I spent yesterday afternoon handpainting some really lovely BFL for a special project I have planned for the future. I really love how the colors turned out on this fiber. It reminds me of dappled shade and summer sunshine. Ah! The happy hours spent sitting underneath our big tree … I think my next handpaint will be all about sunshine.
O that is so cool. Is that a sort of wool material?
It is
It is wool that is combed into a long strip that can be used for spinning or felting or other fun things!
Hi Simone,
lovely colors! Inspiring! What kind of dyes do you use? I am planning a dye garden for next year and I am unsure which plants to concentrate on given space constraints…any thoughts?
cheers from Fredericton,
Nicole
Hi Nicole! I use a whole assortment of dyes. This wool was dyed with the Greener Shades dyes (which I love!) but I like to play with koolaid and natural dying. If you are planning on starting a dye garden the four plants I would suggests for you are madder, bloodroot, woad, and indigo as they will yield red and blue dyes which are hard to come by in nature. Around here, plant material for yellows, browns, and greens seem to be fairly easy to come by while just on a walk
A fantastic book you may want to check out is “A Dyer’s Garden” by Rita Buchanan. When you start your garden, I would love to see pictures!
Thanks Simone! Good advice. I love Rita Buccanan’s book. I’ll send pictures of the garden for sure
and perhaps, once the Fredericton Wednesday Night Spinning group has found its grove, we’ll invite you to speak about spinning and dying? A garden spin-in would be lovely:)
A garden spin-in sounds wonderful!
How beautiful! I have yet to dye fiber for spinning but now I want to try!
It is SO much fun! I know once you try it, you’ll be hooked
Ahh, so you put your mind to dyeing as well…isn’t it fascinating???
Very much so! I’ve dabbled a bit with natural dye techniques, koolaid, and acid dyes. It is all a ton of fun!