What's Hoppin' ?
As the harvest season kicks into full swing I can't help but be thankful for the bounty our small fiber farm has produced so far. Our herd passes the 1lb mark of angora fiber produced and our second litter is reaching their maturity and going off to find their place in the world. Pictured to the right is the largest of the litter: Rarity's Mystic.
As the summer draws to a close our experiments with natural dyes have come to a seasonal hiatus. We have learned so much but it's only a fraction compared to what we have left to learn.
True blue here we come!
An entire summer of research and trial and error has finally produced a small amount of beautiful blue. Each batch of the indigo gets better and better and I have high hopes for the future. I still have a few plants in the ground and am hoping for one more harvest this season. I allowed a few of the plants to flower and am hoping for my own batch of seeds next year. Because I am still in my experimental phase, none of the indigo dye produced this year will be for sale.
The indigo dye in this picture will go towards dyeing a hankie of silk for a personal project but I will be sure to post pictures once its finished.
Oh, indigo! A color so deep and true, the things we'll do to find that blue!
From the leaves of the indigo plant, we make a dye that is so bright, it's like very sky at night!
We soak the leaves and add some lye, then we strain and let it dry, and we are left with indigo dye!
Indigo is a color so special and rare, but it is a color that will always be there.
A color to remind us of magic and mystery. A color with a powerful history
Oh they grow up so fast! Here is Rarity's Memory stepping out into the sunlight for her debut. She is my darling little princess and she knows it! Luckily, she is a well-mannered sweetheart who deserves the spoiling she receives. Memory (or Meme as we call her) is 4 months old now and already has the makings of a fine young doe. Graceful and poised, calm and gentle, with a very clean face and the softest of wool. She gets along well with her Mama and for now, the two of them have the run of the house. Now that this litter is grown and has found homes, we have another one on the way! It will be exciting to see how Memory takes to her new role as Auntie.
Growing Violets (Blackwork Pattern)
Rainbow Scarf (Knitted Angora)
Bunnies, Bunnies, growing fast! Rarity's Marvel poses for us at 6 weeks. The babies no longer have need of their nest box and so I have utilized the nestbox fiber. Some people would have just thrown it away, but I that to be wasteful. And so I washed it and dyed it and spun it and honestly, I think it turned out rather pretty! This yarn reminds me of the crest of a wave. Deep hues of azure blue intermixed with a lighter cornflower and hints of white sprinkled throughout. And yes, maybe a bit of seaweed. Because it's not prime fiber, there is a bit of VM (vegetable matter) in the yarn. But it has a mother's energy imbibed in it and feels so magical. I think its an attest to a mother's love to see the beauty in this imperfect yarn. There's still a good deal left to spin, but I can't wait to see how it will knit up!
Oh beautiful, precious, fluffy, little babies! Our Rarity had her first litter with three adorable little buns. Their names are Rarity's Miracle (female), Rarity's Marvel (male), and Rarity's Memory (female). Pictured here is Rarity's Miracle at 3 weeks old inspecting a ball of Sunshine Yellow angora yarn. One day Miracle will be making yarns of her own, but for now she's enjoying her days running and playing with her siblings.
Shamrocks and Gold
I've done a lot of designs, but this is the first pattern I've released. I named it Shamrocks and Gold because I would image this is what the leprechaun sees, looking down at a basket filled with shamrocks and gold. A fractile version of reality. I turned it into a pattern because I loved the design and wanted to display it, but to be honest it still sits in the Work In Progress basket as I am hoping to add to it. No more embroidery, I'm thinking a gold and olive ribbon frame. But ribbon-work is a project for another day.
This project conjoins my two great loves: angora and embroidery. I see many beautiful projects done in wools and silks but few seem to choice this wonderful fluffy fiber. This likeness of Rarity was done with her own fibers, two plied on a drop spindle and couched onto a cotton backing. Such a quick and cute project, I can forsee making many more of these!
While working on this piece I couldn't help but muse over what this technique should be called. The pattern itself is blackwork, but it isn't done in black. The term "goldwork" comes to mind, but that too feels wrong because it's not made with actual gold. Beads were used, but so sparingly that calling this beadwork also feels wrong. Such beauty results when different methods are used in unison. Sometimes it seems that beauty refuses to be defined or labeled.