Indigo Dyeing with CHI Design

My fiber guild sponsored another indigo dyeing opportunity this fall. We welcomed Caroline Harper of CHI Design. Her company is "an indigo arts studio" working to bring indigo back to the Low Country as a useable, local dye. Caroline works with natural fibers and sells indigo powder. She is working to make the processes to produce powder from  the indigo plant, which she plants and harvests.

We first did an eco dyed scarf; Caroline had 3 natural dye vats for us to use after placing and tying up our natural materials

Then we proceeded to indigo, here is a cake of indigo produced by CHI designs

clamping a scarf for resist using a shibori technique

 Cochineal which has turned purply due to items already dyed in the pot

  I really liked this result

Here is my ecodyed result

And here is my indigo result, possibly one of my favorite indigo scarves that I've done

I find that no matter how many workshops I take, I always learn something new...

Here is a brief video showing Caroline doing some traditional Japanese  shibori techniques

Here is another link to a short film at her website

Glittens...half glove half mitten

So proud of my son who loves flyfishing. In that regard,  I decided that he needed some flip top mittens for this activity in the winter. 

I found the "glitten" pattern. The yarn is Donegal Yarns Soft Donegal 2 ply, purchased at O'Maille's Original House of Style,  in Galway, during my trip  to Ireland last year. 

The pattern is here, and is free   

I used a snap to fasten the flip top to the cuff. 

My son also is  figuring out how to tie flies.  So the question is...is an olive wooly bugger really an insect?  Nope, apparently not all flies are flies...some imitate baitfish and are "swum" /waved around below the surface of the water...who knew?

Here is my son's olive wooly bugger

What I know for certain is that fly tieing is a fiber art...