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Wonderful day on Monday presenting our prototype storage enclosure for the amazing Three Acres of Colour project for @garryfabianmiller at Juliet Bailey’s very inspiring Bristol weaving studio @dashandmiller @bristol_weaving . For @tabbygibbs_conservation who made the enclosure and hanging mechanism, @ania_m_golebiowska who came because of her natural dye experience and myself (driver) it was a truly fabulous, collaborative day, worthy of several posts (my posting mojo might be back).

We had the opportunity to meet some of the project’s key players including @riagrowsdyes who has done done all the natural dyeing and Juliet and her wonderful team who have woven all the pieces completed so far - and to spend some more time with current hero Garry, looking resplendent in a fabulous shade of green. (Previous post about our last encounter temporarily pinned)

Still to meet are Sarah Griffin who is growing and harvesting the crops on her Valley of Pewsey farm, the owners of the Dartmoor flock of sheep and the Cornwall spinners The Natural Fibre Company. What a collaboration!

It was a wonderful opportunity for Garry and Ria to see six of the nine woad woven squares in their subtly changing shades laid out together for the very first time. A similar number of the weld squares are also now complete with the madder shades due to follow along soon.

Such an honour to be involved in a small way with this amazing project to ensure suitable inert conservation storage and integral simple hanging mechanisms for all 27 pieces.

#preventiveconservation #textilconservation #naturaldye #weaving

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October's content is now live on Seed to Skein - the growing-led natural dye membership.

This month has an Autumnal, tannin-rich theme, and features:
🍂 A Deep Dive into Tannins
🌰 A dye recipe for walnut leaves
🌈 A yarn dyeing tutorial for overdyeing
🌱 Some maintenance jobs to do in the garden
🏵️ And my regular video update from my garden, where I'm harvesting some madder and rearranging one of the garden beds

Members can access this and all previous content on the platform now.
And if you're interested in learning more, you can join now for just £15 per month 😁

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Last week I ran my first group workshop at the studio.
It was a two day exploration into making blue dyes with woad and indigo - and it was such a good time!

It was wonderful to welcome people into my workspace and garden, and we made some really beautiful things! Thanks to everyone that attended - I hope you left feeling inspired and that your journeys into blue continue 💙

Workshop dates for 2027 coming soon, and in the meantime I have 2 spaces left on my next yarn dyeing workshop at @creativespacebristol on October 3rd, and availability for 1-1 sessions here until November 😊

#naturaldyeworkshop #indigoworkshop #índigo #woad

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Printing natural fabrics with organic colorants from nature (such as petals and leaves), is such a beautiful and exciting process!
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Watch as I unveil my first two tests using silk organza, mordant, scabia petals, dahlia leaves with copper sulphate solution and steaming…I’m so excited to use the resulting print and weaving it through my ceramic tree sculptures to depict the canopy of a tree! Watch this space to see the project develop over the coming weeks…

Thank you @riagrowsdyes @riaburnsknit for the workshop and mentoring!

#ecoprintingonfabric #ecoprinting #ecoprint #naturalcolour #naturalcolours

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Seed to Skein is 6 months old 🥳

Here's what we've been up to and what I've loved about the community so far.

Fancy joining us? It's not too late!

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May’s content is now live inside Seed to Skein 🌱

If you’ve been thinking about joining but worried you’ve left it too late in the season - you really haven’t.

You can still sow some seeds, buy plug plants, and grow your own colour this year.

This month I’m guiding you through:
🧶 how to dye variegated yarns
💛 my dye recipe for a zingy yellow using weld, which is ready to harvest now
🤔 a deep dive into understanding the dye categories (substantive, adjective and fugitive)
🌱 how to pinch out, harden off and plant out your dye seedlings
🧑🏻‍🌾 and a big video update from my garden – sharing my successes and failures, and my planting plan for the season

There’s also a lovely, active community forming, and two months of previous content ready for you to explore and catch up on.

Join us at seedtoskein.co.uk
Let's grow some colour together 🌈

#seedtoskein #naturaldyecommunity #dyeingyarnnaturally #naturaldyeplants

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Hawthorn dyeing on Beltane/May Day 💮

Winter prunings from this tree provided the colour, extracted slowly and dyed on Shetland wool yarn with no mordant or modifier.

This will become a jumper for @bored.of.flaws who kindly pruned the tree.

It's lovely to see it in full bloom and full of life today.

#hawthorndye #beltane #hawthorn #naturallydyedyarn
#hedgerowdyes

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April’s content is now live inside Seed to Skein, and it's a lovely mix of growing and dyeing to carry us further into Spring.

This month we’re exploring:
🧶 immersion dyeing yarn
🌱 a video guide to pricking out and potting up young plants
🌿 a fresh nettle dye recipe
🌼 a garden update video from me - there's a lot happening!
🧪 and a deep dive into everything you need to set up your dye space

If you’re already a member, you can find everything on the homepage.

And if you’ve been thinking about joining, this is a really beautiful point in the season to begin 🌿

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🌿 Seed to Skein is now open 🧶

I opened the doors yesterday, and it’s been such a joy welcoming the first members inside.

Seed to Skein is my growing-led natural dye membership for yarn crafters who want to follow the full journey from seed, to plant, to skein.

Each month inside you’ll find:
• What to do in your dye garden right now
• Seasonal dye recipes
• Yarn dyeing tutorials (starting with the basics)
• A focus on one plant or technique
• Updates from my own garden as it unfolds

This month we’re starting with seed sowing, daffodil dyeing, the foundations of yarn dyeing and a deep dive into natural fibres.

Seed to Skein costs just £15 per month on a rolling basis - stay for a month or the whole growing season.

Join here: seedtoskein.co.uk
Or via the link in my bio

Let's grow some colour together! 🌿

#seedtoskein #naturaldyes #dyeingyarnnaturally

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Five natural dye plants you can sow in spring for vibrant colour all summer long 💐

Read more about these on my latest blog post, or sign up to my online dye gardening workshop on Feb 19th to learn even more about growing your own colour! 🪏

#naturaldyegarden #cultivatingcolor #naturaldyeplants

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A highlight from a very busy summer.
These images capture an inspiring day with photographer & artist Garry Fabian Miller as he hosted a midsummer gathering back in June. Garry was welcoming a team of weavers to Devon for a project that they are working on together. The weavers are collaborating with Garry to create handloomed, organic and naturally dyed art interpreting his photographs in an eco-conscious way 💛
“As spring passed, the first woven square of yellow has hung on the studio wall. Dyed purely in weld, alone, slowly I began to understand this new colour world before summer visitors arrived.”⁠ Garry Fabian Miller.
Looking forward to following this project and capturing a bit more of the magic as it unfolds ✨

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