Dye, you fool!

Madder and dyer's chamomile. Dyer's chamomile smells just like chamomile tea, so my daughter didn't hate this as much as weld. Thank goodness she wasn't around for the woad.

I always used to get orange out of madder, but I've got the hang of it now. This is the madder with dyer's chamomile. The picture doesn't do the colour any justice. It's a quite nice tangerine.














My first attempt at woad. I got a kit online so I didn't have to ferment it (and therefore have my family either strangle me or leave...), so it was easy enough to do. You just have to be very careful with the pH test strips and don't be colour blind. Next time I'll use a larger pot. The yarn tie dyed itself because it was too cramped and the dye didn't flow over it as much. It will still make something pretty and variegated when knit up. The two on the right I'm going to try overdyeing with weld to get green.
This was extremely stinky stuff. I was very glad that I have nitrile gloves in my bee kit. I didn't want my hands to turn blue and smell like an overly-wet compost heap that isn't hosting the                                                                                           good bacteria...

Here's what I can get out of madder now! A good, solid red. I'm quite happy about it.














I won a bale of white 100% wool yarn in a silent auction. Literally. It was bound into a brick with thick, plastic straps. By the appearance of the tags I'd say that it's from the late 80s, and it says it was made and processed in Prince Edward Island, Canada. I'm looking forward to playing with all the colour possibilities!