Well, I got about half way through with the Indigo when I killed the pot. I thought I had turned off the burner but it turns out I didn't and the temperature climbed to 150 degrees F. Not good for Indigo. I tried a different approach to the Indigo pot outlined in a different book but it didn't work. So, I am waiting for a delivery of a batch of Thiox. I have fresh lye, plenty of soda ash, and tomorrow will have the Thiox. In my poor defense, I have to admit that I am dyeing in the midst of sheer chaos. We have lived on a heavily wooded 5 acre piece of land for the past 19 years. We decided to thin the trees out this year taking mostly Alder which grows like a weed. My dye kitchen is outdoors and there were chainsaws buzzing, trees falling, and tractors roaring practically in my lap for the past two weeks. It is nearly done now. Just the cleanup but the loggers are having equipment problems. Well, if you have ever experienced this kind of logging first hand, you will understand the distraction. There are many many trees still left and we will be planting 1000 cedar seedlings to take the place of the Alder.
The picture to the left is one of the side paths I took earlier and have revisited. The yarn is the Licorice Twist from Henry's Attic Yarns and I first dyed it using Madder roots. I wasn't entirely pleased with how it turned out so here it is being dyed in Cochineal. I wanted some variation so the skeins are hanging over a piece of PVC so that only part of the skein will be dyed. This yarn will be for my knitting friend, Elizabeth. Alas, I am still not happy with the color so I am going to dip it in Indigo when I get it up and running again. So very close to being through! -Renee
1 comment:
Leaving the heat on under the pot is my most common mistake too, always made when I get distracted. With all the lumber-jack fuss around you, I'm not surprised that you forgot to check the stove. Your licorice twist madder/cochineal looks beautiful to me.
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