This one really delighted me - Grape Hyacinth (Muscari armeniacum) yields the most delicate blue that shifted to an almost sea green color with iron. This was something I was sure would give disappointing color. I was so wrong. The flowers were gathered by my kids and their friends from my yard and the blooms stripped from the stems. This was also on muslin and BFL combed top with a 15% alum mordant. The yarn sample was spun semi worsted for a two ply. #naturaldye #naturaldyeing #naturaldyersofinstagram #backyarddyer #naturaldyedwool #naturaldyedfabric #naturaldyesamples #wool #bflwool #muslin #sustainabledye #sustainabledyes #rhodeisland #rhodeislandart eislandplants #senefibershed
A tale of greed. Actually it’s a tale of impatience, and it is too long for this space, and it is embarrassing, but I learned a good, multi-faceted lesson. I can laugh at myself now, standing at my stove, gently stirring these avocado pits and hoping it works. There is a lesson brewing here, and there will be a quilt to document it. #avocadodye #slowstitching #backyarddyer #madebyhand
Indigo shibori socks freshly untied. These are now up for grabs! Available in 2 sizes 💙
I was working on a quilt about community and realized the piece needed some marigold dyed fabrics. Adding that sunny fabric would take the quilt in a different direction - the fourth one so far - but one that finally made sense to me. Sighing, I put it away, turned out the lights and started dinner. Later that evening, I received a message from a neighbor saying that her marigolds had taken over and could I use them. That is community. #backyarddyer #slowstitching #quilts #madebyhand
More backyard shibori results #shibori #backyarddyer #aqua #makestuff #gooutside #dye
I’ll just be over here, waiting desperately for fall, and brewing up color potions like a color witch with some seriously bubbly blue plant magic. . Backyard indigo vat is where it’s at. 💥 Dyeing these new Rosie mermaid bandanas blue as blue can get. 💙🔵🌀 . #wildrosiemaine #maine #indigo #indigodye #plantdye #mainemakers #madeinmaine #mainemade #todyefor #handdyedtextiles #maineartist #makersgonnamake #plantmagic #indigoblue #backyarddyer #makersofnewengland #handdyedbandanas
Always a treat to work with indigo. The green bundles are fresh out of the vat and they oxidize to the blue. Feels pretty magical
Busy like my bee friends, working the Indigo vat until all the bluesy hues are soaked up!! 🐝💙 #backyarddyer #naturaldye #indigo #beelover #thankyougod #foryourcreation #embodiedearthtextiles
Happy to have just harvested nearly 2 lbs of Dyers Chamomile. Please reach out if you’d like something dyed a glorious yellow 😊 #dyerschamomile #backyarddyes #backyarddyer #kitchendyes #botanicaldye #naturaldye #makeityellow #yellow #homegrown #plants #vermont #lefthanded #slowfashion #slowdye #process
“Sunset on Sasco” is a small piece inspired by the beautiful sunsets at Sasco Beach. Almost every botanical dye I’ve worked with is here: amaranth, avocado, coreopsis, cutch, indigo, madder, marigold, osage, quebracho and woad. I may have used the last bits of some, and just like the fleeting colors in a sunset, that’s that. Now that I think of it, I should have tried my hand at dyeing seaweed for this. Next time. In just a few hours, summer begins here - yay! Plant dyed cotton from my stash, and my mom’s linen tablecloth, cotton batting and thread, machine pieced and hand quilted. 19” x 35”. #handquilting #botanicaldye #backyarddyer #sascobeach #slowstitching #quilts #imahandquilter #fairfieldct #handquiltingwednesday
I’m spending Earth Day 2023 prepping my dye space for the warm weather ahead. I was richly rewarded by my small indigo vat which survived the winter. I imagine this beautiful blue will fade a bit after washing but I’ll take it. #indigovat #indigo #earthday2023 #backyarddyer
Working early in the morning presents its challenges, not the least of which is blue-hued lighting, but the birds are singing …. #backyarddyer #plantdyes #plantquilt
When you busted it dyeing fiber all morning and forgot to take pictures #handdyedfiber, #handpaintedwooltop , #handpaintedwoolroving , #backyarddyer,
