Category archives: Dye House News

Hello, Yes, Spring IS slowly approaching, time of buds and sproutings. It is still too wet to start in the dye garden but the plans are already in place.

By July it will be high summer and the dye plants will be in bloom and at their best, I hope. There is still a place or two to share this with us on this year's July workshop.

Spring is also a time of birds and nest building and you can do just that with the Kea Pullover designed by Bristol Ivy with its border and yoke of fascinating feathers ...

I hope it is not yet too late to wish you all a healthy, peaceful New Year, full of colour and achievement. January usually keeps me busy organising the year's natural dyeing workshops and markets where we hope to see some of you this year.

The first opportunity to meet us and see our colours, kits and touch the wool will be February 10th-11th in Crest in Drome. Here you can download the flyer and the list of exhibitors. As usual there are lots of exciting woolly experiences awaiting. See you at booth 16.

We will be just a ...

In the cold winds of January I have begun to ponder warm July days whose theme will be wool and lots of colour. Yes it is the yet to be dyed 2018 Natural Dyeing workshop to take place July 23rd- 27th, here in my humble dye-house in the Ariege.

And of course a few photos of what to expect:

Japanese Indigo in the dye garden.

Sulphur Cosmos in the solar pot.

Skimming the 'flower' from the top of the indigo vat.

Sample labelling

A peek into the solar vat after one day

Some of the final line-up

Oh look at those boots!

Loved this warm felty glow.

Wooly heaven.

Cuddly and Bio

Things are not always what they seem.

Nice sheepy

Dog tired

Dog tired Granny

Take a stand

Piles of blue wool..woad

Granny's stand

Early trader, 3 odd-ends of embroidery wool for €100.. wrapped of course

Sun soaking with Grandpa

Introduction to The Use of Vegetable dyes by Violetta Thurstan.

"Is this 'vegetable dyeing' that we are hearing so much about less trouble than chemical dyeing?

No it is more trouble.

Is it then quicker?

No, it takes much longer.

Is it a faster dye?

No, a really fast chemical dye cannot be surpassed by any vegetable dye.

Is it cheaper?

No, the cheap chemical dyes in packets cost only a few pence.

Why then should anyone trouble to learn how to use vegetable dyes?

Because of the beauty of its results, Those who use them claim that no chemical ...

Somewhere in one of those memory compartments that I haven't opened for decades are images of the Kalavala, meteoric iron and autumn. This is a Finnish folklore poem that contains elements of the Michael and the dragon imagery.

It joggled back up to the surface today as I am in the process of turning some brilliant summer wool dyeing in to autumn colours with the aid of iron.. not meteoric alas just plain old homemade iron acetate (a future blog post!). Though I bet meteoric iron would work better! This treatment with iron which is known as saddening has ...

Bonjour,

Pour ceux qui aiment un stand de marché réel plein de la laine compressible, de couleurs vives et de modèles de kits expérimentaux, nous serons dans différentes parties de la France en septembre et en octobre.

23 au 24 septembre vous nous trouverez à Lyon au deuxième Microfestival de Libération du Fil

58 Rue Victor Lagrange, 69007 Lyon Juste à côté de la gare et du métro Jean Macé

Le mini marché est ouvert du samedi 13h30 à 20h00 et du dimanche de 10h à 18h voici la liste des exposants

Consultez les ateliers ici et réservez-en bientôt.

du ...

Hello,

For those who like a real market stand packed full of squeezable wool, bright colours and try-on-able kit models we will be around in different parts of France in September and October.

23rd-24th September you will find us in Lyon at the second Microfestival de Libération du Fil

58 Rue Victor Lagrange, 69007 Lyon Just next to the Station and Metro Jean Macé

The mini market is open from Sat 13.30 - 20.00 and Sunday 10 - 18 hr here is the list of exhibitors

Check out the workshops here and book soon.

7th - 8th October we will once ...

Juin embellit le sol et métamorphose le jardin de colorants dans une palette de teinture. Ici, vous pouvez jeter un coup d'oeil sur certaines plantes du jardin de teintures en ce moment . Ces graines de guède radiants donneront non seulement la culture de guède prochaines années, mais aussi donner cette belle violet foncé à la laine ou de tissu.

J'essaie de gérer le jardin de colorants afin qu'il soit en excellente condition pour l'atelier de teinture à la fin du mois d'août, la météo fait un défi intéressant. Je suis sur le point de récolter ...

A quick tour of the dye-garden as it is at the moment on 5th June 2017; naming plant, uses and colours.

Judas tree pods give a lovely orange tinged eco-print and their roots if you ever dare dig them up give a red dye.

Dyers Chamomile (Anthemis tinctoria) producing a warmer yellow than weld on all fibres, good for solar dyeing and eco-printing.

Dyers Greenwood (Genista tinctoria) Good yellow dye on all fibres, handy for eco-printing

Garland Chrysanthemum (Glebionis coronaria) Yet another abundant source of yellow, gives a warm yellow to orange dye, great for solar dyeing and eco-printing

Goldenrod ...