The Start of A New Year

You might be thinking I loaded the wrong photo to the blog or that I meant to be loading this photo of the hearth-side cooking to I did in December to a different blog. Nope. It is right where I wanted it.

I have a lot of pot going at anyone time, as most of us do, I am using this photo here today to illustrate that and to talk about the start of the new year. Which for me is like the preparations for a big meal right after a different feast. I have lots of clean up to do from last year, my studio is in such a state you might run screaming! I have new pots to put on the fire - or to eliminate the metaphor - new projects and ideas to get rolling on, new show applications to get filled out, new locations to check out, new ideas to grow and expand into! I am bursting with enthusiasm! But - to return to the metaphor- not a lot ready to show you, the outside of the dutch oven is not particularly exciting no matter how tasty the contents are.

It is time to roll up my sleeves, dig out the studio, fill out the forms, check out the... you get the idea... I am off to work.
~Julia

Tansy dyepot

I collected and dried some tansy from my yard this fall. Wednesday, I decided get moving on dyeing for the year. After some cleaning on the dye porch/studio - more on that later - I got the dyepot going. Yesterday, while waiting to pick the oldest up from work, I did the first bits of dyeing for the year.

 The first batch in the dyebath, I let the wool (Blue faced Leicester) sit over night.

 Dripping from the pot!

 Yes, I use a salad spinner to get the excess water out of my wool.

The dyed wool next to an equal amount of the same wool ready for the dyepot. This wool is mordanted in alum and rinsed before dying.

I reclaim all rinse water and reuse it in a dye season. This reduces the impact of the alum on the environment. At the end of the year I allow the water to evaporate off, so I am not adding alum - which is fairly safe anyway but care is always good - to my area's groundwater. The leftover plant material is composted for my gardens.

Those of you who read my personal blog will know that due to medical issues with my parents I have been very busy and stressed and I want to thank everyone for their patience, thoughts, and prayers. ~Julia