It’s National Quilting Day and it is really windy out there! This is “Spring Equinox”. I know I’m 2 days early but I need a change and maybe you do too. This is one of my favorite blocks, based on Sun Ray’s Quilt, published in The Kansas City Star in 1939. It’s a pattern I keep coming back to, and this time I improvised the center. These yellows are from the humble but mighty marigold, a flower that just keeps on giving. 100% cotton, hand quilted, measuring 39” sq. #nationalquiltingday #imahandquilter #marigolddye #yellowquilts #backyarddyer #nationalquiltday
I figured that preparing my dye space for summer would be the perfect thing to do on this rainy, stormy, snowy, freezing cold day. So it was a nice surprise to find this little piece of much needed sunshine sitting in a forgotten jar of marigold (and perhaps cutch) dye. I was afraid to open it, expecting the jar to explode, but nothing happened, and it smelled just like summer. The fabric is perfectly fine, the color is deep and stable, and I know exactly what I want to do with it. Summer begins in 99 days. #marigolddye #cutch #quiltdye #handmade #backyarddyer
Sometimes you just have to admit that it’s not working anymore, that you tried, you really, really tried, that it was a good run and it’s time. Move on. #backyarddyer #handquilting
Poke Berry-dyed raffia, silk ribbon and boiled pokeweed stalk. Wow, that color! I'm working on a series of pieces focused on all the gifts of the amazing American Poke Weed plant. I'd harvested berries from my yard last October, then got busy with other things and they've been outside in a stainless steel pot (protected from the rain) ever since. I pulled them out and followed Carol Leigh's dye recipe (using acetic acid to raise the ph) and I'm so thrilled with the results! Swipe to see some shots of the stages, and stay tuned for my tribute to American Poke Weed. I hope I make Annie proud (if you know, you know). #pokeweed #pokeweeddye #pokeberry #pokeberrydye #pokeweedberries #naturalpigmentdying #naturallydyed #naturaldye #backyarddye #backyarddyer #dyeplants #backyarddyeplants #localdyeplants
Cutch and indigo log cabins in the works. Most are hand sewn. It helps to have a cutch colored table if you’re thinking of adding an alternate block. The question is how big should I go? #cutch #indigo #backyarddyer #logcabinblock
Large ornament or mini quilt? #quilts #imahandquilter #quilting #quiltsofinstagram #handquilting #slowstitching #madebyhand #stitchbystitch #stitchingasmeditation #backyarddyer
No doubt about it, having a sunny quilt, dyed with this summer’s marigolds, definitely makes these shorter days a bit brighter. #yellowquilts #imahandquilter #quilting #quiltsofinstagram #handquilting #slowstitching #madebyhand #stitchbystitch #stitchingasmeditation #backyarddyer
Cold days are here. Time to put away the dyes. While folding the last batch of fabric, I could have sworn that this marigold-dyed fabric felt warmer than the others, as though I was holding summer in my hand. The power of suggestion perhaps, but what an inspiration, too good to resist. An idea was born so I went to work. After a blissful few hours, my iron felt as cold as winter. Oh well. Machines=2. Me=0. Moving on. Let the basting begin. #quilts #imahandquilter #quilting #quiltsofinstagram #handquilting #slowstitching #madebyhand #backyarddyer #marigolddye #plantdyes
New fabric quilt project on the design wall. These are all upcycled cotton fabrics from thrifted shirts. They are dyed with the indigo I grew in my aquaponic farm and black walnuts that I foraged on my block. I mordanted the fabric for the black walnuts with rusty iron, parts of which you can still see (nuts, bolts, etc.) The pattern is improvisational with all of the blocks getting one or two strips. Overall, I think it’s coming together about as I imagined, but I’ve hit a couple of walls. First, I’ve got plenty of fabric and would like to go bigger, but I’m approaching the edges of my design wall. Second, I’m out of pins. 😂😢 I may pull it all off and re-sort, but maybe not — I’m pretty happy with how it is coming together. #improvquilt #pov #naturaldye #growyourowndye #backyarddyer #indigo #indigodye #blackwalnut #blackwalnutdye #upcycle #upcycled #upcycledfabric #thrift #thrifting #thrifted #thriftedfabric #improvquilting #modernquilt #modernquilting #menwhoquilt #menwhosew #quilt #artquilt #suburbanterroir
