The Anniversary

Today marks nine years since my husband and I said "I do."

In retrospect, December 30th is not a very good day for a wedding but then, we didn't really have a 'wedding' per se.

We were planning one but for some reason which I can't really recall right now, we decided to go ahead and get married at the court house before the end of the year, I think it was something about health insurance or something. So yes, we eloped, with the idea that we'd be having a full scale ceremony in September of 2005. We'd already scoped out sites and had a lot of it mentally planned.

So on the morning of December 30, 2004, we both got up and got dressed. I didn't even shower that day as I recall. I worked in a yoga studio at the time and Mike worked at a small, informal office so I think he was wearing jeans and a sweater. I was wearing yoga pants and my hair was in a pony tail. Why is this important to the story? Because we had no idea what we were walking into.

We got to the records office right when it opened, both of us had to go to work that day. We filled out the forms and then turned them in. The gal at the desk asked us when we wanted to do this. We said, as soon as possible. She said, "Across the street at nine a.m." So we went and got a cup of coffee and waited for the lawyer's office to open.

We shuffled down into his sub-basement office. There were old desks and chairs and "couches" from 1960 and stacks, literally stacks and stacks of books and papers EVERYWHERE. We sat down in what we assumed was the waiting area and other couples began to arrive. Most of them were dressed really nicely and all the women had actually washed their hair that day.

After a short wait, a man who looked remarkably like Santa Claus came out of the back office and called us in. The room was like a big conference room with a giant table and tons of chairs around it. We sat down and he said, "Oh no. Come up here, face each other and hold hands." We had NO idea we were actually going to be saying vows! I guess we just thought he'd be signing off on our paperwork or something but suddenly we are facing each other, holding hands and repeating after Santa.

I just remember "Holy COW, HOLY COW, HOLY COW!" going through my head.

At the conclusion of the vows he asked if we wanted a picture and we both yelled, "NO!" at the same time. Photos could come at the actually ceremony, where my hair would DEFINITELY be washed and I would not be wearing yoga pants.

As we walked out to the cars to head in opposite directions to our jobs, we said to each other, "Holy shit we are married!" It was surreal.

We celebrated with our roommates that night with a very expensive bottle of champagne. It was a great day.

We never did have that ceremony in the Adirondaks the following fall. Turns out I was pregnant with our first son just weeks after our elopement and I was due in early October. A September ceremony was not going to work. Instead, we had a reception a few months later, once the majority of my sickness passed, with family and friends, just prior to leaving for California.

It's hard to believe that was nine years ago! Next year will be our 10th. Maybe we can finally do some formal vows in front of family and friends. To celebrate what we have built together.

I love you my darling husband!

Words upon Words

I had some rather exciting news today. A few days ago I submitted a mini book proposal to a publishing company. I'm currently contributing a short chapter on the Goddess Ceres for their upcoming title Naming the Goddess.  I wasn't sure they would have an interest in it, although I think it's a grand idea and will find readers in both the Pagan AND fiber artist communities.

Today I heard back from them that they'd like me to take the next step and submit a more in depth proposal. I'm very much looking forward to this process. It's been a long time since I published anything. All my previous publications are from my life as an archaeologist. So this is different but the same really.

At least the material won't be dry.

So now I'm off to get started and see where this goes. I feel very passionate about this book so if this publisher decides it's not a good fit for them, that's okay. I'll still write the book and pursue publication. I also would like to create a few articles out of the material for various fiber art magazines. We'll see where it goes!

Being Thankful

Some folks who know me, know that I would love to move back East. But if I'm going to live out here in CA I feel super lucky to live in my little town of Millbrae.

Sure, like all towns, it has it's problems. But there is something to be said for being able to walk into town and go the grocery store, the post office, the coffee shop, the jeweler (for a free ring cleaning), the butcher (to order your Thanksgiving turkey), the eye doctor, and the dentist and run into people you know in each one of those places. Small towns offer that and while some may find it too invasive, I love it.

I love going to our local butcher and being treated like family. I love going to the coffee shop and they know me by name. I love that my children have been here since infancy and have a deep network of friends. I love that we can walk to our elementary school and when they are ready for middle school they can practically roll out of bed to it. I love that during soccer and baseball seasons, we see tons of friends we know who go to other schools in our town and get to catch up. I love that our little cub scout dens are full of sweet boys who have great parents I enjoy spending time with.

We have an added bonus here of being just outside San Francisco and practically across the street from the airport. Convenience doesn't begin to describe it.

So in a time where I complain a lot to my poor, long suffering husband about wanting to move back East. I am thankful for where we live because this little town is a gem.

Wool Processing time

For the past few days I've been hip deep in wool. It has taken me all summer to get to this point, breathing room so I could process the raw fleeces I have in the studio.

I started with this beautiful Romney fleece. It's been scoured and is FINALLY dry. I do not have combs so I'm going to be using my hand cards on this one. It's a beautiful fleece with fluffy white locks and some lovely greys and browns mixed in. I can't wait to spin it!

The next big job is to scour and process two pounds of Navajo Churro fleece. The colors on these two fleeces are beautiful. A lovely red/tan and a pretty dark grey. The staples are really long and there's a TON of greece to clean so it should be a fun challenge. I'll post some photos here as the process moves along. I am so excited to see what kind of yarn I can spin from these raw fleeces.

