Let's Do This Again

Since last week's dyeing concoction did not go so well (previous post), a few corrections to the marigold dyeing process were made yesterday with very differing results.  New process was to

• cut off flower heads (check)
• simmer flower heads in 1/2 gallon of water for an hour (check)
• strain flower water, discarding the flowers and retaining the water for day (again, did that last week)
• mordant the wool in 1/2 tsp. alum and 1/2 gallon of water for one hour over simmer (different than last time as I used vinegar for the mordant)
• place wool skeins into the dye bath and simmer for one hour (same as last week)
• over-dye that ugly skein from the first dye bath last week by re-dyeing it in this week's concoction (check, but with rapidly beating heart)
• retrieve wool from dye bath and rinse under cool water several times to remove dye left over in fiber
• enjoy the scent of the marigold water and marvel at the color of the golden dye bath water
• delight in the resulting pretty colors (different from last week)

Here are the results, with plenty of seeds saved for next year's garden:

The skein on the right was the prior seaweed color.  Now it is a deep golden.  The wool on the left is a pretty and bright yellow, having started out as a virgin white wool.

Another picture of the bright yellow wool:

Yea! I am happy, happy, happy!

This will be used to knit a Fair Isle tam, using one of the patterns used by the Scottish women in the knitting guild whose pretty hats are shown below.

Thanks to the commenters last week who said to look for alum in the spice aisle. I HAD looked in our largest local grocery chain in our town and could not find it, but then went to the local Safeway and BEHOLD! There it was. Thanks for nudging me to look for it again!

Ronaldsay Wool and Dyeing with Marigolds

Wool from Ronaldsay in the Shetland Islands is unique.  The sheep there eat seaweed!

 Our friend Wikipedia says...

The North Ronaldsay is a breed of sheep living on North Ronaldsay, the northernmost of the Orkney_Islands, Scotland. They are one survivor of a type of sheep formerly found across the islands of Orkney and Shetland (the other is the Shetland (sheep), belonging to the Northern European short-tailed sheep group of breeds.

They are notable for living almost entirely on seaweed for several months of the year, except for a short lambing season – this is the only forage available to them, as they are confined to the shoreline by a 6 feet dry-stone wall which encloses the whole island. The semi feral flock on North Ronaldsay is confined to the foreshore for most of the year to conserve the limited grazing inland.

The sheep have evolved a somewhat different physiology from other sheep, due to their unusual diet – their digestive system has adapted to extract the sugars in seaweeds more efficiently, and they have an increased susceptibility to toxicity to the trace element copper.  he grazing habits of the sheep have also adapted to their peculiar diet: instead of grazing during the day and ruminating at night as other sheep generally do, the North Ronaldsays graze as the tide reveals the shore (twice in 24 hours), ruminating at high water. The sheep's source of fresh water is limited to the few freshwater lakes and ponds along the seashore.

Eating seaweed, adapting to copper in their diet and drinking pond water must make fleece of the Ronaldsay sheep different in some way.  Just by handling it, I found it difficult to feel or see the difference in wool from this particular breed of sheep on Orkney.  But one thing I did find on Orkney was that retail stores generally stocked only the natural color of wool.  It was obvious I had to buy some of the natural colored wool (posing below with marigold flowers).

This 100% Ronaldsay wool (100 grams) is almost white.

 

I was so happy to bring back natural colored wool and also some pretty dyed Ronaldsay wool, hand dyed by Pam Murray.  You can find her here.

So now I have not only bits of colored Ronaldsay yarn from Pam Murray, but also some white.

But wait, there was no yellow or golden yellow or any other type of yellow Ronaldsay in the color palette. 

So after I came home from Orkney, I decided to dyed some white Ronaldsay wool with marigolds to see what yellow hues came out of the natural flower petals.

Thank you, Polish Granddaughter, and Blue Castle Fiber Arts for good information on dyeing with natural dyes and mordants.

Remember that 100 + gram of natural wool?  Here it is wound up and divvied it into four unequal amounts.  The first two balls shown from left to right are the smaller amounts of wool that I used in dyeing for yellows; hopefully the first larger amount (1 oz.) will result in a darker yellow and the smaller ball (.6 oz) will result in a lighter shade of yellow.

