Thanks and Good Wishes

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As these photos show, here in the south of England we have had heavy falls of snow and the garden looks so lovely in the wintry light that I couldn’t resist venturing outside with my camera. In the second photo, the very last roses are flowering bravely amidst a blanket of snow.

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As the year starts to draw towards its close, I’ve been looking back over the months since my website was set up just over a year ago and reflecting with pleasure on the added dimension it has brought to my life. I have been both surprised and delighted to make contact with so many fellow dyers all over the world and I’d like to thank you for following my blog and sharing your experiences with me. I really value your comments and the links to other websites and blogs, some of which have opened up new areas of interest and experimentation for me. I would also like to thank those of you who have supported my efforts to persuade the publishers to reprint “Wild Colour”. I am still waiting to hear whether we have been successful and I will let you know of any developments in the New Year.

As I write this we are preparing for the arrival of various family members, including our dear granddaughter, now 18 months old, who will be spending the holiday period here with us. So this will probably be my last post until January and I wish everyone a very happy Christmas and all the very best for 2010.

A Natural Dyeing Project in Uganda

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During the past few weeks I have been in correspondence with an Austrian, Rupert Kampmueller, who is working with a group of basketmakers in Rubona, Uganda. The ladies in Rupert’s group make beautifully patterned raffia baskets and also some other items, all dyed with natural dyes. Rupert’s main query concerned possible ways to use the fresh leaves of Indigofera arrecta, which grows wild in the area of Uganda where he is working. I am hoping that the methods for using fresh woad leaves can be adapted for obtaining blues from Indigofera arrecta and I look forward to hearing whether he has been successful. If anyone else has any further suggestions for obtaining blues from fresh Indigofera arrecta leaves, I’d be delighted to pass the advice on to Rupert.

In addition to using some local dyes, the ladies also use madder and weld to dye the raffia and I suggested that they might try using local sorghum leaves, which are used to produce reds in many parts of Africa and for which I have sent Rupert some dyeing tips. The designs on the baskets are traditional ones and Rupert and his dyers have created a wide range of strong natural colours to dye the raffia used by the weavers. For more details of the basketmakers and the organisation supporting them, look at the website www.fullcircletrade.com/producers and click on the link to Rubona Weavers.  

The following photos, sent to me by Rupert, show some of the baskets and their makers and also some of the dyed raffia.

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DSC00075                                                                                                                                                                                           The raffia in the centre was dyed with fresh woad leaves and the black colour on either side was achieved using the tannin/iron complex. These colours were the result of some test dyeing done by Rupert, while he was at home in Austria before returning to Uganda.

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These hanks of raffia show some of the naturally-dyed colours achieved using local plants and also weld and madder.

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Problems viewing my blog?

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Two people have told me that they have recently been experiencing problems viewing my blog, so I wonder whether this has affected anyone else?

In an attempt to improve the situation, the settings on my blog have been changed, so only six posts, instead of ten, can now be seen on the first page. This should speed up loading the site.

Perhaps anyone who still has problems could let me know and give me more details, so I can try to sort things out.

Workshop at Denny Abbey

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I lead very few workshops away from my home, as my physical capabilities are becoming increasingly limited by arthritis, but for the last few years I have taught two one-day workshops each year at The Farmland Museum at Denny Abbey, near Cambridge. (www.dennyfarmlandmuseum.org.uk)  This is a lovely setting for courses and the familiarity of the set-up, plus the support I am given, means I have been able to continue these courses again this year. The number of students is limited to eight, so there is ample opportunity for people to ask questions and for me to concentrate on the individual needs of each student as necessary. The courses tend to be intensive, as we cover not only the basics of mordanting & dyeing animal and vegetable fibres but also colour modifiers and indigo dyeing. However, there is usually enough time for students to explore the grounds and look at the dye garden in between setting up the dye baths.

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This shows some of the colours from one of this year’s workshops. The dyes shown here are: Left top row – indigo and weld. Left second row – rhubarb root. Right top row – buckthorn bark. Right second row – madder root. On each row there are also samples of each dye over-dyed in indigo. The samples on the bottom rows are from weld and madder.

