INDIGO.
A few weeks back, Cher attended an indigo dyeing workshop at the wonderful Hill & Hollow. This week, she used her newfound knowledge, harvesting her own indigo and dyeing some of her own beautiful handspun wool. I helped out, to learn about this magical process and to dye a few skeins myself.
It truly is remarkable - a completely green plant that somehow becomes blue. Even when you take the wool out of the dye vat, it is a light blue and then slowly turns a darker blue before your eyes as it hits the oxygen. So amazing!
It was a magical day - spent in Cher's gorgeous outdoor kitchen while Further played on a quilt with the Bugtussle kids, the yarn and roving hanging from the kiwi trellis. It was very addicting - since the indigo last week, I have already dyed with tickseed sunflowers, and next up is pokeberry and walnut and maybe goldenrod. If I run out of yarn, I might just start dying all of our clothes or Further's cloth diapers!- Hannah.
SUNDAY FUNDAY.
This past Sunday was Cher's birthday, and a lovely occasion to celebrate with lots of friends and all of their beautiful children.
These people (these farmers and Radical Farmwives) are the reasons we are doing what we are doing. These are the mentors who inspired us as interns, who continue to amaze and educate us. It was so strange to sit among them as peers, no longer interns. We are wonderfully blessed to get to soak up their wisdom and their families, and so happy to be a part of this crew.HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHER! WE LOVE YOU.PS: Those same Radical Farmwives nominated us for a Liebster Award! Here is their post about it - we will be back soon with the answers to their questionnaire.
WHAT WE'RE READING.
//// Links we are loving this week ////
ONE: If you haven't yet read this New York Times piece about the extraordinary science of addictive junk food - DO IT! Long read, but oh so fascinating. "As a culture, we’ve become upset by the tobacco companies advertising to children, but we sit idly by while the food companies do the very same thing. And we could make a claim that the toll taken on the public health by a poor diet rivals that taken by tobacco."TWO: Three women who we love, Coree, Robin, and our farmer-mama Cher have started a blog TOGETHER as The Radical Farmwives. These ladies are the real deal: hard working, homeschooling, homebirthing, inspiring....we can't wait to see what they have in store!THREE: A bunch of Hannah's friends from college just signed a record deal! Hooray Kopecky Family Band! To promote the wide release of their album, they are touring with some awesome people like Leagues, Milo Greene, and The Eastern Sea. Have a listen, and see if they are playing near you!FOUR: This video - Mountain Man vs. The Government - was sent to us by Ken of Narrow Ridge Farmstead. It's about a man who lives off-the-grid and runs a school, teaching people how to live simply. Now, the school is being shut down by the county for "code violations." Sad story.FIVE: All the more reason to drink natural wine! "A study of more than 300 French wines has found that only 10% of those tested were clean of any traces of chemicals used during vine treatments."- Hannah & Jesse.