A Strange and Golden Brew

My skeins of handspun yarn have been mordanted (see July 17th post) and they are ready for the next phase of the dyeing process.

The little yellow coreopsis plant outside my door has been steadily yielding golden blossoms for the last two seasons. I have kept them frozen in ziplock baggies up until now.

The flower heads, along with some marigolds blossoms are roughly chopped up and are added to my enamel dye pot with just enough water to cover them. They are simmered for about an hour and then the liquid is separated from the spent flower pulp.

Meanwhile the skeins are soaked in water and then immersed into the dye bath. They are left there for quite some time to take in the color.

The fiber is checked for color intensity every now and then.  After about an hour the yarn is lifted out, rinsed, spun out in the washer and hung to air dry.

I am so pleased with the lovely sunny yellow color!  The skeins will be carefully wound into balls and will patiently wait to be knitted into something special.  Creating this yarn has been a long but very rewarding process.  I have taken a raw fleece, scoured and combed it, hand spun it into yarn and dyed it with natural organic plants grown in my yard.  Projects like this one really open my eyes to the lifestyle of women generations before me.