I’ve been dyeing again! This time with black beans (from a health food shop) which surprisingly gave a soft green! It was meant to give a mid denim blue, but there’s a bit of skill needed to get the dye liquor to clear of sediment and I didn’t manage it. The books say that if you don’t clear the sediment you get a dull grey, but I got sage green! I know the photo looks a bit grey, but its a tricky colour to photograph!
Inspired by my success, and after a weekend of enthusiastic gardening and serious pruning, I’m now preparing a Rosemary dye which should give a yellowy green on wool, but who knows….that’s the magic of plant dyeing!
I hope to have a selection of these yarns I’ve been dyeing at the shows I’m at in the autumn, starting with Toby’s Harvestfest at Forde Abbey. They are all 4ply Polwarth 100% British wool, and 100g skein is enough to make a pair of socks or a small shawl/scarf. Why not combine some of these beautiful gentle colours and make a larger shawl or even a cardigan. The colours cannot be accurately replicated a second time, so if you see a colour you like, then get it while you can! In the New Year, I hope to introduce a range of plant dyed yarns for online customers as part of the Purely Gorgeous brand we have created.
I’ve also been dyeing to tell you about some work I’ve been doing with a local woodsman, Tom Kemp, who has made samples of British native tree wood buttons. They have done well in my product tests and will also be available at the autumn shows. Some of the woods include Oak, Holly, Cherry and Turkey Oak. (Which for some reason makes me laugh!!) He is also working on some exquisite shawl pins…keep watching the blog and Instagram for photos of the samples.
Some dates for your diaries of autumn events:
Forde Abbey 16-17/09/17
3bags full on 6/10/17
Kelly House Woolly Weekend on 14-15/10/17
StitchFest SW on 04-05/11/17
I will be at these events with Gorgeous Yarns and a host of other fabulous yarn and fibre producers, indie-dyers, weavers, spinners and fibre artists. Come along and say “Hello”, its lovely to meet people, new customers and old friends.
Last week I mentioned Gorgeous Yarns now has a Facebook group. If you are on social media, its a great way to “meet” new friends around the world who love gorgeous, hand dyed and natural yarns as much as we do! Get help with a pattern or design, share a link to your favourite yarn or store (on #BuyDayFriday) and enjoy hearing what fellow knitters, crocheters and weavers are up to. Have a look, apply to join the group and get involved in the fun!
That’s about all our news for now,
Bye for now,
Caroline
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