Hello to this little rainbowl. I hadn’t made any in a while so had fun with this as a therapeutic distraction (I just lost my heirloom engagement ring 😞 and am very bummed!) There are 16 layers here including #madder #coreopsis #cannabis #yarrow #onion #dyerschamomile #buckthorn #indigo #acorn #iron From my yard and garden. #dyersofinstagram #backyarddyer #dyegarden #smallbatch #rainbow #colors #pigments #kitchen #vt #vtmakers #distraction #colors #plants #recycledcotton
Check out the results of combining zinnia petals and marigolds. Half of the skein was dipped in each dye vat. The result is a lovely soft neutral yellow. 💛 #cranfordyarnstormers #handdyedyarn #naturaldye #backyarddyer #dyefrommygarden #marigolds #zinnias #dyeingwithflowers #yarndying #yarnlove #knittersofinstagram
Such a fabulous fun fiber day at Art in the Park! Thank you @cranfordlibrary for putting together such a great event and @hansonparkcranford for the beautiful setting. 🐑 🍁🍂 🧶 ☀️ Thank you to everyone who stopped by the YarnStormers table to say hello and learn a little bit about natural dying, I enjoyed meeting all of you! For everyone who inquired about my adorable sheep garland, they are available from @ginger.home.decor #cranfordyarnstormers #cranfordnj #yarndying #naturaldye #backyarddyer #marigolds #zinnias #indigo #walnut #artinthepark #knittersofinstagram #fiberart #fiberfun #sheep #shearing #spinning
This indigo dyed yarn is knitting up nicely, but getting an accurate color on camera has been challenging. It’s a lovely aqua blue. #indigo #handdyedyarn #naturaldye #backyarddyer #knitter #yarn
Backyard yarn dyeing with marigolds and rainwater #yarndyeing #backyarddyer #naturaldye #marigolds #rainwater #flowerdye #knittersofinstagram #yarnlove
Back in the dye kitchen today #zinnias #yarndyeing #yarndyersofinstagram #naturaldye #backyarddyer
Ironically, green is the most difficult color to get when dying with plants, yet I unintentionally did just that with my marigolds. I like these surprises. I guess my mom’s beautiful, old, threadbare tablecloth still has some life in it, and more stories to tell. #backyarddyer #botanicaldye #marigolddye
Do you have a lot on your mind? Really? Me too. I guess we all do. In the wee hours of this morning, while it was absolutely pouring buckets outside, I stood in my cold yet dry garage and prepped 3 pounds of mixed marigolds, given to me yesterday with great generosity. I have another big bunch to pick up today - again, just given. Like any kind of handwork, this meditative sorting and snipping gave me time to process some stuff, and in that moment a quilt idea was born. That was not my intention, but hey, I’ll take it. Process the process. Move forward. Carry on. #imahandquilter #slowstitching #madebyhand #backyarddyer #stitchbystitch #plantdyes
I did a little backyard dying today. Anyone want to guess what I used to create this color? #yarndying #yarndyingexperiments #naturaldye #backyarddyer
Early this morning, I brought in the last of my marigolds for a very small dye batch. It was a beautiful but bittersweet moment for sure. Now I’m off to search for black walnuts …. #backyarddyer #plantdyes #marigolddye
The results of my weekend of indigo dying. What should I make with it? #indigo #indigodying #naturaldye #blues #yarndyeing #frommygarden #backyarddyer #indiedyersofinstagram #yarn #wool
I spent today doing a little backyard dying with my homegrown indigo. It’s a learning process but really fun to experiment. The yarn is still drying but it looks like a lovely robin’s egg blue. #yarndyeing #yarndyersofinstagram #indigodying #backyarddyer #freshindigo #robinseggblue #naturaldye #stilllearning #trysomethingnew #yarnlove
