Fini..

Sometimes things don't go as planned.

Which can lead to good things or panic...or both.

Due to the love of a supportive weaver,

regrouping, and burrowing deeper the 

warp is dyed.  Most colors naturally, one not, and 

then one a little of both.

The sample swatch is hard to see but it is resting on the

dark violet yarn.  The colors are pretty darn close.

~

Saxon Blue...

Being that I've never tried Saxon Blue natural dye, I thought it best

to try a few samples before attempting to dye the guild's

sheep-to-shawl warp.

A dear friend gave me this vintage dye book.  As I opened the front cover I noticed

it was autographed on the inside!  After posting the photo on Instagram I got a message from a friend in Montana ~ she went and dug her copy out and it was autographed too!

That little book was the only one that mentioned Saxon Blue.  

Not much information that I can find on the internet either.  

Following the instructions included in the package the first sample went in the pot.  

It was dyed first with a light fustic yellow in hope of getting a spring green.

MINT.

The bottom collection of samples were all Saxon Blue.

I pretty much tried everything:

different yellows

different depth of shade

different modifiers in the dye bath

.. but mostly the blue wouldn't strike.

The water would be a lovely green but when the yarn came out..yellow.

It was an interesting day and I'll continue to research, but 

today I am making an indigo vat to get the spring greens I need.

Couldn't resist a snap of the gorgeous moon last night as we sat

at the campfire.  

Now... back to the drawing board.

~

Exotics..

It is a rainy Sunday here so I thought I would sit down and label some

naturally dyed yarn samples.  These mini skeins were dyed with left over dyes from

a guild program I did last week on four exotic natural dyes:

Cochineal, Fustic, Logwood, and Madder

While Madder is currently my favorite dye, I am LOVING

the trio here obtained with Logwood combinations.

Lovely rainbow achieved from the four dyes, but I want to try to add

a green without using indigo..

~

Personality..

The thing about natural dyeing is you never know what is going to come out of the dye pot.

Each skein has its own personality...

The smokey lavender of Logwood.

Cheerful salmon that reminds me of summer begonias

which was a result of dyeing with marigolds from the garden and 

some cochineal.  If you look closely there are these

lovely tangerine undertones.

Buttery marigold from the summer garden.  

I froze all the blooms I could stuff into the freezer.

So hard to let them go..

Hoping to get some summer cheer this winter

from the frozen blooms.

~

These skeins have been listed in the Etsy Shop

if you care to enjoy some colors of nature.