Welcome to my blog. I document my adventures in travel, style, and food. Hope you have a nice stay!
This is Part 1 of a 2 part series on dyeing fabric using Shibori techniques.
Shibori is a Japanese dyeing technique that creates dye-resists in the cloth by folding, pleating, and/or bunching the fabric. These folds are then bound with stitching, clamps or rubber bands, preventing the dye from penetrating. Any fabric that is exposed and not compressed by the resist will be dyed while the resist area will remain white (or the color of the underlying cloth).
The next spin in the 'Let's Spin . . . ' series is Lincoln, sometimes called Lincoln Longwool. The Longwool family includes many of the fiber world's favorite breeds. We have already met another of the longwools, Bluefaced Leicester.
Longwools are a category of sheep, which as the name implies, have a longer staple length, generally greater than 4 inches (10 cm).
This is the next installment in the 'Let's Weave . . . ' series. For a previous post see here. Today's weave structure is waffle weave. Waffle weave is made up of warp and weft floats of varying lengths arranged around a plain-weave center. When the fabric is taken off the loom and washed, these floats contract and form a texture that looks like a waffle. This weave structure is popular for towels, both because of its absorbency and appearance.
Just a quick post. I've been doing more natural dyeing with Marigold and overdyeing with Saxon Blue.
Saxon Blue is a dye made from a solution of indigo in sulfuric acid.
It's such a beautiful day in May, I thought I'd do a walk around and give you a glimpse of what's going on at the farm.
My first and only spinning wheel is a Louet S-17. As a novice spinner, the reason I chose this particular wheel was I wanted a quality, yet inexpensive basic wheel and the S-17 more than fit that criteria. Yes, there are fancier and prettier wheels, but I love the simplicity of my S-17!
Most spinning wheels have a lacquered finish, while some are intricately carved from beautiful oak and cherry woods. Not my S-17, it's unfinished, laminated hardwood that has been sanded satiny smooth. Now some might find this unattractive, but I see it as a pristine palette calling me to create something uniquely mine. And so that is just what I did.
Blue Faced Leicester, or more commonly referred to as BFL, is a favorite fiber of handspinners, as well as knitters, crocheters, and other yarn lovers. Because of its popularity, BFL fiber is fairly easy to find. It's also one of the most readily available breed-specific commercial yarns.
Since childhood, I've heard "Which came first, the chicken or the egg?". I'm not sure that I can definitively answer that age old debate, but I can tell you how chicks came to Green Pastures Farm. . .
Last week I had the wonderful opportunity to teach three natural dyeing workshops at the SC Jamboree hosted by the Lexington County Master Gardeners. This year's theme was 'Let's Go Native', so I fit right in with my presentation of 'A Rainbow in Your Garden-Natural Dyes'.
Just like the previous posts for Let's Weave . . . and Let's Spin . . . , this is the start of the Let's Dye . . . series featuring my forays into Natural Dyeing.
There are several reasons I chose to begin this series with Marigolds
I LOVE Red Velvet Cake!!! Well, truth be told, I LOVE Red Velvet, be it cake or cheesecake or donuts or pancakes or hot chocolate! I have a Pinterest Board just for Red Velvet.
Ok, you get I love Red Velvet, but what does that have to do with Natural Dyeing?
This is the second post in the Let's Spin. . . series. You can find the first post on spinning Coopworth here.
Today's spin study is Jacob wool. Jacob sheep are relatively small sheep that were historically kept as ornamental animals by the gentry of England. Jacob wool is interesting because there are multiple different colors within a single fleece.
As with the series "Let's Spin . . ." that I started with this post "Let's Spin . . . Coopworth", I'm starting a similar series on weaving. The purpose of this series is to bring you weave structures and techniques that may be new to you. There are certainly a lot of resources out there that explain and demonstrate these, but I have found that sometimes the many choices seem overwhelming. If you're like me, sometimes just deciding what to try next becomes the stumbling block. So my hope is that by providing you some information and an example of something I've actually woven, you might just say, "Hey, I can do that!".
I'll start this series with Bead Leno.
I admit, at first glance this photo looks a bit strange . . . but not to fear, it really is quite precious!
My mission with Flora & Fiber is to inspire you to create your own handcrafted traditions. As such, I am exploring a variety of fiber arts techniques and bringing them to you. This project, woven stained glass, was fun and a little off the beaten path. It started with contemplating how to use leftover yarn from another project.
Today is the first installment of a recurring feature that I'm calling "Let's Spin . . . " There is such a myriad of fibers that can be handspun - wool, mohair, angora, cotton, flax, bamboo, polyester, silk, alpaca, and so much more! As I work my way through spinning these varied fibers, I plan to share what I learn both from my study, as well as my experience with the fiber. I hope you enjoy and find inspiration!
