to-be-named skein I spun up at the state fair! really lovely getting to share spinning with the public and hopefully inspire the next generation of spinners #yarn #handspun #FractalPly #NaturalDye

I've been feeling a bit low lately, thinking too much about things I can't change easily, if at all. Then I forget that what's happening in the dye garden is all good. Here's a patch of dyer's coreopsis sown direct and growing profusely. And some blue corn growing much better than expected. The blue corn seed was gifted to me by a friend. Eagerly hoping it produces corn cobs. #naturaldye #dyegarden

A recent dye project: a dyebath made from green butternuts, which I used to dye some wool.

#NaturalDye #FiberArts #wool

So it took a week of curing to dry, and I've not put it through the washing machine yet, but here's the results (so far) from my #naturalDye walnut attempt. I didn't really have an end result in mind beyond not feeling like I stuck out like a good stranger to approach to ask where you can buy weed. The result is growing on me. I would have given it a second soaking but the dye was compromised. I forgot to take a "before" pic, but here's one of me at the site we're moving to.

So before I put time,effort, hope and other limited resources into the project, is anyone to tell me before I found out the hard way if you can still #naturalDye with blackened walnut husks?

I'm talking sloppy-slimy-definitely-lost-any-hint-of-green husks

#dye #dying #diy

Yesterday I removed the last of the dead stems and leaves of an Indian madder plant (Rubia cordifolia) which nearly filled the dye garden greenhouse last year. The winter cold may have killed it because its natural habitat is sub-tropical. Gentle poking around revealed hopeful signs of some viable roots. So not all is lost perhaps? Mulched and watered the ground and we will wait a bit longer. #PlantDye #NaturalDye #DyeGarden

Okay, while I think about whether to retoot or let old toots die, sharing this again as it's still in progress. It's a thrifted cotton sweater soaked in a bin with vinegar, iron water, and rusty objects (first 2 pics, 5 days apart). 3rd photo is the sweater clamped up with 100 wonder clips to preserve some of the orange while it gets overdyed in #indigo. Results after a few more indigo dips. #DyeingWithRust #NaturalDye #RecycledTextiles #SustainableFashion

Oh hi friends, I think I just successfully migrated and since I never did an #introduction post I guess the time is now. I'm a cishet settler in southwestern Ontario Canada where I feed #birds and #squirrels , grow #plants , teach #printmaking and #bookbinding , try to be a good ally, and hope to leave the world cleaner than I found it. Coasting after closing my public access printmaking studio, Levigator Press, in 2020. Talk a lot about #NaturalDye and building a #HandmadeWardrobe .

Today in rust basin news: this sweater is a really great colour now and I was tempted to stop here but I already have two orange sweaters in progress & there's little room for more orange in my life than that. A mix of orange and blue, well there's plenty of room for that. So here it is getting folded and clamped for its swim in the indigo vat.

#NaturalDye #DyeingWithRust #indigo #RecycledTextiles #SustainableFashion

Nearly finished quilting the back panel of what is going to be the world’s cosiest cardigan™️. Dyed with madder, acorns and oak leaves 🍃 #naturaldye #slowmaking

I finished a shirt today: the Collage Gather Top by Matchy Matchy Sewing Club. I'll go down a size next time but this size is perfect for lengthening into a dress. Fabric is reclaimed from an undergrad artwork, life size linocut self portraits printed on old bedsheets and sewn together into a gigantic blanket. There's my face on the front, creepy but people don't usually notice. I overdyed the stripes with indigo. #SustainableFashion #HandmadeWardrobe #printmaking #NaturalDye #RecycledFabric

This afternoon I took a hand quilting workshop taught by my friend Lisa at asil.ca, and learned some new techniques including this sweet mitred corner. Just a few more centimetres of binding to go on my tiny quilt. It's a mix of hand block printed scraps left over from the dresses that I made for my masters thesis and some bits of linen and muslin in cutch (the orange) and indigo that I dyed recently. #quilting #QuiltingByHand #NaturalDye #printmaking #BlockPrintedFabric

#WIPWednesday Now that my partner's cabled sweater is finished I can spend some time with this project for myself that's been languishing in a closet. It's Sous Sous by Norah Gaughan, in a handspun blend of merino and Bluefaced Leicester dyed with goldenrod from behind my neighbour's garage, walnuts gathered by the river, corn husk, onion skin, and pomegranate rind from our kitchen, and coreopsis from our garden. #KnittersOfMastodon #HandknitSweater #HandspunYarn #NaturalDye #SlowFashion

Yesterday, I needed grounding after some time on Instagram. Shower + cleaning didn't do it but this did. I'm a novice indigo dyer, so hands and tools bear the signs of crocking (dye transfer). #spinning #naturalDye #fibrePrep

@majnouna Joumana, your books arrived, delightfully wrapped 🎁
& the original book design seems perfect for accessibility & practical use. The contents will take longer to digest and I now look forward to years of pleasure: thank you for this inspiration!

#MedievalArt #dye #ink #foraging #DyePlants #NaturalDye
#Abbasid #books #BookDesign #bookstodon @bookstodon a.gup.pe
http://majnouna.com/publications/#wild

Long-form versions on cd, individual tracks on download - with each release collaborating directly with the artist on handmade, mixed-media artwork.

More info on our website - sending out a piece of music I made, an interpretation of quiet details - chroma, to show my thanks to everyone who gets in touch.

https://quietdetails.com
https://quietdetails.bandcamp.com/

Much love

Alex

#ambient #fieldrecording #tape #electronicmusic #drone #paper #papermaking #naturaldye #photogrpahy #analoguephotography

My husband Ashley has agreed we can start using the plant dyed, handspun and handwoven woollen blanket he finished making in late 2021. The squares are woven on a pin loom he made himself and then stitched together. The multicoloured fringe is from the leftover yarns. Almost all of the dyes are from plants we've grown ourselves. There's just a dash of cochineal for purples which we swapped for indigo seeds with a fellow dye enthusiast. #handcraft #naturaldye #handspun #PlantDyeing

Today's outfit: I'm slowly amassing a little collection of similar handmade dresses that I can layer to get year-round use out of my summer clothes without needing jeans & leggings underneath. These are two different versions of the Yesterday Dress pattern by Caramiya Maui, over a lightweight cotton indigo dyed toile skirt. All reclaimed fabrics or refashioned from existing garments, all dyed by me using plant dyes and iron. #SlowFashion #SustainableFashion #HandmadeWardrobe #NaturalDye #indigo

@LifeTimeCooking oh also! Speaking of the smell of cooking lavender, did you know that lavender is a #NaturalDye? Weirdly it comes out yellow!

Today in the dye studio: linen, silk, and a bit of my screenprinted cotton (that dark blob in the foreground) turning red in a glorious vat of madder root extract. #studio #NaturalDye #DyeingWithPlants #madder #FibreArts #FibreArtistsOnMastodon