Saturday, March 17, 2012

Exciting news for fiber-aholics or anyone who dyes fibers or cloth.  I received two packages of Japanese Indigo seeds this week.  As soon as I can get down to the hardware store to buy some seedling starter mix I will be planting some of these little beauties.  I'm hopeful we will have enough warmth this summer to get some nice plants with nice leaves and seeds to make indigo dye from.  I've dyed with prepared indigo powder but never from scratch.  It is rather amazing to watch as the fiber is placed in the dye water, which is a slimy-looking greenish mixture, and then when removed as a light green color will turn to darker and darker indigo as it dries..  More pix as this happens this summer.

I've been working on more of the merino silk yarn.  This time I took a very light & blended color called sandstone and spun up a spindle-full, then I started spinning another color called autumn that will be plyed with the sandstone.  I think the two colors will look very interesting together.  I still have enough of each color to also do a hank of each.  The three colors could then be coordinated together in a knitted or crocheted garment of some sort. 

We've had an entire week of hard rain, snow this morning, but its supposed to turn back to rain all next week.  And to think the rest of the country is 'suffering' in an early summer.  Too bad.