis flower dye

I've been collecting these annual coreopsis flowers all summer. They're small but they pack a punch in the dye pot. These plants are getting a little ragged but are still popping out the blossoms.


 


 

 The brew has a nice, fresh medicinal smell


Silk embroidery threads dyed with coreopsis flowers. The one on the right was dyed with coreopsis and madder roots.


 

August

 


Summer is ripening


 


 Phlox has a sweet, somehow sad fragrance


 


To commemorate the end of July, I made a small harvest of Japanese Indigo leaves yesterday. . I dyed some silk organza.


July

 So far, July has been packed with projects and flowers



 Indigo and cochineal shibori scarves


 


Hand-spun silk yarn dyed with  woad


More Naturally dyed embroidery silks


 


Inspiration!


 

First snowflakes

The first snowflakes arrived this morning. The Japanese indigo is finished growing.


Dogwood bush 



Redbud leaves and bits of snow


Frozen indigo dyed linen on the clothesline


Cold feet!


Fresh Indigo

Basket of Japanese indigo leaves


One of the nicest things about growing indigo is dyeing with the fresh leaves. It's a quick summertime treat. The colors are different from vatted indigo. The shades are greener, like robin eggs, turquoise, or mossy water.


Strained dye


Dyebath, rinse water, and leftover leaves


Little particles of indigo leaves in the rinse water



Silk embroidery threads


Organza silk before the final rinse


After washing and rinsing

Madder roots and silk

Madder patch May 2017 (rubia tinctorum)


I've used and re-used all of last years' home-grown madder roots so many times that now there's barely a whisper of pink left.  Although they still look rosy- red, I don't know if I can coax any more color from these roots. They're so pretty, I don't want to compost them yet. I might just dry them once more for a future experiment.



Old madder roots from last years' garden

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