i am making room for fresh blooms, using up last year’s dried flowers...
the routine of planting, tending, and harvesting dye flowers keeps me grounded in the busy summer months. my rhythm begins in the fall, at the end of the growing season, when i am organizing my seeds and harvesting the last of the blooms before frost. i bring baskets full of flowers to the dye house and set them to dry in plant trays, the same trays i used to hold the seedlings where these flowers began. once dry, they move to paper bags and eventually to the dye pot. during the winter i feel a bit more protective of my collection of dye materials, never wanting to run out. now as the garden leaps into peak production mode again, it is time to make room for the new and dye with abandon.



i am enchanted by the way that silk takes on color, it is always a surprise. it reacts differently than all of my other fabric and captures the essence of the dye pot with a special vibrance. this perfect PNW weather is ideal for sitting in my field, tearing silk ribbon, and making cordage. i made a small batch of treasure boxes stuffed with silk ribbon so you can experience the plant-dyed rainbow that is bringing me so much joy right now.



each treasure box is topped with plant-dyed organic cotton/hemp muslin with a hand-stitched drawing of dyers chamomile. this is the flower that i am currently picking in abundance. the box is wrapped in two-color silk ribbon cordage with an antique sequin embellished bow. the box contains:

• [1] 12 x 12” pale yellow piece of lightweight 
organic cotton/hemp muslin

• [18] 36 x .5” plant dyed silk ribbon:
9 colors, 2 yards of each color

• black embroidery floss and natural silk thread
(my favorite thread) wrapped around a madrone stick

• 2g of antique sequins

• hand sewing needle

• cordage instruction booklet

the fabric and ribbon was dyed in my home dye studio using black tea, dyers chamomile, marigold, madder root, indigo, iron, and logwood.

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my hands are a crazy shade of blue right now as i have also been playing with indigo. this fresh indigo-dyed fabric is making it’s way into the DIY blue amulet kits. these kits are perfect for the slow-stitching days of summer. 

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my collection of over 50 free sewing tutorials has summer stitching projects to keep hands of all ages busy, and many of them use silk ribbon. these projects are perfect for using up your own fabric stash. you can also find an assortment of plant-dyed fabrics in different sizes, weights, and textures in my shop. happy stitching!



PS: myra likes to sun her toes.