If you are 100% new to the art of natural dyeing… or if you need a dye that will give you great color every single time, marigolds are the dyestuff you want. They are plentiful, forgiving, work just about as well dried as fresh, and give an amazing mustard yellow. You probably recognize marigolds asContinue reading “Naturally Dyeing Yarn with Marigolds”
Category Archives: Gardening in the Suburbs of St Paul
Glorious Green (and Yellow) from Rudbeckia
Hello all! While we are waiting for the KnittyVet Etsy shop to reopen on Tuesday Sept. 12 with the new yarn update, I thought I’d share my process for dyeing with Rudbeckia. Call them Black Eyed Susans, Coneflowers, Gloriosa Daisies, or whatever, many folks have asked me if these pretty yellow or orange flowers reallyContinue reading “Glorious Green (and Yellow) from Rudbeckia”
Garden Yarn by KnittyVet – Naturally hand-dyed skeins launching soon!
Hey all! I hope you’ve been having a stellar season – here in the Northern Hemisphere I’ve been making the most of a beautiful summer and dyeing lots of yarn with the plants and flowers from my garden. I’ve been sharing my progress online and due to popular demand have decided to offer a limitedContinue reading “Garden Yarn by KnittyVet – Naturally hand-dyed skeins launching soon!”
Flower Eco Printed Cotton Shirt
For the 4th of July this year we decided to start a little project with some of the fresh flowers in our yard and a cotton t-shirt. I had previously prepared the shirt by following the directions for mordanting cotton with alum outlined in Wild Colors by Jenny Dean. Despite some excitement over the sumacContinue reading “Flower Eco Printed Cotton Shirt”
Dye Project #3: Creeping Charlie (part 1/2)
Some folks may have strong feelings about this plant. You’ve been warned. Creeping charlie (Glechoma hederacea) is a fast spreading perennial ground cover in the mint family. According to Wikipedia it is also know poetically as”ground ivy”, “alehoof”, or “run-away-robin”. As anyone who has experienced its growth in their own yard, that last name isContinue reading “Dye Project #3: Creeping Charlie (part 1/2)”
Chickie girl update!
Our baby chicks have been growing like weeds. They will be 6 weeks old soon and they just moved out into their own house… messy little ladies needed their own space. They started out like this: Just look at those adorable little faces! From left to right we have; Moonblack (a Black Australorp), Goldie (anContinue reading “Chickie girl update!”
Dye Project #2: Rhubarb Leaves (plus Rhubarb Crisp recipe!)
As any Midwesterner worth their salt knows, rhubarb is the true sign of spring. Specifically a pie, crisp, or other culinary delight. My family has been blessed by the rhubarb gods – our plants are prolific, massive, and darn near impossible to kill. They may or may not have even emigrated to Utah (shhhh). InContinue reading “Dye Project #2: Rhubarb Leaves (plus Rhubarb Crisp recipe!)”
Dye Project #1: Red Onion Skins on Wool
After my recent natural dye apostrophe epiphany as described in this post, I couldn’t wait to get started. Specialized equipment? Nah. Mordants? What are those? I have some cream colored yarn that will surely take up some dye. LET’S GET GOING! Ahem. Friend google helped me find the perfect first project. A food-safe, kitchen worthy,Continue reading “Dye Project #1: Red Onion Skins on Wool”
I think I want to Dye (Fiber. Naturally.)…
I would describe my recent obsession as starting with an epiphany, but that wouldn’t be quite correct. It more snuck up behind me, tapping my shoulder and peeking around doors and corners (especially as I learned to spin from some fabulous hand-dyed roving) until one day I smacked my forehead and wondered why I hadContinue reading “I think I want to Dye (Fiber. Naturally.)…”
Spring Update… or Chicks and Spinning and Gardening Oh My!
So. I’m going to try to get back into posting here regularly – I have so many projects and suburban homesteading adventures and I feel like we should keep track of them someplace. First of all, let’s start with an update. We have baby chicks! This is our newest, arguably biggest, adventure this spring. WeContinue reading “Spring Update… or Chicks and Spinning and Gardening Oh My!”