It's a Matter of Madder

I am back at the dye pot again today. I have been experimenting with Madder. Madder is a plant root that has been used for dying for centuries. It produces many different shades, from pinks, reds, oranges, rusts and purples. I dyed some wool with madder several weeks ago using an alum mordant. The result was a beautiful orange, almost cinnabar.


Today, I used that same dye bath that I had saved from the first run. This time, it came out a deep, variegated rose color. This was very different than the original color. I was amazed at the difference between the first and second run.

I had mordanted some wool with copper. I decided to see what would happen if I used copper for a mordant instead of alum. I put some of the wool in the same pot as before. This time it turned a beautiful plum. I ran one more batch of wool through the pot that also had copper mordant. This time, I got a lilac color!

Below is a photo of all four batches of wool. Left to right: first run, alum mordant; second run alum mordant; third run copper; fourth run copper. Amazing. I am really pleased with all four results!

I thought that I would post a picture of my finished mordants. I started these back on July 23, 2013 (see that post for the instructions on making both mordants). The jars have been sitting out on the deck since then. Iron is on the right, copper on the left.

Addicted to Blending!

I have found that I really enjoy blending colors together. It is so fun to see what happens. I start with a picture in my mind, but it changes as the colors start to blend. I never know what I will end up with when it is all done and made into yarn. One thing that helps is that all the colors I am using are from nature so you can't really go too far off.

Just had to show you my latest blending project! This is a soft, beautiful three ply yarn that is thick/thin worsted weight.

From fuzzy worms!

Once again, blended on the drum carder. I used three large batts and ended up with 160 gr. of Navajo ply yarn. The skein is just over 200 yards. I don't know if I have the heart to make anything with it! The skein itself is so pretty, I hate to take it apart. 

Color Blending on a Drum Carder

Since I started dyeing wool and yarn I have a stash of really nice, naturally dyed fiber as well as some colored fleeces from colored sheep. I decided to try blending some of them on a drum carder. I have made 'art batts' by sandwiching different fibers together and then carding them. This is great for creating funky yarn, but I wanted something more uniform in texture. I put all the different colors of roving I have together with some colored fleece and picked out several I thought would meld nicely together.

I looked through my stash of miscellaneous fiber bits I have purchased at various places and times to add to my wool. I picked out some 50% Marino superfine-50% Tencel in Teal and white. I brought out some grey and some brown colored fleece and chose some roving dyed with red cabbage, onion skins and madder. These looked pretty nice together. I thought that adding the Marino/Tencel blend would add a little shimmer to the yarn without getting too flashy.  The base color was the red cabbage (on the bottom of the photo-it is blue-green, I know).

I started by applying a thin even layer of the red cabbage roving. To that I added bits of color. When I wanted a layer of color, as with the red cabbage, I applied it using the small roller to feed it to the large drum. If I was applying a color for punch or that I wanted only in certain places, I applied it directly onto the drum. When I got to a spot where I could no longer see a color, I added some more. If I thought it looked a little drab I found another color to add. When I thought the colors were getting too bright, I calmed them back down with some more red cabbage or some of the silver grey fleece.

As the batt was forming on the drum I kept a picture in my mind of the finished batt and how the yarn would look. I had a loose idea of what I wanted by thinking about New Mexico and the colors of the Southwest. It is pretty difficult to get really specific on a drum carder, but you can create beautiful color combinations and it gives you some control over how blended together the colors become. I new it was time to stop adding fiber when the drum was no longer picking up the wool from the small feeder roller. Below is a picture of the first batt completed on the drum.

I removed the batt with two large knitting needles, drafting and rolling it into rollags. I got five rollags. from this batt. 

 

I made another batt as much like the first as I could I tried to load the colors in a similar manner and also tried to get the batt about the same size as the first.  I got another five rollags from the second batt. I ended up making one more small batt, as that was all the red cabbage roving I had. Thirteen rollags total. I put them all in a basket and would spin them randomly to diminish the effect of coming from different batts.

I spun the rollags into a fine singles. Spinning from the rollag is really nice. You just tease the wool from one end. I knew I wanted the yarn plied, but wasn't sure how. I didn't want to ply two singles together because I didn't want to barber pole the colors on top of each other. Because the batts were made on a drum carder, I couldn't really control how the specific colors came off. I wanted them to stay as clear as possible.

 

 I decided that Navajo Ply was the way to go. I can't really describe how to ply this way here without making a video. It is a way of plying a three ply yarn from a single strand by making a loop in the single and bringing the the thread through the loop and spinning it all together. It is really best to watch a video or two. It can seem really tricky at first. Like anything else with spinning, you just have to practice until you 'feel' it. A big thing to watch out for is over-plying and getting a yarn with too much energy. It will appear over-twisted until it is washed, so don't expect it to ply back on itself nicely on the bobbin. It is important to keep a consistant amount of twist in the singles and matching it with the same amount of opposite twist in the yarn. A couple videos that I have seen that are really helpful are Susan Anderson - Navajo Plying and Navajo Plying.mp4 - Charlotte Bech. Both of these are well done and easy to understand.

