I decided to try dyeing some wool with goldenrod. Unfortunately I had left it rather late in the season and most of the plants had turned brown. The goldenrod that did remain was covered with bees that were looking and acting quite frantic.
I know bees usually look quite frantic but there were so many of them and they were so frantic that I am feeling nervous. There have been busy bees everywhere lately. Perhaps the summer was too wet for them to gather pollen and they are trying to make up for lost time. Perhaps we’re in for a brutal winter. Anyway, there were bees all over the remaining goldenrod so I had to shoo them away to get to the flowers. I feel bad about that but look what I got:
The wool was mordanted in alum. The skein on the left was done in the cast iron pot and the one on the right was done in a regular pot. The picture does not do justice to the colour, particularly the green which is an absolutely gorgeous khaki green. The two colours belong together and I have found a mitten pattern that will be perfect if I have enough wool. About 300 grams of plant material was used to make each dye bath. I suspect I would have got a more intense shade of yellow if I had a stronger dye bath but I could only use what was available. I am beginning to wonder if the time of year that the plant material is gathered makes a difference in the colour.
I also did some dyeing with the black walnuts I was given:
On the left is the wool done in a regular pot and the wool on the right is done in the cast iron pot. Although the wool on the left is a very rich brown colour with red undertones, the one on the right is, quite frankly, a very dull tan colour. I expected a darker colour based on the dye bath which was quite dark, almost black. I had heard that black walnut makes such a permanent dye that a mordant isn’t necessary so I dyed some with an alum mordant and some without and, to my surprise, there was absolutely no difference in the colour. This will probably be the end of the natural dyes for this year since the weather is getting pretty cool and the plants are quickly descending into dormancy. However, there is always next year. I’m already thinking of some experiments I would like to try.
I love a country fair. They are small enough to enjoy in a single day and, as well as having a modest midway and plenty of greasy food, they have lots of things to do. Where else but at a small country fair will you find this:
Extreme lawn tractor racing. Do you see the extreme lawn tractor? The guy in the white t-shirt on the lower right is using one of those police things to measure the speed of the participants. This is serious.
The tractor pull went on all day.
There were lots of chickens, geese, ducks, cows and horses.
Plenty of entries in the vegetable, eggs and flowers categories including a couple of entries in the “vegetable people” category that came from our house:
And you remember those monstrous pickling cucumbers? I entered a few of them in the “ripe cucumber category” with pleasant results.
There were horse shows to watch, musicians to listen to and clowns to avoid. An entire building was filled with quilting, knitting, children’s crafts, woodworking, photography and baking contests. They have a new contest for next year that I am really excited about. The idea is that you buy a bag of wool that was available at the fair for a very reasonable price, then next year you enter the project that you made with the wool.
So, using nothing but my imagination and some sticks, I will transform this wool into something by next year. I already have an idea I just don’t know how to do it.
I am notoriously bad at giving directions. No one has ever reached their desired destination by following my directions. I think it is related to my uncanny ability to get lost in a closet. I am frequently asked for directions and, when I am, something comes over me. It is much like the feeling you get at a piano recital when you have diligently practiced your piece but when you sit down to perform you realize you have never seen the instrument before in your life. So last week I was walking along the street in our local town when a car pulled up beside me. I turned around to see a car full of clowns. Yes, clowns. The ones with white face paint, frizzy orange hair and red noses. “Can you tell us how to get to Rogers Road?” one of them asked. “Oh, you must be looking for the fair.” I said and went on to give them perfect directions to the fair grounds. I followed it up by saying “Just look for the ferris wheel.” It turns out that stupid remark was the most intelligent thing I said. As soon as the car pulled away I realized the directions I gave them were completely wrong. Completely. There was no way those directions would get them to the fairgrounds in our town. Maybe if I was standing on some other street in some other town they would work, but not from that street in that town. It was too late because they had already driven off. I felt really bad about this. I still feel bad because I know there is a special place in Hell for people who give poor directions to clowns and make them miss the parade. I felt a bit better the next day when I saw them at the fair but I refused to make eye contact or get too close.
The wool was mordanted in alum. The skein on the left was done in the cast iron pot and the one on the right was done in a regular pot. The picture does not do justice to the colour, particularly the green which is an absolutely gorgeous khaki green. The two colours belong together and I have found a mitten pattern that will be perfect if I have enough wool. About 300 grams of plant material was used to make each dye bath. I suspect I would have got a more intense shade of yellow if I had a stronger dye bath but I could only use what was available. I am beginning to wonder if the time of year that the plant material is gathered makes a difference in the colour.
On the left is the wool done in a regular pot and the wool on the right is done in the cast iron pot. Although the wool on the left is a very rich brown colour with red undertones, the one on the right is, quite frankly, a very dull tan colour. I expected a darker colour based on the dye bath which was quite dark, almost black. I had heard that black walnut makes such a permanent dye that a mordant isn’t necessary so I dyed some with an alum mordant and some without and, to my surprise, there was absolutely no difference in the colour. This will probably be the end of the natural dyes for this year since the weather is getting pretty cool and the plants are quickly descending into dormancy. However, there is always next year. I’m already thinking of some experiments I would like to try.
