More math

Another experiment with natural dyes. This time I took this:

12 oz. of Parmelia Sulcata (tree lichens) from the tree we took down in the front of our house.

Plus

4 oz. of handspun angora I brought back from Argentina (along with several other kilos of yarn!) two years ago. I didn't think to take a picture until it was in the bowl of water. The brighter white at the top is the still dry fiber. There was also a tablespoon of alum and a teaspoon of cream of tartar added to the dye pot.

Equals this

Not particularly brilliant.... I don't think the work of scraping all those lichens off the downed tree was really worth it. Now I know to pass them up next time. I knit this for my friend J, who does have two hands, as part of an offline swap.

My dye garden was officially a bust, but there are still things in my yard that are plentiful and possible dye plants: yarrow, tansy, hibiscus and turk's cap.

This post has been sitting in draft form for over a week! I'm off tomorrow for the East Coast to spend time with friends and family. I've had some realizations this week about things that have been holding me back, things I have determined I will overcome. I have a plan and that is a good thing. Until I return here are a few things I've finished recently; gifts for others that I will deliver in person this week.

Veronik Avery's Prairie Tunic

Mari from Hip Knit Hats in red onion skin dyed handspun merino