Blog entry
April 4 2025
Volunteer indigo seedlings between the bricks,
I'll try transplanting some of these
The madder patch is waking up.
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.
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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.
So far, July has been packed with projects and flowers
More Naturally dyed embroidery silks
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
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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
Elsewhere