Harvesting Dyes Workshop at G.C.V. &M

I recently had the great good  fortune to join  a workshop on natural dying at the  Genesee County Village and Museum in Mumford N.Y. With Dawn Hastings as our instructor!

It was great fun and very interesting!

It is amazing the colors that you can get with 

natural flowers, nuts and bark, plants,

minerals, shells and even insects!

G.C.V. & M sponsors a

Domestic skill Symposium 

yearly and offer many skills to learn!

The November air was sharp and a nippy 

but the sun shone brightly and set off a beautiful

display of  brilliant colors making for a backdrop

for inspiration and creativity!!

It was such a treat to walk through the quiet village

to the cabin that was holding our workshop!

This cabin was built in 1814 and brought to the village in pieces!!

Here are some pictures of the inside where we lunched

Upstairs 

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There were eight people in attendance

(Different mordant examples)

Dawn Hastings

getting the kettles ready !

Pitching in to start the fire!

After starting the fire the brass kettles were hung..

Filled with water

and then mordants of 

alum, tin, chrome, or iron

 were added to the water!

Chrome

The spun wool was prepared and tied,

And then added to the pots

Indigo dye

Comes from the dye pot brilliant green 

but quickly turns deep blue as it

oxidizes !

Cochineal dye

  

Sage 

We dipped and re-dipped and mixed many skeins

and were treated to so many colors

Goldenrod 

We picked off the yellow flower buds

into a large bowl and then they 

were wrapped into a a cloth, tied and dipped

into the mordanted heated water 

and mingled it with the skeins !

Black walnuts

 heating to dark brown

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I decided to wear my Laura Ashley dress 

and an over skirt and petticoat! It kept 

me snug and warm on a very chilly day!

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Genesee CountyVillage and Museum N.Y.

https://www.gcv.org/

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Indigo 

We all got to choose one skein to bring home

and I just love this deep blue that I picked!

The late Fraser McGrumply

I brought a little bit of  white wool

from one of my late sheep to the

workshop and we put it in the 

walnut water and then brought

 it home to dry but I was instructed to 

rinse it in amoena

I like the shade!

Poke Berry Pumpkin Dye

e

We brought home instructions for

dying with poke berries in an 

hollowed pumpkin!

So I gathered some berries from out back and I had some pumpkins,

and I thought I'd give it a try!!

Wrap the berries in muslim  

Then squeeze out the juice 

Wet the wool

(Spun wool from the late Fraser McGrumply)

saturate in the juice and put it in the pumpkin

poor in  the remaining juice and then cover

 and set aside for nine days

And a certain women named Lydia, 

a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira,

which worshipped God, heard us:

whose heart the LORD OPENED!

                                           Acts 16:14

I will be happily using these pots for my

outdoor dying in the future 

Not any noticed Mama Mousiekin and Missie 

at work doing their own natural dying

Mildred Mousiekin has been using her dying skills for many years!

Hope you enjoyed!!

Many blessings and warmth

Linnie

Books that I recommend:

Indigo Madder and Marigold

by the late 

Trudy Van Stralen

Ang books or dvds by Rita Buchanan

are worth having but these are 

very helpful for natural dye information!

And there are many more books,

used or new on the subject!

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Here are a few videos produced last year, 2015, 
by Jas Townsend & Son at the G.C.V.& M. Domestic Skill Symposium
A wonderful experience for those who are interested!  ENJOY: