In August 2005 North Country Spinners had an outdoor meeting devoted to natural dyeing. The idea was to gather local flowers or plants in enough quantities to dye a good amount of wool. However, I don't think it'd be appreciated if I denuded Central Park of all of a certain plant. Not that I could. Solution: I contributed brazilwood chips -- they're natural, just not local. It was the best I could do, arriving at Sparta at 9 pm the evening before the 9:30 am meeting.
In the agreeable comapny of NCS members with their vast store of knowledge, we had a lovely day. Jean taught this city slicker how to use her outdoor stove. She'd collected goldenrod and made a dye bath. Mary Lou had collected rabbit brush and done the same. Mary brought a huge gas burner -- very handy. Jean also had an iron after bath for us to experiment with. The afghan Jean made from the wool she dyed is one of the loveliest things I've ever seen.
"What will I do with all these little skeins?" you ask??
ReplyDeleteI'm taking the Master Spinners course (http://www.oldscollege.ab.ca/programs/ContinuingEducation/Applied_Arts/MasterSpinnerProgram.htm)and the final project we have to do in our first year is something made of our nature-dyed samples, preferably handspun. It can be knitted, woven, crocheted, or anything else we like to do. Some people have made blankets, hats and mitts, shawls, or even a vest. Oh, yes, there are so many things you can do with those little skeins of "samples"!