This is inspired by the extraordinary humanitarian work of @chefjoseandres and his project @wckitchen which provide meals for people affected by natural and man-made disasters. Right now they are in Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic after the destruction caused by Hurricane Fiona. The simplicity of Chef Andres’ idea and the complexity of the execution is staggering, but it gets done. Visit @wckitchen to see how you can help. Chef Andres’ vision of “longer tables, not higher walls”, made me think about connection and conversation over a good meal - a quilt idea that I’ve had for a long time but could never get to work. “Keep The Conversation Going” finally got made, finished just a week ago. There is so much to talk about and so much work to be done. Hand quilted, random, machine pieced new cottons and family linens, dyed with homegrown indigo, marigolds, coreopsis, amaranth, woad, goldenrod, eucalyptus; purchased dyes: madder, cutch, quebracho, indigo, Himalayan rhubarb; food waste: avocado skins and pits, mulberries the birds dropped, spent tea and coffee grounds. Some fabric modified with iron. 23.5” x 59”. #feedafriend #quilts #imahandquilter #quilting #quiltsofinstagram #handquilting #slowstitching #madebyhand #backyarddyer #stitchbystitch #plantdyes #handquiltingwednesday
A balm for the melancholy of a rainy Labor Day. #quilts #imahandquilter #quilting #quiltsofinstagram #handquilting #slowstitching #madebyhand #backyarddyer #stitchbystitch #plantdyes
Sunday afternoon. #quilts #imahandquilter #quilting #quiltsofinstagram #handquilting #slowstitching #madebyhand #backyarddyer #stitchbystitch #plantdyes
Time to call it a day. #quilts #quilting #slowstitching #backyarddyer #plantdyes
I am dyeing with cutch today. The smell of it, like a freshly lit cigarette, combined with the crunching sound of the gravel in my yard, the lowered angle of the sun and the constant chip-chip of afternoon crickets, has transported me back to a long ago August. If I hear “Hot Fun in the Summertime”, I will have mastered time travel. - - - In her book, “A Natural History of the Senses” (1990) Diane Ackerman says that our earliest memories are triggered by smell, as it is the first sense to develop because we need it to find food. It’s all pretty amazing and wonderful, isn’t it? #cutch #quilts #slowstitching #madebyhand #backyarddyer #plantdyes
fresh dye & ferments #honeywaterstudio #backyarddyer #PNW #naturaldyer #woodstock
Pressing #sulfurcosmosflower for #echoprinting #backyarddyer #naturaldyeing #gardening #backyardgarden @thedogwooddyer
#sulfurcosmo #dyeplants #backyarddyer #backyardgarden #myrtlebeach #vegetablegarden #gardening #
I followed @rebeccadesnos process for soy milk mordanting from her book “Botanical Color At Your Fingertips”. I am so happy with the results, shown here after a long soak in an osage bark bath. An added bonus is that dark spot. I hung the fabric on an old lock of our tiny porch, forgetting that the locks are made of iron. I love that little bit of ‘sadness’ as it called, on this bright and sunny fabric. #osage #quiltfabric #backyarddyer #plantdyes
Back at it, a small piece that I want to have done by the weekend. A lot of homegrown dyes, including indigo, woad and marigolds are in this one. #smallquilt #imahandquilter #quilting #quiltsofinstagram #handquilting #slowstitching #madebyhand #backyarddyer #indigo #stitchbystitch #plantdyes #myoldshirt #quilthistory
And so begins Year 5 of Growing Color. Cosmos, zinnias, black hollyhocks, my heirloom marigolds and of course, indigo. The woad is still going strong too. Heirloom moon flowers promise a midsummer surprise. If nothing else, I’ll have good cut flowers. Be prepared for plenty of peony posts, coming soon. Along with my daily stitch practice, which gives me space and time to process the personal as well as the communal, and there is so much to process lately, I have a garden to tend. A side benefit of this is sharing seeds with generous growers who have an extra lot, and sending dyed fabrics to makers with causes - @publiclibraryquilts thank you. I am not a patient person by nature, but these opportunities and habits have made (are making) me so. It is good for my heart. #backyarddyer #plantdyes #indigo
So happy. The Woad that I planted last year, and fell prey to a marauding band of hungry chipmunks, survived a New England winter. I am not sure if I’ll have enough to make a woad vat this summer - only time will tell. Thanks @tierneybarden for the seeds! #backyarddyer #woad #plantdyes
I can’t choose a “favourite finish” from among all my quilt babies. Some grew up and went to live elsewhere, others have stayed home. So I’ll share this finish: a dozen napkins, folded shibori-style, and dyed with indigo on a warm summer day. Can’t wait for warmer days to do this again! #igquiltfest2022 with @amyscreativeside #indigodye #indigo #shibori #backyarddyer
