Dyeing wool

This summer we watched poke-berry take over a corner of our backyard. Most of the berries were eaten by birds, but I did manage to snip off a few that ripened before the birdies could get at them. Here is how I used a poisonous but pretty wild herb to dye a clump of wool:

Materials
Wool or whatever you're dyeing (could be a silk scarf, paper, other piece of cloth)
Vinegar
Course salt (used for rinsing later)
Gloves
Zip-lock bag
Poke-berries (could also use red onion peels, red cabbage, elderberries, etc)
Keep in mind this process takes a month to complete

1. Cover area and use gloves 'cause this stuff gets everywhere. Spread the wool out and place the poke-berries and whatever else you want to use as a dyeing agent.
2. Roll up and squish the berries inside of the wool.

3. Add a cup of vinegar to the bag and put your wool inside. Let it sit like this for 2 weeks.
4. Once the 2 weeks are over, rinse out the wool using some type of course salt (sea salt, or kosher salt works fine).

5. Now let it dry for 2 more weeks. I know...the waiting kills me!


6. Alright, it's ready to go!

Down the slide

Here we were at the East Lawrence Neighborhood Association block party. Lots of food, a canoe filled with pop, cheap Free State brews, live music, a cake walk, and some weird hat contest! I love our town:)


Brigs had more fun eating the chalk than he did the food..and learned how to do the slipper-slide.

We have a 1 year old!

Well, this year has gone by in a flash..and now our little 5 lb. 14 oz snuggle bear is a 19 lb, walking, get-everything-out-of-the-cabinets little boy! He has brought us so much joy this past year, and we just can't believe how much he has changed since he came into this world. Amazing!
Here's a few pictures from his birthday party:


Other things going on....Ted is back in school. His schedule is not so hectic this semester and I'm liking that a lot! So is he, it gives him a chance to work on his motorcycle project and spend some time with Brigs. I've been pretty busy with the garden, doing the market now at 2 different locations. One at Cottin's Hardware and the other at the Downtown Farmer's Market. I've learned how to pickle all sorts of things...serranos, jalapenos, pepperonchinis, banana peppers, okra....and I've been dehydrating cayennes, tomatoes, and some herbs like sage. I've planted some radishes, carrots, and kale for this fall. And will soon be getting the soil ready for next year's planting.
And here's the twins:

Playing in the pool

Steps

He's looking better each day, but here's some first steps we managed to get on camera!

Stationery card

Sweet Celebration Blue Birthday Invitation

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Needle Felting

I've taken up a new hobby. Here is my first experiment with needle felting:


I was interested in this after seeing some work on Etsy. It looked easy enough to do, and I liked that you could finish a project in very little time. So..we'll see where this goes..and if I get really into it I would like to get all of my wool roving from a local shepardess. Ted came back from his trip with a bag of goat hair he had collected along the trail, hahah. So I guess now I might have to learn how to comb/card and dye the wool myself.