Fall Color, Natural Dyes of the Pacific Northwest

As I mentioned in my last post, I attended a Natural Dyeing class on Sunday. It was held at the amazing Wild Craft Studio here in the Northwest.

First, let me say that the setting alone is worth the trip. What a beautiful area, and so different from the landscape here in Portland, though it's only a little over and hour away. Wild Craft Studio holds a large range of awesome classes, there are so many I would like to take!

It was a bluebird day. As we arrived, we were invited into the cozy studio to have tea or coffee while we waited for the rest of the class to come. The class on Sunday was taught by the very knowledgeable and lovely Chelsea Heffner. What a grand day it was! Chelsea went through all the basics, processes, plants and so much great information. While I was familiar with most of the information from my natural dyeing fever earlier this year, there was plenty of new things to wrap my head around, and I really appreciated the way Chelsea presented everything.

 Coreopsis flower and Poke Berry

Poke Berry stains on my hands

We processed some plant material and started our dye baths. Then it was time for a forage out in nature. We learned to identify some native plants and picked rose hips for another dye bath.

I spy my good buddies Tif and Meg!

After our hike it was time for lunch. We ate outside with a beautiful view, and wow, what a gorgeous meal they prepared for us! We ate and chatted in the sunshine, all of us soaking in the new knowledge from the morning.

Then it was back to the dye pots! We had samples to dye, wool and silk. Then we were all given a silk scarf to dye and take home. I loved seeing all of the scarves and experimenting that the group did.

Our Fall Color samples: Coreopsis, Lichen, Pokeberry, St. John's Wort, 

Black Walnut, Rosehips

If you live anywhere nearby, I highly recommend taking a class with these amazing people! I know I had a blast and my love of natural dyeing has been re-energized! 

A Little Cabin in the Woods

This past weekend I was so fortunate to be able to have a getaway to a little cabin in the woods. I packed my bags, kissed my family goodbye, and headed out on the road. A beautiful drive up the Columbia River stretched before me on a warm fall Friday afternoon.

It has been awhile since I've been able to get out on my own and connect with the natural world. While I usually take my solo weekends at the coast, this time it was a real treat to travel to an area I have not spent too much time in. A place of rolling grassy hills, scrub oak, shadowed mountains and ribbons of rivers running through.

This was my view from the deck where I spent my mornings with coffee and my afternoons reading. It was lovely weather, quiet and peaceful with a fair amount of bird watching and crocheting. No TV, no traffic, no schedule to keep... Ah yes.

Everyday I walked down along the river and breathed deeply of fresh air and blue skies.

I slept in a cozy nest where sunlight streamed through the windows. When I opened my duffle bag upon arrival, I found that Pony Girl has sent along a little friend to keep me company. The Little Red Hen and I had quite a time.

Part of my trip included a nearby class on Natural Dyeing from local plants. It was great. I'll tell you all about that in my next post! 

For now I'll just say how grateful I am to my family for keeping the home fires burning and giving me the chance to have this relaxing and lovely weekend. Many thanks to my friends for letting me stay in their sweet little cabin in the woods, it was so special. I will keep this weekend in my heart and soul for a long time to come.

Thank you cabin 21

Wordless Wednesday - Our Beautiful Summer Vacation

xo

Oh Joyful Day!

It is amazing what a little sunshine can do for your soul! This weekend we were gifted with two beautiful days, what a nice way to start the month. So what is a mama to do with such a gift? Throw caution to the wind, pull on some puddle jumpers, fill a backpack with water and snacks, tumble into the car and head to the country with my girl.

Alright, so not way out into the country, but only a 20 minute drive (both of us singing along to pop songs on the radio with great enthusiasm the whole way) to Sauvies Island. I was thinking Nature Walk, I was hoping for Whooping Cranes, but whatever the day might hold in store was fine by me as long as we got out there, out into the sunshine!

Though many of our "go to" wildlife areas were closed for the season, we were not deterred, the drive was beautiful and we were on an adventure! We stopped to view the geese, searching for the all white snow goose. However, we did not linger long for we were feeling a bit too silly and some of those bird watchers take the watching of birds very seriously indeed and tend to frown upon general silliness.

We ended up down by the river for a walk where we chatted with local fisher folk and played in the sand. Pony Girl found the perfect stick companion right at the beginning. We discussed it's merits as a possible fishing pole, alas we had no hooks and granola bar makes less than ideal bait.

The trees were still wintering, skeletal against the bright sky, the air was fresh and warm, the water sparkled and we chased our shadows across the sand.

We walked and talked and examined moss and tree bark. We saw cranes and herons and hawks and bunnies. We wrote our names in the sand with hearts and smiley faces. Then Pony Girl took over the camera and captured some fine photos!

And then we got really, really hungry! We walked back to the car, stomped our puddle jumpers free of extra mud and sand, threw "Sticky" the stick in the back of the car as it had been such a fine and useful friend on our adventures that Pony Girl insisted on bringing him home. And back we went over two bridges...

...ate a tasty lunch and agreed that we deserved to splurge on a strawberry milkshake!

Oh joyful day!