I love taking something from ground zero to finished product. Maybe someday I can be lucky enough to help sheer some sheep and then process what I've sheered. Even better, I hope someday to have my own sheep to care for.

Do you process your own wool? Do you get to spin what you process or knit up something awesome from your results? I'd love to hear from you!

Destashing

Back from vacation and in full swing of major reorg of the shop. I'm creating all new and repeatable color ways and will offer yarns and fibers in those colorways.

So I'm having a destash sale. Use the code DESTASH13 to take 50% off all yarns and fibers in the shop.

Stay tuned for some awesome changes!

Dyeing Fibers and Fabrics with Plants

Dyeing Fibers and Fabrics with Plants

Beautiful, natural dyes are all around us. Just take a walk in your back yard or local park and you’ll find lots of plants which you can use to safely dye fabrics and fibers.

A simple google search will give you a number of lists of familiar plants you can use for dyeing such as: Avocado pit, Bloodroot, Black Eyed Susan, California Poppy, Coreopsis, Calendula, Dahlia, Dandelion, Goldenrod, Heather, Hollyhock, Indigo, Lavender, Marigold, Purple Basil, Russian Sage, Safflower, Sunflower, Tansy, Walnut, Weld, Yarrow and Zinnia to name a few. Roots, seeds, flower, leaves, and/or stems are used depending on the plant.

The same plants can yield different colors depending on the type of material being dyed (whether the material is a cellulose fiber like cotton, or a protein fiber like wool), and the type of mordant used to prepare the material. A mordant is an inorganic substance, generally an oxide, that combines with a dye to fix it to the fabric or fiber. This is a pot of wool being mordanted with alum in my dye station in the back yard.

Why dye with natural dyes? The colors are more alive. They glow in ways that pictures cannot do justice. They have beautiful natural variations and are not flat but multidimensional. Dyeing with natural dyes is a great way to get back in touch with nature and for me, it feels wonderful doing something with so much deep history. I especially like when I can use plants native to my area.

The plants I have learned to use for dyeing are: Lavender, Geranium, Calendula, Madder, Weld, Alkanet and Indigo. The first three I get from my own garden and that list is expanding every time I dye. The other plants I purchase in powdered or root form. I am currently planning a dyer’s garden which will include Weld, Japanese Indigo, Coreopsis and Dahlia.

Plants do not always yield the color you might expect and ironically, green is the hardest color to get from plants.

As a dye, Lavender gives a light yellow to tan color. I cut lavender from my garden and snip it into pieces into the dye pot and put the fiber right in with the dye stuffs. I leave the fiber in the pot overnight with the dye stuffs to get as much color in the fiber as possible.

It dries a little bit lighter as with all plant dyes.

Calendula and Weld both yield a bright sunny yellow with an alum mordant.  I have also top dyed this beautiful color with indigo to get a fabulous yarn with greens, blues, and purples.

Madder and Geranium have given me very pretty reds and pink and orange hues.

Alkanet, a plant related to Borage, yields beautiful purples as you can see here.

Indigo dyeing can be a trying chemical process but I’ve discovered instant indigo crystals which are super easy to use and make dyeing with indigo fun. I’ve had success dyeing directly onto mordanted fibers and top dyeing, dipping pre-dyed fibers into the vat for a blend of color as shown in the multi-colored yarn previously.

To learn more about plant based dyes there are some fabulous resources out there. Check out Wild Color by Jenny Dean, Harvesting Color by Rebecca Burgess, The Handbook of Natural Plant Dyes by Sasha Duerr and A Weaver’s Garden by Rita Buchanan to name just a few.

I’d like to thank Sue so very much for allowing me to be here today! Come visit me on Facebook, www.facebook.com/TheMerrySpinster and at my shop www.etsy.com/shop/TheMerrySpinster. I’m also on Pinterest, http://pinterest.com/hlmarano/boards/

Creating a Dyer's Garden

Now that my raised beds are a bit too shaded for tomatoes and peppers each summer I'm seriously considering converting them to a dyer's garden. There is still plenty of sun to support the plants I'm aiming to put there.

Here's a list of great plants for natural dyeing of fibers and fabrics:

Marigold, Calendula officinalis, is a well known garden plant which not only acts as a great companion for tomatoes and peppers, but gives beautiful yellow gold colors to fibers and fabrics. Alum mordanted fibers will be lighter and iron mordanted ones will be darker. The flowers and the leaves can be used but the strongest colors will come from the flowers.

Chamomile, Turmeric, Weld and Yarrow will also deliver pretty light to bright yellows to fibers and fabrics.

Bloodroot, Carrot, Orange Dahlia flowers, Onion skins and paprika will yield shades of orange depending on the mordants used.

Amaranth, raspberry, rose, fig leaves, avocado pit, and lavender flowers can give pinks to corals to peach colors.

Rosemary, sage, walnut (wear gloves) can all produce browns. You can also get browns from overheating certain other plants like marigold and weld.

Woad and Indigo can give you blues and purples. These are  my favorites!

I get my greens from top dyeing with indigo over yellow.

So late this summer, when I'm contemplating spring planting and fall cover crops, I'm going to consider a handful of these plants. I already have lavender, rose, rosemary, raspberry, chamomile and yarrow growing. But I'm very interested in getting hold of madder, weld, woad and indigo.