I love my walk with God.
Pokeberry (Photo credit)
I have been a Christian for most of my life but I have only recently, like the last 15 years or so, discovered God in all the things I love the most…..nature.
It’s funny how things come “full circle” in my life.
I’m a master herbalist, in case I’ve never mentioned it. My personal desire to understand how plants and herbs could be natural healers prompted my pursuit of an education in naturopathy on my 40th birthday.
It didn’t take long before I was planting my own herb garden, that’s just how those life experiences work. Once you get a taste of things you love, sooner or later, it takes you back to the origin of that thing, which is often the earth.
In the garden, God shows me, in a way I can understand, what His intentions were in Creation. It’s the coolest thing, and some of the best church I ever get!
Yet, in all of my education in herbs, it never occurred to me that they could be used for dying fibers. I never even thought about what yarn was made of, much less how they were colored.
Now that I’m in my “fiber arts season” of life, and fiber is now on my radar screen, herbs have come full circle for me in terms of realizing that their use goes beyond cooking and well-being. Combine that with the fact that I have always owned and loved knit sweaters, it seems only natural to take this next step.
I ordered a few books last week, the above being one of them, after coming up empty at the library. I wanted to educate myself about what plants can/should be used for color. I am thrilled to announce that I have quite a number of these herbs on our property!
Ironweed (Photo credit)
Goldenrod (Photo credit)
How totally cool would it be to dye your own fiber???
I’m just in the infant stages of researching this facet of homesteading, but I had to share my excitement and enthusiasm with you all!
Do any of you dye your own fiber or grow herbs to do so? Know much about it? Share with us, please!
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I did some dyeing with kool aid and frosting dyes, but haven’t tried the natural stuff yet. I do have some seeds for some of the herbs that are good for it, as soon as we have a bigger place I look forward to doing more of it. I do henna my hair though, does that count? It is a plant…. but I haven’t tried growing my own yet.
I’m going to dive into this book today! Cannot wait to see what kind of trouble I can get into dyeing yarn. I started dyeing yarn in 2009, and it has been a fun journey. Every time I pull out the dye pots, it is like going on a color adventure. I love the entire process.
Can’t wait to try out the natural dyes. 
I think learning to dye your own fiber with natural elements would be awesome. I have been tempted to learn how to dye and spin my own fiber but have held off. I am still learning different knitting techniques. And I want to try my hand at weaving. I think once my kids get older and I will try it.
I do a lot of sewing, both for my family and for charity, so my interest would be in dyeing fabric. My new house (being built later this year) will have a double utility sink in the mudroom so I’ll have space to try.
AStates,
Your double sink will come in handy for all sorts of things!!
I have been researching herbs for my healing gardens for this year’s planting. I have some basics, sage, spearmint, chives, and chamomile and some wild thyme. This year I was blessed with a “just growing there” Burdock and the discovery of all the cool things raspberry and blackberry plants are for – as well as the violets and rose hips. Of course with ” the been using ” dandelions, we have alternated years collecting their seeds- not that we won’t be able to harvest them, but just in case we move and want a “clean” plant to eat. I really need a color photo book or a master herbalist to walk through my land and tell me:
Hemlock pines- good for a tea…. use for….on occasions like….
I have this one yellow flower- on a 4-5 foot stem that my aunt told me was good for diabetes. She was a pharmacist, but never told me how to use the roots! That is my frustration…
Guess my next adventure will be to train as an herbalist- sounds like a lot of fun. and a great way to stay healthy!
And Dyes- I had a few black walnuts from a friend’s farm- how black can you get!!?!! I should have used it for hair dye. I didn’t know it was the green fruit around the shell that causes this blackness, even more than the shell itself.
Thanks Kelly! You spark our learning curve!
Oh really??!! Never knew you could use Pokeberry to dye yarn. I love the look of those berries and how the stem is just a lighter version than the berry. What color becomes the yarn? I am curious.
Hi Kelly – what a lovely blog you have! It’s fully of inspiration!! Have you heard of the book by Rebecca Burgess called Harvesting Color? After reading your post I thought you may enjoy it.
Thanks for having a “Lost Arts” tab on your blog to help preserve time-honored traditions like fiber arts!
~ Amber
Amber,
Yes, I own that one, love it!