Summers color for the end of winter

Beautiful Dyer's Coreopsis that I have had in the freezer since last summer.  What a glorious pot of dye it is!

First photo has a higher Ph level than the Yellow that is in the right hand photo.  You really can get many different colors with just a Ph level change.  I didn't have any after baths to play with (iron) but I bet there are more colors hiding in there somewhere.

It really is this vibrant!

This is Madder on grey wool and a bit of white wool (left side).   I have so many shades of this on the grey wool - but forgot photos - Ill put them up tomorrow when I have natural light.  All are mordant with Alum and CoT. 

Madder with a color change using different Ph levels

Some indigo and Black Walnut yarn I spun up the other day.  Love the combination of brown & blue.

Lovely Goldenrod Flowers

I swoon every time late August arrives because it signals the return of my favorite plant dye flower.

The Goldenrod

The yellow it gives in fields and dye pots is by far my favorite.  I thought I would lay out a few mordant and after dip combinations I have done.  There isn't much a difference in yellows - the ammonia after dip warms it up considerably - but the iron after dip is quite significant.  There is a difference in color depending on the wool/yarn you choose.  Its always important to do your own tests.  When you do your tests make sure you use to correct per portion of dye to weight of yarn.  If you make up your "full" dye pot but dip in test yarns remember that the tests will produce a darker color than if you had put in your full amount of yarn.  

When I make a pot of goldenrod dye I fill my pot full of blossom tips.  The tips are fresh and barely open.  The older the flower the saddened the color will be, but if your going to add iron anyway to get that great green it would be fine.  Plus in November and the last flowers are blooming I grab them anyway.  I have two frozen bags of fresh flowers in the freezer and plan on using them this winter - I'll post the results here in an update to see if they produce anything different.  

I have over dyed goldenrod and indigo and receive the most gorgeous greens you ever have seen.  I also have a great time achieving oranges with cochineal.  Ill try to post that next.

Remember its not the lovely goldenrod that is making you sneeze but the ragweed that grows next to it - so marvel in the beauty of goldenrod and enjoy its splendor of color.

I am also happy to report that I am once again the Handwork Teacher for the Ithaca Waldorf School in Ithaca,  NY.  I start tomorrow and I will hopefully take up this blog to track my comings and goings of teaching this year and future years.

Simply Yellow

Symphony in Yellow
By Oscar Wilde
1854.10.16-1900.11.30

An omnibus across the bridge
Crawls like a yellow butterfly
And, here and there, a passer-by
Shows like a little restless midge.

Big barges full of yellow hay
Are moored against the shadowy wharf,
And, like a yellow silken scarf,
The thick fog hangs along the quay.

The yellow leaves begin to fade
And flutter from the Temple elms,
And at my feet the pale green Thames
Lies like a rod of rippled jade.

Lots to show and tell

Lots to show - here is my sons kindergarten - beautiful room.

He loves school - such a change from last year.

My older one loves school too - we have the "best" teacher in the building - Yea!

I was dyeing with goldenrod and dyers coriopsis today - beautiful oranges and yellow.  Goldenrod changes if you put it in an ammonia water bath.  The three on the left are all out of the same pot.  The colors are just so striking.  The yellows are for the first grade knit lion project.  I would think they will start it after the holidays.  It will be great to bring the sunshine into the classroom during the cold winter months.   

This is the Dyers coriopsis flower - different from the yellow version.

Here we are flying kites and my husband is cutting down the hops up on the porch.  He use to make lots of beer but house projects have taken over lately.  I hope he makes more soon - I might steal some of the flowers to dye with if he is not careful!!

Can't you just taste them!!