Same quilt, but from a Friday point of view. #quilts #imahandquilter #quilting #quiltsofinstagram #handquilting #slowstitching #madebyhand #backyarddyer #stitchbystitch #plantdyes
“In Anticipation Of Summer” is on the wall. The sun may be up longer but we could all use a bit more warmth (that 70F day was a fluke). 26” x 29”. Machine pieced, hand quilted, plant dyed - madder, quebracho, marigolds, goldenrod, speckled with iron in spots, an indigo backing. The deep navy border is my old shirt. I love the unstitched pleat, showing wear on the folds, an accidental detail. Peace. #quilts #imahandquilter #quilting #quiltsofinstagram #handquilting #slowstitching #madebyhand #backyarddyer #stitchbystitch #plantdye #myoldshirt
Black tea and rosemary dye happening right now. I'm going to let it sit overnight and rinse it out in the morning. Also, I decided to try making dye from our camelia flowers, so I've got a dye vat of those brewing. Lots of deep color coming out so far. This is fun alchemy! #naturaldye #backyarddyer #plantalchemy #kitchenexperiments
Sooooo excited to be be taking Clay Resist + Indigo Dyeing with @scramblesquilts today. It’s only 7F here so it will be a challenge! Anybody else taking the class? #indigodyer #backyarddyer #indigo
These top four posts sum up quilting for me: the personal, the historical, seeking peace and comfort in hard times, the desire to learn something new. Inhale, exhale, stitch by stitch. Thanks for coming by. Let’s do it again next year, except for the hard times bit. We’ve all had enough of that. Take care. #quilt #quilting #quiltsofinstagram #handquilting #slowstitching #madebyhand #backyarddyer #quilthistory
We've has an abundance of rain here and everything is growing like weeds. So out to harvest from the dye garden I went, collecting flowers to dry for an upcoming project. I have beautiful dahlias, happy marigolds, fabulous red rose petals and seasonal coriopsis. I feel blessed to have such a bounty of colour to work with in the dye studio this week. I wonder what I'll find in my dye garden next week. #dyegarden #harvestables #naturaldyes #indiedyer #australianindiedyer #botanicals #verduretextiles #verdure #backyarddyer #dahlia #marigold #redrose #coriopsis #dryedflowers
Finally, a break through, something to stitch during the winter. It is made from new cotton and my family’s old linen, dyed this summer with Osage and Indigo from @botanicalcolors as well as home grown indigo and marigolds. This pretty block is ‘Falling Star’, one I’ve wanted to make for the longest time. In her book, ‘Old Patchwork Quilts And The Women Who Made Them” (1929), Ruth E. Finley dates it to about 1800. Now to sew the backing and then the dreaded task of basting. #quilt #quilting #quiltsofinstagram #slowstitching #madebyhand #backyarddyer #quilthistory #indigo
Some November-influenced colors and arrangement. #quiltsofinstagram #backyarddyer
I still cannot believe that all of these indigo plants came from seeds that fit in a tiny vial about as big as a pencil eraser. Thank you @yesgraham for the opportunity to grow this incredible plant. 〰 〰 〰 〰 〰 〰 〰 〰 This summer was pretty intense. Time to sit with thread and needle and process it all. #indigodyeing #slowstitching #madebyhand #backyarddyer #stitchmeditation #indigoplant
My backyard natural dye experiment is over…for now. 😉 Wow! I’m shocked at how much color I was able to coax from plants around me and kitchen scraps such as onion skins, avocado skins/pits, pomegranate skins and hibiscus tea to name a few. At 58yrs old … I try not to say, “ohhh I’m getting too old to trying something new”. I have to keep reminding myself that “life is a journey, not a destination”. 💋☺️ #naturaldyeing #dyeingwithplants #backyarddyer #handspunyarn #spinnersofinstagram #yarnaddict #imake #spin15aday #wemakeyarn #makersgonnamake #handspunwool #botanicaldyeing #makesomething
So happy with these almost iridescent colors. The osage and marigold dips paid off nicely. I may need to go just a touch lighter on the indigo. I just can’t seem to shake one of the first design principles I learned about quilt making: light-medium-dark. Subtly is not my strong suit. The block I’ll use is one I’ve wanted to try for just about ever. It’s time to start cutting and see what works. #backyarddyer #homegrownindigo #dyedquilt #quiltsofinstagram #slowstitching
