Living Life on My Shangri-la

Wow! NAILE was really something this year! I truly believe that we were busier and had more people passing through the halls of the Louisville, Kentucky Expo center than the past couple of years.  I got to sit and spin with Martha Richard, Helen Schwartz, Diane Lewis, and Pam Hoover.  The nice thing about getting to spin with other people is that I can see various techniques used by everyone.  Helen and Martha had the most beautiful fibers while Pam and I spun fleeces from our own livestock.

NAILE was just the kick in the pants I needed to begin doing some natural dyeing on my own.  Shortly before NAILE I had used some walnut, I'm talking the black walnuts themselves, not the hulls to dye with.  I got a dark tan and even dyed some curls to go with the yarn.  But this time I dyed with Brazilwood and got a beautiful fuschia color. [this picture doesn't do the fiber justice!]  I only dyed 4 ounces as I've weighed my fibers so that I can consistently get a 4 ounce skein.  I can't wait to dye another 4 ounce bundle of Brazilwood.  Then I will try Mimosa, walnut with the entire nut, madder, and some more.  This is so exciting to be creating beautiful colors from nature!  The only thing holding me back is my glass top stove.  I don't want to weight it down too much with big pots and ruin my cooking surface.  I can't wait to dye more! Lots of fiber holds the promise of colorful winter days!