A Red from Goose Grass?

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Yesterday I received an email from a lady who had been clearing goose grass or cleavers (Galium aparine) from her garden and had collected three barrow-loads of these plants. She had heard that they give a red dye and wondered if this was true and, if so, how to go about dyeing with them.

I’m afraid my advice to her was to put the goose grass on her compost heap and concentrate on growing a true red dye, such as madder. Goose grass or cleavers is in the madder family and I, too, have read that it should be possible to extract a red dye from the roots. The roots in question are not the thin roots one tends to pull up when weeding but, rather, the thicker roots which are much deeper in the ground. However, I have never managed to extract a red dye from the roots of goose grass, nor have I ever met anyone who has done so and was able to show me the results. Of course, these successful dyers may exist but sadly I am not among them. I suspect that the red dye from goose grass is another of those “facts” found in the natural dyeing literature, which are based on theory rather than on proof by experiment. Another such “fact” is that a purple dye can supposedly be extracted from the roots of the dandelion. I have never achieved this dye colour, nor come across anyone who has. I’d love to hear from anyone who has been successful with either red from goose grass or purple from dandelion root.

“Wild Colour” Facebook Page

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Mary Walker of  Weaving in Beauty (www.weavinginbeauty.com) has very kindly arranged a Facebook page for “Wild Colour”. Her idea is that, if enough people express an interest through the Facebook page in a reprinting of the book, this may help to persuade the publishers that there is sufficient interest to make a reprint viable. The link to the page is: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Wild-Colour-The-Complete-Guide-to-Making-and-Using-Natural-Dyes/117794646494

I am extremely grateful to Mary for not only coming up with this idea, but also for organising the page. I could never have done it for myself, as I’ve had no experience of Facebook whatsoever. I really had no idea when I started this blog that I would be learning about so many new skill areas! I have been quite overwhelmed by the kindness and generosity of people in supporting me in so many ways and I really do appreciate it.

Update on my books

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Sadly, my efforts to persuade Mitchell Beazley, the publishers, to re-print “Wild Colour” have not been successful. So “Wild Colour” will not be re-printed in the foreseeable future, although the situation may be reviewed in a year or two. I shall certainly try again to persuade them, anyway.  It’s so frustrating to know how many people would love to see this book reprinted and yet to be unable to do anything about it myself, because I don’t own the copyright.

    

My latest book, “Colours from Nature”, has recently been re-printed by Search Press, who also publish my “The Craft of Natural Dyeing”. Search Press have added “Colours from Nature” to their list, so it should now be available in many parts of the world through suppliers of craft books. The contents remain exactly the same but the book has a new cover and a new ISBN number. (978-1-84448-468-3)

“Colours from Nature” is still available directly from me and the cost, including postage, is £11 within the UK and £13 overseas. (Click on “My Books” on the homepage for more details.)

Blog Awards

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In the last few weeks I have been nominated for three blog awards and I really appreciate the generous words of those who have nominated me. I must confess that I don’t know anything about the protocol surrounding such matters and my technical abilities do not stretch to knowing how to “accept” awards. I believe that in some cases the recipient of an award is requested to nominate other blogs for similar awards and I must apologise for my unwillingness to do this, especially if this means I’m “breaking a chain”. I read several blogs, mostly those connected with natural dyes or textiles in general, and I always follow any links I’m given to other blogs; each blog has its own special characteristics and appeal and each has different things to offer. However, I don’t feel in a position to be able to nominate one blog rather than another for an award.  I do hope this doesn’t cause offence to anyone but please forgive me if it does.

Spring is Here!

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It really seems that Spring has arrived. The woad seeds have germinated and I also have seedlings of basil, tomatoes, calendula and zinnias. Only the weld has so far failed to germinate but I will be patient a little longer. 

Here are some photos of my garden as it is this week. Just to see the lovely Spring colours and to smell the fragrance of the flowers as I walk through the garden lifts my spirits.

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A Jacket for Milly

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img_1981xxThis is a jacket I knitted to match the dress I made for my granddaughter, Milly. ( The photo is somewhat out of focus, I’m afraid, for which I apologise.)