Dyeing with Local Plants at the Fiber Fest at Twinpond Retreat Center

This August I had the great opportunity to teach a dye class down at the Twinfield Retreat

Center in Brookfield, VT. It was a wonderful weekend and we dyed some fabulous colors!

Jennifer Streckler, owner of the property, had just finished the wonderful outdoor structure

complete with a full fledged dye kitchen. Here's Elena sorting out the skeins for dyeing.

Some of the local plants donated by Joann Darling from her dye garden - safflower, sunflowers,

and Dyer's Greenwood.

Weld and Madder root from my garden

Sumac

Carol with Dyer's Greenwood

Carol and Betsy cutting up the plants to get ready for simmering.

Checking the dye pots

Our woad/indigo vat

Some of the first day's colors hanging out to dry.

Alakanet root (grey) and Rhubarb root (rust).

We overdyed the yellows from Sunflowers, Safflower, Tansy, Zinnia's, Weld, Dyer's Greenwood

and Onion to make a great variety of greens.

Here is the group cutting up samples for the sample books. Twenty colors in all!