Pressed Cider, Maine Island Wool Yarn, Mushroom Dyed

$36.00

Hunting this particular species of mushroom is exciting. Actually finding it is beyond thrilling. Cortinarius semisanguineus or red gilled cort is a modest little mushroom with yellow ochre tops and deep blood red gills. The most beautiful little dyers. While walking one of my favorite woodland spots here on Peaks last year, I stumbled upon a treasure trove. I froze them for the winter and used them this spring. You’ll notice the various shades and colors are listed as 2nd and 3rd. Those are all from the same dye bath of the mushrooms. The color shift for each bath was quite surprising to me. I’ve added the sandlewood skein to this collection as it a very close match and would work well with this dye lot. The sandlewood chips I used to dye I purchased in Ireland in 2013 while on my honeymoon. I used them once then and saved the chips, drying them out and dyeing with them again.

$36.00

2 in stock

$36.00

2 in stock

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$36.00

1 in stock

Description

About Maine Island wool:

Cheviot, Border Leicester, and Coop-worth make up this very old flock that have lived together alone on a small island in the Penobscot Bay off the coast of Maine. They feed on seaweed and are only visited a few times a year by their care taker, Lee Straw of Straw Farm in Newcastle, Maine and a helper or two to be sheared and mend fences.

In their fleeces, I believe live tales of wild winds, starry nights, and a rich history or foraging the land and snuggling together. A flock and fiber very close to my heart. And one of the most rich, full of life, luster, and fluff I’ve ever worked with.

I partner with Andy Tardi of Aroostook Fiberworks, a fiber processing mill in Ashland, Maine to create this dreamy 2 ply worsted weight yarn.

The process from beginning to end is one of my favorite things as it’s simple and keeps the beautiful wool strong but soft.

I then get to work using minimal cold mordanting methods, long steeps in dye baths, and always overlapping colors from spent baths in order to both save water, and use up as much pigment from the precious materials I gather.

After each skein has dried throughly for at least 3 days, I then give them each a gentle soak with a ph neutral soap to lift any extra pigments sitting on top of the yarn. Several rinses can take place to help lessen the amount of croaking (color bleeding onto your hands and/or needles as you work). However, it can be normal still for a minimal amount of croaking to occur especially with darker indigos and madders.

Dye Stuff: Cortinarius semisanguineus, Red Gilled Corts and Sandlewood

Yardage: ~200

Weight: ~100g, 4oz

Recommended Knitting Needle Size: 4-6

Care: if needed, hand wash your finished piece in a basin by soaking with warm water and a mild dish soap.

Yarn suitable for any next to skin garment or outer garments. Some of my favorites I use this yarn for are socks, mittens and sweaters.

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