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Armed with all my recently assembled madder info, I set out Friday to give it a go.

I had assumed that the madder I had in my EarthHues natural dyeing kit from many years back was probably ground roots, and so was planning to have to go through an extraction process.

But upon closer inspection, it became clear that what I had was madder extract. So that really simplified things. I used the whole 30g that I had in the little container, but upon reflection, I probably didn’t need to. The bath was quite strong. Not quite sure of the total volume, but I filled my big pot up about 2/3, so maybe 6 gallons?

I tested the pH, and found that it was a bit acid (6.5). I wanted to increase the alkalinity and add a bunch of calcium, which supposed to boost the red pigments, so I added powdered dolomite lime.

Then I added my fibers and heated the bath to 160F. I think I left the goods in there maybe an hour- and look at these results! Glowing pink/red in the sunshine, almost burgundy on the grey felt in the front.

After washing and drying, here are the finished goods (total of 10.1 oz)

I was so surprised- it almost looks like cochineal. And the pot still has a lot of life in it.

I wanted to try something out that I’d read in the Jenny Dean book, about using the exhaust batch to produce a tangerine color on unmordanted fiber, and so added just a couple of cups of the dyebath to my rinse water to simulate a near-exhaust color density and added a little vinegar. Popped in some more fleece. Heated it up to 160 then just let it sit and cool with the fiber in it for quite a while.

It didn’t give me tangerine, but a pretty peachy pink

It might fade out, since it wasn’t mordanted. Only time will tell. But it’s lovely right now.

Also making some progress on the Dottie cable sweater- both shoulder pieces complete, and front right in progress

Feels so cushy and luxurious! I was telling Dottie about it this morning as I was checking and trimming her hooves, but she didn’t seem too interested. Maybe I’ll take it out there for her to inspect later. But I’m guessing she’d be more excited about a handful of oats 😉

Have a good week folks-

This weekend I set about sewing my Studio Tunic

This project is made entirely of stash fabric. Front is an old tablecloth, pockets are napkins, and the back is a pair of repurposed old khaki pants (plus a yoke out of some scrap blue linen).

It was fun, and I am really happy with how it turned out. Was my first experience doing facings, and was very pleased with getting a nice smooth finish around the neckline and armholes. I added a second inner pocket (because, why not?) so now I’ve got serious pocket capacity! Seed packets, phone, reading glasses, eggs- you name it! Been wearing it around today doing gardening, farm chores, and it’s so nice and comfy.

On the wool front, I’ve officially cast on for the God is a Woman cabled sweater-

Doesn’t look like much yet, but it feels like this might develop quickly. Been a while since I’ve worked cables, and am also really enjoying the feel of the Dottie singles.

And, planning has begin for the spinning guild dye day. Date is going to be Sept 19, and focus is natural dyes. I volunteered to be the lead for a madder pot, so am going to do some research and trials ahead of time so that I feel like I’ve got a handle on the standard process as well as using some modifiers (ph, iron mordant).

This selection of fibers (wool and mohair locks, felt, some yarn) is going into the Aluminum Triformate mordant bath today so it will be ready to go when I’m prepared to start experimenting.

Maybe next weekend?

First maters this week! Thorburn’s Terra Cotta

and Jaune Flamme. Just a couple ripe so far, but lots of fruits on the vine 🙂

Spent some time digging potatoes out of a forest of borage and poppies. Bit of a disappointing harvest. I think that they just got shaded out by the flowers. I let them go for too long, because I was really enjoying the display. But I might try to replant and see if I can get another batch before it gets to cold this fall.

I made some more progress on my Freja (God Is A Woman) yarn – total weight is now just under 21 ounces, and approximately 2100 yds.

So it’s almost time to cast on! I wish I’d taken better notes on my swatches that I did about a month ago-

I don’t think that I’d mentioned before that I did a second swatch. While the first one had great fluff and squish, once I did the math, it became clear that the yarn was as bit thick, and would result in too heavy a sweater. So I revised my spin specs and swatched again. Almost exactly the same gauge, but a lighter fabric. Pretty sure it was on size 4 needles, but apparently i didn’t write it down anywhere. oops. So i might be swatching once more before I get started.

I’ve also finally pulled some fabrics together to make a Studio Tunic

I got all my pieces cut out, so assembly should be underway soon!

Have a good week folks-

I’ve been faithfully spinning up my Dottie singles in preparation for casting on my next sweater project and they are stacking up! So this weekend I washed up what I have completed so far, and weighed/measured everything to see how close I am to my goal. Here they are washed and hanging loose-enjoying some summer sunshine.

And finally all twisted up and tidy

a total of 16.44 ounces, and 1660 yards. I’m really pleased and kind of surprised at how close I managed to keep to my desired grist. I was aiming for 100 yds per ounce, and while there is a little variation from skein to skein, the overall average is pretty darn close!

Total weight should be under 24 ounces, so I’m more than 2/3 of the way there. Hopefully can get that wrapped up in the next week or two. Has kind of become an unofficial Tour de Fleece project, and I might be crossing the finish line right on schedule 🙂

Perhaps this week will offer some opportunities to take Sophie outside and do some more al fresco spinning.

Ps. I did manage to get Dottie back into her enclosure after a few days of running with the young ‘uns. She’d probably never admit it, but I think that she was kind of relieved to get some separation from Daphne. Thankfully everyone kept their cool and there was no major drama. yay!