In preparation for upcoming vendor events this fall, I'm working on some new fiber-tastic items to share with ya'll! One of which is BCR's blend of Romney x Shropshire yarn, newly spun in a worsted weight that will suit a wide variety of knitting and crocheting projects. In addition to natural colored yarns and raw fibers, I have been experimenting with using natural dyes such as black walnut.
If your house is like ours, there's no shortage of black walnuts falling from the trees around this time of year. Not only an arboreal projectile, black walnuts can also be used to make natural dyes, inks, and tinctures. This was my first attempt at collecting some of the dropped black walnuts here and creating a fiber dye from them. Depending on how many walnuts are used, how long the fiber is in the dye bath, and how slowly the dyed fiber is cooled, the fiber can take on different shades of color from the same batch of walnuts! The hank on the left was exposed to a richer dye bath than the hank on the right, giving it more of a coffee-toned color. The hank on the right is a rich caramel, and I think they'd be lovely all knit up together!
Not all of our friends, followers, and customers have access to our social media pages on FB and Instagram, so I will be sharing some updates on products and ranch-happenings in blog form as well!
Woolly wishes!
Kait