debmcclintock

I haven’t posted lately as I have not been on the dye patio. The drought has dragged on and we’ve had a slight break this week with almost 6 inches of rain. I’ve been reluctant to run dye pots with the slim chances of rain. I have been tending the dye plant garden with some success and a major failure, more on that in another post.

Now, my weld has come into blossom and is going from bloom to seed, it is time to harvest it and run some brilliant yellows. Since I’m not a yellow fan these skeins are destined for over dyes with indigo and iron for greens.

And the persimmon is coming along with the fruit forming and another great crop coming on line.

I plan to experiment with both the weld and persimmon dye stocks and try to precipitate the color out with sodium carbonate in order to store the extract long term. More on that if I can made it work.

My shoulder surgery went well and after a year my arm is working normally. I have spent more time in the weaving studio to finish old projects and plan new ones. Here are some old and new scarves done with the natural dye yarns.

I’ve found I am either on a dye path or a weave path. It is difficult to run both side by side. So, eventually, the dyestuff harvest will determine the schedule and I’ll be back on the dye patio at the dye pots. So…see you soon when I am back at the dye patio.

Tags: lichen, Persimmon, Weld