The dye skeins are drying before I wash them, this will let the dye bond strengthen. Oak bark with 3 different modifiers on the left. Fresh persimmon in the middle and agarita with two different modifiers on the right. A nice collection of neutrals to over dye or use to push a brighter color in the warp.
One of those agarita skeins is bound for the fresh indigo pot today to see how the green looks with indigo over the agarita yellow.
debmcclintock 
Hello, what part of the Agarita is best for dye, bark, root, berries? Thank you
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Hi Christina, I’ve worked with fresh Agarita root ground up and simmered. Got a really nice yellow. Here is a link to my old blog and that process.
http://www.debmcclintock.com/Debmcclintock/Dye_Photos/Pages/Agarita.html
And I’ve used twigs and limbs of the Agarita, soaked to soften then pounded to open up the wood and then simmered. This blog shows only the root chip yellow.
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Hi back at ya, Deb!
Thank you for your reply,
I tried soaking the bark in a bucket in the sun and all that happened was some purification, (yuck). Which I then simmered outside and the result was a pale grey- beige color, even with the addition of iron and alum. I was reluctant to boil due to tannins, but will try your recipe soon and let you know how it goes. I am trying some Rosemary this weekend- I did a previous sample of Rosemary once and got a pretty sort of eggplant-grey color. Let’s see if I can replicate it.I may even pound out some Agarita twigs I have been stashing. Cheers! Christina in San Antonio.
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I am simmering the actual root or twigs. If you are just using the bark you might not be using the part with any dye in it.
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OK, Good to know. I did mean to say that I was using twigs and branches when I soaked the branches for two weeks. I did also try pounding some bark and there was no color there. Thanks, cp
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