Wednesday, September 02, 2009

Carrot Top Yarns

Here are the results from my dye bath of carrot tops. The top skein is a 50/50 wool/silk blend, and the bottom skein is 100% Icelandic wool (it's not really felted even though it looks like that in this photo). I'm thrilled with the color! Thank goodness there are tons of carrots left in the garden, so I will have plenty of tops for more dyeing.

And speaking of the garden --- this is what my kitchen counter looks like almost every day now. I have canned and frozen tomatoes; I have made bruschetta, tomato juice, and salsa; I have eaten them sliced as a side dish, chunked on salads, and sliced on sandwichs; and yet they are still ripening faster and faster. Thank goodness for Freecycle, where I have given away bags of tomatoes to elderly people on fixed incomes with no gardens. They are loving the fresh tomatoes, and we are glad that the fruit isn't being wasted.

4 comments:

Marty Mason said...

I love that you share your bounty with others.

And, I love your dyed-with-carrot-top yarn....where have I been all my life??

Leslie said...

Good on ya for sharing the bounty. Our summer nights haven't been warm enough to get our tommys to ripen.

Love the carrot top dye. I demo'ed natural dying at Ren Faire years ago and would just grab stuff from the side of the road to see what we would get.

Kim Hambric said...

That yarn is such a beautiful color. I had no idea what to expect when I read you were boiling up carrot tops for dyeing.

As the lucky recipient of my neighbor's luscious tomatoes, I think it is a wonderful thing for you to share those tomatoes with those that cannot grow them.

Karen Stiehl Osborn said...

Thanks everyone! I was thrilled with the yarns from my carrot top dye pot. Natural dyeing is always one part known results mixed with one part mystery. I have seen the same plant dye two different colors depending on the season.