Dye session in the wee small hours of the morning. Two old pieces of very pale indigo cotton dropped in the new vat, now sitting in Osage and marigolds. I am trying very hard to let it be and let it go. #backyarddyer #indigovat
Last day of my end of summer sale! Help me make room for all the new stuff I have including lots of new indigo dyed items! These are some newbies straight out of my mom's @moryroo80 vats. . . . . . . . . #indigo #indigooverdyed #indigodyeing #tiedye #shibori #peterpiperbk #dharmatrading #backyarddyer #handdyed #dyersofinstagram
Without a doubt, I am thrilled with the color range I achieved dyeing with fresh indigo this weekend, but I am not crazy about the occasional mottling and staining from the tannin mordant that I used. From what I’ve read, indigo does not require a mordant but using one does make for a deeper color which is what I wanted. That olive shade is actually marigold over-dyed with indigo. While in the vat, it turned a deep tangerine and then black when I took it out. When washed with Marseilles soap, it turned this beautiful olive green! So you take the good with the not so good, but @anruaig can I take the blue with the green? #backyarddyer #indigo #freshindigodye #quiltcolor #learnbydoing #quilt
My eucalyptus is still printing bright greens! No mordant just wool and steam. In considering making a dye bath and dyeing some wool next. . . . #ecoprints #ecoprinter #naturepods #shrinepod #shrine #localwood #britishwool #britishwool🇬🇧 #naturaldyer #backyarddyer #localdye #homemade #handmade
Things are looking pretty good here with this fresh batch of indigo. #backyarddyer #indigo #homegrownindigo #indigoquilt
Getting closer. Mulberries + iron works much better. #backyarddyer #colorfromplants #quiltsofinstragram #quiltdye
A random arrangement of this weekend’s dye work: fresh indigo, osage, quebracho, quebracho + osage. All of these dyes scraps were the saved white trims from recent quilts. I had a plan when I started but it’s not working. Something will happen but this isn’t it. Clearly my muse is on an extended vacation. #backyarddyer #colorfromplants #quiltsofinstagram #quiltdye
White cotton (bottom) white cotton dyed 3 times with home grown indigo (middle), the same over dyed with iron (top). ➿➿➿➿➿ ➿➿➿➿➿ Many years of quilting have taught me patience and perseverance and now, after four years of working with plant dyes, I can add acceptance to the list. I still don’t understand the chemistry - my brain just isn’t geared that way - I just follow the directions. But beneath it all lies wonder and the fundamental question, “What/if?” #indigodye #quilt #backyarddyer #slowstitching #japaneseindigo
So excited to try this season’s first batch of homegrown indigo. Thank you @latticehouse for letting me grow in your space. This is just one pound of leaves. There is plenty more where that came from. #backyarddyer #indigoprocessing #homegrownindigo #plantdyes
My smelly blue water is now smelly brown water! I have used at least 3 cups of lime and the oh is still 7. Is it ruined? #indigo #indigoextraction2021 @thedogwooddyer @ninja.chickens #backyarddyer
Mulberry dyeing (l to r): soaked for three days, a rinse, washed with Marseilles soap. My initial joy is tempered, but I cannot help but think of the lavender fields in Provence and that is not such a bad thing. Maybe I should dye with lavender next for a smoky green grey …. #backyarddyer #mulberrydye #quiltcolor #plantdyes
1) #mimosa didn't cover the whole bag. So I tried 2) #elephantearplant faith a sprinkling of #crepemyrtle and VOILA! 3) beautiful #lemonyellow🍋 with purple spots. #echoprinting #backyarddyer #naturaldyeing
A great day for cyanoprint / solarprint sampling. A mixture of backyard vegetation and household items, art tools, and food. #madeinvt #handmadeinvt #solarprint #ecoprint #grapeleaves #basketweave #chamomile #wheat #spools #rubberbands #mint #cannabis #goldfish #rice #scissors #sorrell #stems #backyarddyer #backyardart #vt #vermont #womeninart #textileart #green