I needed a new bus project today for the trip south that I took...
so I started a sleeve for a sweater. I have decided I wanted to make one more sweater with the pattern from Elizabeth Zimmerman's Knitting without Tears before I use that pattern for a sweater made with hand spun yarn. (The first sweater is here.) And yes, I made a swatch, you have to for this pattern.
I will be dyeing this with some kind of plant material. Maybe hazelnut leaves, maybe indigo.
And then there are the current dye projects:
On Wednesday I bundled hazelnut leaves around copper and then dropped it all in a hazelnut leaf dye bath so that the dye is seeping up the fabric.
On Thursday I wrapped a rose leaf in linen and dropped it into the rinse water for the last project I dyed in indigo.
Friday's bundle is a dogwood leaf that I'm keeping damp but not soaking.
Tomorrow I'll see what this makes:
I harvested some of the indigo my mother's been growing for me in her green house. This is what I have on my porch that my parents started for me and then I brought to my house. It is just a bit smaller than what my mother's grown so I'm guessing the heat and humidity is most important for the indigo as it's getting established. Once it's growing it doesn't seem to need the higher temperatures. What I germinated and what has only grown on my porch is about 3 inches tall and has about 4 or 5 small leaves per plant. Very different stage and results...
I have what I've harvested soaking in water and will see what I can do with it over the next couple days. I'm following some suggestions from Rita Buchanan's A Weaver's Garden.
Update on this coming soon I'm sure!