Here are the flowers, which were then slowly boiled for one hr.

The white wool, that one ounce shown above, was lightly skeined and tied at intervals to keep it together while being dyed.  It had previously been submerged into hot vinegar water.  That was the mordanting process (mordant: to assist in accepting color,  meaning that the dye will "bite" into the fiber and hold on).  Then it was submerged into the marigold tea and again simmered on the stove for another hour.

After soaking overnight, this ugly color resulted:

 

Kinda brown, kinda puke color.

 

But I will NOT be defeated.  Friend Natalie says I can have some of her marigolds.  This time, I will go to the medical supply place and buy alum for the mordant instead of using vinegar.  Then the process will begin again. Sigh.

 

Hint to the wise: unlike what the internet told me, alum in not available at pharmacies.  At least, not at the new Walgreen's in our fair city.  The nice pharmacist said it was not used anymore (for what purposes it is used beyond dying is beyond me), so Walgreen's does not stock alum.

Stay tuned for more of "AS THE WOOL TURNS COLOR", maybe tomorrow?

Linking with Tami at Works in Progress Wednesday.  Go visit some other people who can actually SHOW you something pretty!

Best Scottish Shortbread Recipe Since Robert Redford

Friend Natalie served Lavender Shortbread cookies last week.  She had tried several recipes using lavender, and declared this was the best one, first published in Sunset Magazine in the 1970's.  Credit goes not only to Nat for finding it, but also to a person named M.C. from East Palo Alto, California for having it published in the magazine.

Daughter Julie's birthday is next week, so I'll be sending her some lavender cookies and some zucchini bread, along with trinkets to open.  For those of you who have followed Julie's progress with her surgeries and her chemo and radiation, she is doing pretty well, all things considered.  She has an aide who comes in twice a day, and great doctors.  Her champion husband Jack takes her to appointments and occasionally they go to Fatz, their favorite restaurant in Rock Hill, SC.

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Here is some culinary lavender purchased in Colorado that I used for the cookies:

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Happy Birthday, Julie!



And linking with Fiber Arts Friday, here is my more than half way completed Seriously Simple Shawl by Wendy Johnson.  Details on Ravelry are here.

Lavender Shortbread Recipe:

"The Path" for Church Sanctuary

The husband was helpful not only in putting together a large easel for this project, but also in finding appropriate scriptures for this painting journey.  Each panel is 24" x 36".  Three panels together equals 6 feet in width by 3 feet in height.  A foot of negative space on the wall between panel will make the project 8 feet in width.  All panels were painted in acrylics.  "The Path" will be displayed for the autumn portion of Ordinary Times in the liturgical calendar of the church.

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I Corinthians 13:12
 

For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.  (KJV) )

Through many dangers, toils and snares
I have already come;
'Tis Grace that brought me safe thus far
and Grace will lead me home.

Psalms 23:4

Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

 

Deuteronomy  2:7

The LORD your God has blessed you in all the work of your hands. He has watched over your journey through this vast wilderness. These forty years the LORD your God has been with you, and you have not lacked anything. (NIV)

Isaiah 35:8

 

And a highway will be there; it will be called the Way of Holiness; it will be for those who walk on that Way. The unclean will not journey on it; wicked fools will not go about on it.

John 8:12
 

When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." (NIV)

Proverbs 4:18

 

The path of the righteous is like the morning sun, shining ever brighter till the full light of day. (NIV)



Psalms 16:11

 

You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand. (NIV)

Linking to Paint Party Friday.

Escapees from Squash Patch

You may recall last year on this post when the New Greenhouse was displayed.

Now here we are in August with God and Gene growing tomatoes that are producing daily, squash in abundance, and sweet corn ready to eat almost daily.  Beans are almost ready to harvest.  Also, our neighbors' good will is being tested by ample offerings from the hothouse and garden.  Thanks to Paul down the street, he has provided excellent sweet beets to go along with our other healthy vegetables.

 A side view of some yellow squash

 

 The greenhouse holds tomato plants

 

Carnations

Cosmos !

Squash and corn

Warning: Two Zucchini Squash

Watch Out! They May Be Apprehended on YOUR doorstep at any time!

