3/1/15

Wild Color

Life is about using the whole crayon box!

Lately I have been wild about color.
 I found a new passion
 Natural -plant dye.
There is so much to learn.
 It's very unpredictable but once I get the hang of it I am sure the colors will flow easier
Learning about plants like, madder, cutch, log wood etc.
Borrowing books from the library, friends and bought a few-
I can't seem to nourish myself enough with all there is to learn.
This Henley has been on my list to knit for the longest by Elisabeth Zimmerman
...and I think I found the perfect yarn for it :)
These beauties were dyed last week week, some are over dyed with indigo to create that green, teal and grey color. 
At the moment I am using powdered natural dye, liquid is also now available. 
When summer hits I plan on growing my own flowers and plants.  
Finding some areas where wild berries and plants grow naturally- as soon as the weather gets warmer I will be eager to harvest them and use them for my dye pot.

Sophia, my daughter who is  home schooled sees so many skeins in a day ...
I guess she was influenced to make "Norwegian Boller" into skein shapes?!
I borrowed sheet pans from chef, perfect for holding the skeins that were dyed with Indigo. 
Indigo is a funny and tricky little thing. 
The dye itself in the pot is greenish-yellow 
but when the exposed to oxygen it turns blue!
Oh crumbs...look what I did...
Good thing that chef is used to me making a bloody mess in the kitchen
Then of course there is always the other more predictable dye- which is super fun.
 I am wild about color
Nothing jazzes me more.




22 comments :

  1. Goodness, you continue to amaze me my friend. These are just beautiful!

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  2. This is wonderful, such colours, such beauty, such fun!

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  3. Your natural dyed skeins are amazingly gorgeous. I love the colors you have achieved - very inspirational.

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  4. Camilla, your love and talent for colour never ceases to amaze and inspire me. That EZ henley seems to have "you" written all over it - don't you just love that book?! Wishing happy days ahead using all the colour from the crayon box :) XO

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  5. I spied several books in you stack that are in my cart and will be on their way to my home soon. I have dreams of dyeing a few skeins of yarn from items growing on my land. Now if I could just talk Mike into letting me have a few sheep:) Your yarns are beautiful and I love them all!

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  6. Oh my, what lovely skeins natural dyed skeins! I have a few of those books here on my dining room table. I love learning more too! Your Henley is going to look fantastic!

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  7. so vibrant! I bet you have fun creating and messing about. I also learned something about indigo!!

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  8. just love this color selection! i'd have a hard time picking! You do beautiful work

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  9. Wonderful colors!! All the process of dye it seems quite interesting and fun as well :)

    Have a great week!

    Lluisa xoxo

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  10. I'm wild about colour too... i've never tried dye-ing anything...not even my hair. For now i will live vicariously through creative people like you !!

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  11. YAY for natural dyes!! Stunning colors too! Ah yes.. the magic of indigo.. Don't you love it? Great books too... Have fun with your gorgeous yarns!! xo

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  12. Breath taking... I literally gasped when I opened your page this morning. I gave myself all year to get better at knitting to really TRULY get some yarn from you and make something amazing. Know that your yarns are making me want to knit better. :-)

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  13. Just love the colours! And I wish you good luck with the plant dye. My experience with natural dye is more or less limited to replaceing food colours when making play dough :-)

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  14. Beautiful colours; I can definitely see you in the Henley!

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  15. oh wow, these are such beautiful photos, a full-bloom riot of colours! And I love the Norwegian Bollers, they look delicious!

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  16. OMG-------I JUST ordered that book!!! (and have two of the others in your pile!!!) (Can you tell, though, I'm better at ordering books than reading and doing what they say!!??) Also did order some bare yarn, though, so I'm a step closer to trying this!!!! :) happy day!

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  17. From a long time natural dyer ... you will have such fun when you start growing/foraging for plants. And even in midwinter there are dye plants to be found if you know where to look. I'm just starting a year long project that will hopefully highlight how easy dye plants are to come by and use.

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  18. Oh I adore natural dyeing! Your skeins look amazing. I'm always so happy when someone else discovers natural dyeing and starts experimenting. There's something about being connected to history and keeping it alive that brings me much joy. So fun!

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  19. I checked out the book Harvesting Color a couple weeks ago from the library & just drooled over it. I would love to look further into natural plant dyes, but I think I will just enjoy your journey from afar for awhile. So beautiful, Camilla! Your daughter's baked goods look delicious.

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  20. I love this!

    'Life is about using the whole crayon box!' Amen to that sister!

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  21. Oh your yarn is so beautiful. I am drooling. I am also keen to try natural dyeing but have not yet come up with the courage to get started.

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  22. Your colours are fantastic. I have yet to try the powdered or liquid dyes. All of my forays into dyeing have been done with plants in my yard or neighbourhood (black walnut is my favourite so far).

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