it’s october as the land turns towards winter i alternatively work work work or snuggle in with a book, handwork, or an idea to mull and stew over. i am a fall person, loving the changes except one: loosing light.

was it just two weeks or so ago that i found these few indigo plants that survived the sad flooding and dumping out of the two long boxes i planted them in. these were a delightful surprise, so i managed to make a tiny bit of cloth and yarn wear blue, pale turquoise, but blue. i used the fresh leaf, salt, water and finger mushing method, and had some reasonable results. most exciting was coloring a small precious hank of my handspu wild tussock moth silk.

this is the lot, or most…the next day i found another two tiny plants and added those leaves.

wild north country silk about 22 inches long

so, while i had imagined indigo dyeing this fall, and then the flood, and then giving up, finding these few plants was a gift and the tiny amount of indigo was also a gift.

i found a crow skeleton that had wings and feet, a backbone and a skull still intact. it was pretty far gone and still rotting when i brought it in the house. but it is now my precious precious thing.

the last photo is treasure: milkweed fiber, gifted to me by sarah swett, she of the many tapestries that speak of, well, the best word i can choose is joy. and these fibers are potential string, paper, baskets, it’s up to me. what a joy!