 

It has been a lovely, productive summer thus far.  How is your garden growing?

 



Liturgical Art for Lutheran Church

Church calendars say that we are now in "Ordinary Times", that is, beginning with the first Sunday after Pentecost and going through the last Sunday before Advent. 

Creating some art work for the church for the fall season in Ordinary Times led to begin painting a triptych in acrylics.

Each canvas is 2 feet wide by 3 feet in height. The canvases will be spread out with twelve inches between each, creating a larger object for the church sanctuary.  Upon completion, the mathematical calculations end up with the triptych being 8 feet wide by 3 feet high.

The husband first made this large easel so that all three canvases could be worked on simultaneously.  He spent a couple of hours making it, and so far, it is doing the job of holding the canvas frames.  Just have to be careful of the wind coming up as it is on the outside covered patio.  So far, I've been hit in the foot by one falling canvas.  A small bruise was the result of the canvas escaping from the easel.  What one won't do for art, right?

These pictures gathered from Pinterest and the internet gave pause for thought and inspiration.

(Most of the saved images are on my iPad, so I just took pictures of the pictures through the film screen saver, but you get the idea.)

 

Here are the canvases in process:

 

 

The picture above shows the bottom of the middle and the end canvases.  Both need shadowing and more details.  A light at the end of where the trees meet up will be painted in, along with a person and perhaps a dog at the end of the path.  I have an idea of what this triptych will represent to me, but I would be very interested in what you might think about when viewing these canvases.

For even more inspiration, you might like to listen to this magnificent rendition of an old hymn.



Be Still My Soul by Lisbeth Scott and Paul Swartz

A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing

Just finished my second Fair Isle knitting project.  It is rams and sheep designs knitted into the fabric to make a dog's coat.

Fun facts about this project by Kate Davies, with the pattern cleverly termed A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing:

• Nine different colors of wool are knitted into the pattern
• Each of the nine colors is from a different type of sheep that are raised on the Shetland islands
• Learned how to knit in the traditional Fair Isle style this summer in Scotland
• I bought the kit while visiting Jamieson & Smith Wool Brokers over the summer in Lerwick
• It was so much fun to knit that I finished it in ten days

Although I made only one sweater, each of our dogs can wear it.  In order to lessen their jealous streaks, I'll be making a second sweater.  There is plenty of yarn left over in the kit.

Some modifications were made because our dogs are a bit smaller than the size given.

Our models:

Libby Sweatpea has her ears back and looks embarrassed, doesn't she?

 

 

Mercy has attitude, right?  She thought it was a bit warm to be modeling this coat in August, but what is a girl to do when she is being featured on the runway?

Outer Hebrides, Lewis & Harris, Orkney, Scotland

The southern part of Scotland, with music by Heather Heywood

Royal Prince George: Christening Gown

Friend Mary who writes this blog passed along a few articles that may be of interest to fibre enthusiasts.  Here is one of interest from the Shetland Times about the royal baby's christening gown that Sandra Manson from Bressay was commissioned to knit: ARTICLE HERE

...a quote from the article:

The robe was made of Shetland supreme one-ply worsted spun yarn, which is the nearest to homespun it is possible to get. Although the full-length garment only took two weeks to make, it took six weeks to plan.

We met Sandra in Shetland two weeks ago; what a nice woman and talented knitter!

Then another on Shetland Woolens here from a blogger who knows her stuff.  Mary also found that article.

And to end on this note: I am knitting up a dog sweater with a kit purchased from Jamieson & Smith while in Lerwick, and loving knitting it.  It is made up with sheep and rams' horns in nine natural colors of the different sheep on Shetland.  And the name of the pattern is clever: A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing by Kate Davies.  Here is the finished picture of what it will look like:

And here is where I've gotten so far:

Tour of Northern Scotland to Music

Folk music "Maggie" by Lori Watson (Maggie); go here to see Lori singing (after minute 2)

It was a great trip; this video shows only half of the tour.  The southern island of Orkney will be a second video, if you care to watch more later.

Goodbye Scotland

And thanks for the memories...

Shetland and Hebrides Sheep photos shared by Barbara Bonham

Our traveling group !