The year is racing and now the days have a distinct autumn feel. My dye vessels on the deck are really cold in the morning although they get quite hot on the sun. I bought some madder and have had great fun experimenting. I used a hot dye method and a cold dye method.I followed the really clear instructions here - well not quite because I put the chalk in too early. Next batch I will follow th instructions more carefully. Photo shows dry dyed wool waiting to be washed.
I have dyed all the wool I can find and finally looked at my stash of wool I used for felting and my spinning wool. The wool was shorn off our own sheep and mixed with cashmere from our own goats - only shorn and carded 25 years ago. But the spinning wheel was broken - Gordon to the rescue and I lumped and bumped my way through a skein. Google to the rescue and we bought some oil, applied in strategic places and what a difference!
In the meantime the berries out the back in the weedy part of the property slowly ripened. I had thought they were pokeberries but (Google again) discovered they were called inkweed in NZ
Phytolacca octandra
So every day I would add several berries to my pot until I couldn't wait any more. I used acid with the berries and soaked my wool in a vinegar mordant.
I have used very gentle heat and all kinds of yarn blends - cashmere , wool, mohair and I am so pleased with the results. I had picked some of the leaves and stalks so I tried them first with acid but very little colour showed. Changed the ph of the water and with a bit of a fizz there was a strong yellow. They dye process is such a treasure chest of discovery.
