Don't throw it away!

2 days ago I decided I needed to use a boiler, lifted the lid and immediately held my nose! There was liquid in there that ponged, had a scum of mould on the top and the liquid (when I got through to it) looked colourless.
"That's going" thought I so started scouping out the liquid into a bowl to throw into my waste liquids tank. When I got close to the bottom there was a thick layer of gloup - sludgy, squidgy gloup!
I scouped this out but then thought "wonder what happens if I dye with this?" Found a pan and poured it in.
Rooted though mordanted stuff and found 100g shetland tops and worked it through the gloup. I heated the pan to almost boiling - must have been about 90 degsC. Simmered for about 1/2 an hour and then left it to cool down. When I took the tops out I was stunned at the depth of colour there!
The I added 100g yarn and reheated - well basically did the same again, still more colour but slightly paler.
Haven't added anything else yet, but I don't think it's exhausted!

I should add that this was originally a madder dyebath in use about 6 months ago - I'd used a different boiler to my normal one and then forgotten it!
Just shows you shouldn't throw anything away certainly not without checking it out!

Colours in nature

Colour is getting to me this Spring. I don't know why this year in particular, but I seem to be noticing the way colours are reflected off the landscape and wild flowers, my attention is constantly being diverted.

When we went to Llanberis I was really drawn to the scars in the rock face where they are quarrying the slate. The contrasts between the fawns and greens of the moorland and the grey slashes, then the bright yellow of the gorse, I'm finding really absorbing. It is making me want to go into the dyehouse and start trying to reproduce these colours and contrasts on my yarns.

Looking at this lump of slate (it was like a standing stone just outside the museum) the weathering has created so many different veins of colour from almost white to yellows and rusty browns as well as the many shades of grey!

Normally when working with the natural dyes I am producing replica colours for different periods of history - so modern fashion trends have never featured in my choice of colours. (I do wonder sometimes whether I should go and check out what the "next season's colours" will be from the fashion designers, but theirs and mine are never going to look the same - well not until I've got them all convinced that thay don't want to be using anything but my dyed cloth!! - so it becomes a bit irrelevant.) I guess I'm going to be going my own way as normal this year - but it all might be a bit different, I don't mean all dull and muted so much as different contrasts and unusual mixes!

My friend Helen produces the most fantastic felted pictures using naturally dyed fibres, my favorites are always her waterfalls - there is so much motion in them and definition, so here's a new idea! I'm calling it slatefall!

I love the stillness of the rock as opposed to the wild crashing of water, which is my usual choice, but there is still a movement there!