I feel like this post speaks for itself without words because there are so many pictures. Summertime is at our heels and it is full of cool fibers, good reads, and growing produce.

After failed attempts at dyeing flax (it becomes brittle and breaks) I have succumbed to undyed. The natural color is still great but I have visions of jewel tones and summery tops. I'll keep trying though.

It's hard to believe but our long awaited trip to Israel is coming up this week. I'm so excited! I haven't left the country in a while and it will be my first time with Jeff. We will be in Haifa for our good friend's wedding and then be traveling all over Israel. We even get to take a ferry to

Jordan and go to Petra! I'm so excited yet feel like there is so much to do with this yarn business that I'm slightly overwhelmed.

But, at the end of the day we get to sit back, enjoy a home brew, and eat fresh picked wild strawberries from my in-law's back yard.

And then later I sit and read the plunder from the farm. Can you believe I got these books? Amazing.

This is an old text book all on textiles. Very interesting.
This book is all on lace and is mostly crochet with a few knits. But is seriously makes me want to take up crocheting again!
Knitted lace dress anyone? I thought so!
This one I thought was a pretty good pattern, too.

Well, that's all for now. I will have cabbage dyed silk and some sandalwood bamboo in the shop within the next couple days but then there will be a lull. A travel lull! Happy summer!

rootandleaf

another one!

www.rootandleaf.etsy.com

Ok, I finally have something for sale! It's only four items so far but within the next week I'll have some silk and flax dyed with sandalwood and cabbage!
Phew! Spinning and dyeing your own yarn takes so long. It always seems that there's not enough time in the day. So it was really nice to take a break and visit the farm where my mother-in-law grew up in Willows, Ca.





We discovered a library in one of their many old garages filled with HUNDREDS of books. And what did my mother-in-law say? Take whatever you want. We were like kids in a candy store. Books on boat making, book binding, old crochet and knitting books, lace books, loom and wheel construction books, jewelry making, sewing! It was amazing. It seems I married into a family after my own heart.

Intro:

Working my tail off over the past month is starting to pay off. Soon I will have finish products ready to sell and I can't wait to see them. One of the things I learned about myself in art school was how much I enjoyed finishing something. I love to just sit and stare at it, criticizing and glorifying every minute detail.

Chapter One:

"She says she's a slave to the details"

Hi. My name's Ruthie and this is my blog. I pursue many interests including but not limited to: knitting, spinning, sewing, baking, gardening, music, bicycles, and photography. I'm an art school dropout. I realize now that this is because I have a hard time just focusing on one thing.

Currently my energy has been invested in spinning and dyeing. I am pretty obsessed with learning how things are made and trying to make them better, more healthy for the environment (including for us humanoids), and more like something I would buy.

I am right in the midst of creating handspun, hand dyed yarns. I buy fibers from healthy, cruelty-free environments and all my natural dyes come from a fair-trade company.

Tussah silk is gathered after the silkworm has emerged from the cocoon.

A sportweight silk hank ready to be dyed.

Three hanks of merino ready to be dyed.

More fleece waiting to be combed.

mmm m mmm. Powdered Indigo extract.

So keep dropping by and check out my etsy shop. I should have some items for sale within the next couple of weeks.

rootandleaf