This is my finished 'Taos' Navajo plied yarn. I ended up with about 180 yards of worsted/DK weight yarn. It is a very soft yarn with a nice amount of loft.

Saving the Harvest: Dehydrating Tomatoes

It seems like this time of year everything is getting ripe in the vegetable garden at once! I dread looking at the cucumbers, peppers and tomatoes because there are so many each day. I don't have my big freezer anymore, thanks to the flood this summer, and my little freezer in the refrigerator is completely packed. When I get enough tomatoes at one time I will can them. When they are coming faster than I can use, but not fast enough to can, I either freeze or dehydrate them.

I have a lot of cherry tomatoes...volunteers, not intended, but they are there just the same. I don't bother canning them and I don't want to freeze them, so I get out the dehydrator. With cherry tomatoes, I just wash them, cut them in half and place them on the drying trays.

I dry my cherry tomatoes for about 12 hours at 130 degrees. I have three trays ready to go. Everything is set and now I just relax and let it do it's thing.

When these are dry they will be fairly flat and leathery. To test to see when the are dry I tear one in half. I can see any moisture inside by looking at the torn edges. It is important that they are dry completely with no moisture pockets as this can cause rot if not kept frozen. At the same time, I don't want them completely brittle.

I like to chop these little gems and use them when making breads, for putting in salads and garnishing focaccia and other things.  They have a really sweet, rich flavor when they are dried. Think of fresh intensified! Another way to store them is to place them in a jar with some olive oil and garlic. This needs to be kept refridgerated due to the garlic. They take up remarkably little room. A few quart jars full of dehydrated vegetables will hold enough for several soups, stews, cassaroles and more and will last through the year.

I dry the large tomatoes as well. These are so easy to dehydrate. I boil them for about 30 seconds to one minute. Then I dump them into a pan of very cold water. I let them cool in the water. The skins will easily slip off the tomato. I simply cut the core out and slice them about 3/8" thick. I place these on the trays. I try to keep some of the best slices to snack on as slices. The small or imperfect pieces I use in soups and other cooking. At this point I may or may not season the slices with different herbs so they are really tasty later.

My tomatoes were not dry by the time I went to bed so I lowered the temperature in the dehydrator to 95 degrees over night. In the morning I tested for moisture and removed anything that was dry. I turned the temperature back up to 130 degrees.

I am using an old dehydrator I have had for close to twenty years. It is a great kitchen tool. I can dry all kinds of fruits, vegetables, herbs and other things in it. I have about seven trays so I can really load it up. Jerky is a breeze. Fruit leathers are easy as well. Once the food is loaded on the trays and the temperature set, it does all the work by itself. I start checking for pieces that are completely dehydrated after about 6-7 hours. The drying time varies due to the type and thickness of the food, how full the dehydrator is, how much liquid is in the food and so on. I remove pieces as they are completely dry and leave the rest to finish.
This is my plate of tomato slices! Doesn't look like much, but remember, this is three trays of tomato slices. The flavor and nutrients are highly concentrated. A little bit goes a long way when they are rehydrated or used in cooking. They will store in very little space. Four or five slices equals one whole tomato.

the cherry tomatoes are done now as well. Roughly 2 quarts of tomatoes reduced to less than two cups! Here is what I have.Even I have room in the freezer for these. They can also be stored in air-tight containers on a shelf.

Walking in The Woods

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My husband and I visited his sister and her family up near Bemidji, MN this weekend. While we were there, Carolyn and I went searching for color.  We drove to a nearby state forest (of which there are many). Once we were inside the woods I took lots of photos to remember it by. Being inside a forest is a very rejuvenating place for me. It feeds my soul. I have always loved this part of Minnesota. No matter where I roam, it always calls me back. We stopped and listened to the woods, smelled the earth and picked some wild berries (just enough for a taste).

 
On the way to the forest we found a lot of plants I have been looking for to dye my wool with along the roadsides in the fields and ditches. There were a lot of wild blue and white asters among the goldenrod and tansy. It was a beautiful display of color.

Some of the plants that we found that afternoon were Mullein and Goldenrod. We also found large stands of Tansy. These were not in the forest, but in the fields and ditches along the way there. 

These are three of the plants I want to try dyeing with yet this summer. I also am looking forward to walnuts, pine cones, and some lichens and mushrooms. We found this lovely piece of wood lying on the ground near Carolyn's home.

As we were leaving the forest and driving some backroads, we came upon these guys!

I don't have any idea whose cattle these are. They appear to be Scottish Highlands and they are enormous! They looked so beautiful and peaceful standing in the pasture. There was quite a herd of them, including some born this year. They are supposed to be an extremely hardy breed with minimal shelter needs even in the coldest climates due to their long wooly coats (they are, after all, originally from the Scottish Highlands). They will survive on little supplement besides pasture and will eat almost everything. They are excellent meat producers and are a gentle breed. They have very large, curved horns and shaggy bangs over their eyes. This helps to prevent fly bites and pink eye. It also makes them irresistable!

We had a wonderful weekend and I have to thank our hosts for all their hospitality, great food, good company, and wonderful bonfires! We will have to do this again very soon!