Blue to Dye For



Kathi stirring the indigo pot to mix the ingredients

 The natural dyeing workshop is an annual meeting in May with the Las Vegas Fiber Arts Guild. Originally they held it up on Mt. Charleston, just outside the city where it was nice and cool. But it was a pain carting everything up there and then setting up and then bringing it all back down the mountain. So for the last several years Nancy has hosted the extravaganza in her front yard. Her set up is unbelieveable and gets better every year. It’s getting to be a burden for her as she nears 80 and requires help from others in the guild to keep it operating, but what a tradition it’s been.

A row of about 10 propane stoves with 2 pots each for dyeing. Two outdoor craft sinks for rinsing and a drying rack. Crock pots have been added for Kool Aid dyeing and this past year they added a tent with indigo dyeing. Plus Nancy serves tacos for lunch, and has tents set up while we wait for the pots to do their thing. People sit around and spin, knit and talk up a storm.

Bev and I were so taken with the indigo dyeing that she is going to try it in her dyeing efforts in Cedar City on Saturday, October 15. Some of the complexity of the indigo dyeing has been taken out with kits. We were able to pick some up on clearance at JoAnne’s and also found some at Dharma’s on the Internet.



Skimming the waste materials off the surface



The yarn has to stay submerged in the solution, not agitated.

Then when it is brought to the surface it is green.

A person quickly lets it drip out as you don’t want oxygen to get into the solution. As oxygen gets to the yarn it oxides the solution on the yarn turning it blue. It’s amazing to watch.

First dip = light blue

If you let the yarn dry a bit then you can redip it to get a darker shade of blue. The blue is the color that was originally used in blue jeans. If you don’t work with plastic gloves it does a great job of dyeing your hands blue too!

Second dip = darker blue

The Yard is Coming Along

[Family and Friends Friday]

After two weekend away we get to spend some time at home in Cedar City and enjoy the cool temps in the basement, upstairs in the real world is another story.

Over the Fourth of July we visited Carlee and family in Salt Lake City. They had their annual friend’s picnic-party with lots of kids and fireworks in the street. Here is a picture of Katie Jane helping Carlee make some sugar cookies for the party.


The following weekend we visited Las Vegas to attend Erin’s sister’s wedding on Mt. Charleston. Nice place to have a wedding in the summer in Vegas, since it’s usually 20 degrees cooler up on the mountain. Erin was in the wedding party and so was Paige as a flower girl. Here is a picture of the family after the ceremony. Baby Jordan is now about 4 months old.


Before we left for the two weekends, most of the landscaping was completed. Bob’s planted about 18 trees on the lot, some lilacs and other small scrubs. The stone and fence were added. We’re just waiting for a bit of fence to be finished and the artificial grass in the back yard by the patio to be done. It was suppose to be completed today, but they never got here. So I assume something will happen early next week. These are pictures of the back patio area, the front west side yard and finally the east side yard.


The next phase will be to add some small bushes, scrubs and grasses. The ground is so hard that Bob has to use a pick axe to dig the plant holes. Evidentially this area was once a lake bed and is mostly a fine clay soil that is like a rock when it dries. When it is a dust it is so fine that it sneaks in the house when it is windy, which is pretty often.


I haven’t gotten any weaving students yet. But I will keep trying to find places to post notices about The Bloomin’ Loom and beginning weaving lessons. It is so warm, mid 90’s, that I don’t imagine too many people want to get out and do things. Will keep you all posted.