Yellows and greens

The goldenrod dyeing is done. Let’s just say that and put that equipment away. Only the “seaside” variety of goldenrod is still in glorious bloom. I bought this at a plant sale last year, wondering why I thought I needed more goldenrod. But it is indeed special, blooming very late and having larger, very distinct flowers. I clipped one sprig of it, and disturbed a busy bee. Sorry, carry on!

Here’s the selection of goldenrod dyed fabric and threads. From left, more or less – old pillowcase and tablecloth (with fringe!). A greener linen, a light silk, and a tan linen. In the middle, some silk cotton threads, and a dark bronze piece of wool. The darker pieces have some iron-vinegar mixed in. I dyed some of these before and failed, little to no color transfer. I like these quite a lot. Because they are not white! I don’t have high expectations for dyeing, so I find it pleasing when anything white turns color. These are not intended for anything specific, but join the hand-dyed stash for future projects, or even over-dyeing. There’s still a lot of sweetfern around, I’d like to roll some of these up around a can with those leaves, steam it, and see what happens.

In garden news – winter squash. I love it so much. It’s solid and colorful, makes a statement. This year I planted some sad-looking acorn squash seedlings from the nursery, not hoping for much. My squash seed germination was not good, so I needed the seedlings to fill spots. I just harvested a few big acorn squash from those sad seedlings, very pleased with them. There are still some squash out there to be harvested, Red Kuri and Buttercup varieties.

Last year at this time, I was making a list of the fall chores that needed to get done. This year, I’m taking them as they come, as the urge or need arises. More trust is in the system, that it will happen as it’s meant to in the evolution toward cold time. It’s better, but there’s still uneasiness. Something is off, something missing, something needs adjustment. Don’t know what. Just carry on.