Why Care About History?

I hope we're ready, myself included, to delve into this question in an empathetic way with an eye toward finding a positive path going forward. This isn't simply about the social upheaval in the US and the debate over statues in our public spaces. I have this theory that honest well taught history could be a powerful tool to combat many problems we face. Who will teach history has been contested through all of human history for this reason. Those in power have sought to use it to legitimize the status quo while those not so favored struggle to get past the official version of events so that their reality can be heard. If we hope to create a viable future it must include all of us and we must be willing to admit and grow from the times we were in the wrong. We must accept change. Let's start with the heroic statuary we all grew up with, some of which is now being removed. In the case of Confederate monuments, most of them don't date from right after the Civil War. They were installed during the era of Jim Crow, many paid for by the KKK. Their function was to enshrine white supremacy and send a clear message to Blacks to stay in their place. General Robert E. Lee was remade into a noble vision of the Southern leadership that was not based in fact. If that's what you grew up with in your history books I can understand why you would be angry to see them removed. What I'm asking you to do is to dig deeper into the history and be ready to change your opinions when you know the truth. I cannot expect my fellow citizens of Color to walk placidly by these statues. Some have defended the statues based on artistic value. Would it make a difference if I tell you that the same company in my Northern home state mass produced Civil War soldier monuments that were the same except for the Confederate or Union elements? There was money to be made from both sides so they gave the markets what they wanted. It should be enough to know the thought behind the statues to realize that they are not good art. The stories of Christoper Columbus and Andrew Jackson are very much the same. There was a lot of myth building going on to make them into heroic figures and associate our nation with a glorious founding that totally ignores the destruction they brought to societies that were already here. When we deny the full story we cheat ourselves and impede our own progress. There are so many important ordinary and diverse stories beyond the shallow overview of the prominent figures that most of us know. I work in a historical house museum so I know how hard it is to strike the right balance in how we present these stories. However, if we wish to preserve these old buildings from the founding days of the US we must tell our history in an inclusive manner. If future generations believe it's not their history too who will care to protect them? We need to instill critical thinking skills in our children or risk losing the opportunity to evolve into a better society. This is no easy task but the consequences are global. I believe we are at a critical point today. The type of people we choose to be will decide rather the human race has a future at all. Yes, it's that big of a deal. History is subject to change as we research and uncover new truths and as such, should not be graven in stone.

Thrifted Mystery Table

In thrifting there aren't usually second chances. This odd side table turned up at my local St. Vincent de Paul Shop and I passed on it the first time I saw it. They must have moved the furniture around by the time I returned because I didn't see it and assumed it had been sold. And then it was there again. Well, I wasn't going to let it get away! I would love to find out more about it but there aren't any labels or marks to research. If I had to make up a backstory for it, I'd say it was from a factory that had been making Eastlake furniture and then decided to venture into the Craftsman style. It has a storybook vibe to it. If anyone has any idea what the actual story is, I hope you'll leave me at message.

Naturally Dyed Crewel Wool

Several years ago I bought a big mill end skein of lace weight merino that turned out to take plant dyes well.I'm working on collecting as many colors as I can. The nice thing is that I can pursue my dye experiments on a much smaller scale. I've just started on some fermented dye, a technique that requires no mordant or heat. The dye material is fermented for at least a week, then strained off and divided into an acidic bath and an alkaline bath by adding vinegar or ammonia to change the ph. The wool is dyed with the acidic bath first, dried, and then re-wet and put into the alkaline bath. My first attempt is making use of some wild muscadine grapes that, not surprisingly, smelled like wine after a week fermenting on our warm front porch.

Black Walnut Husk Dye

Boy, oh boy, did I get the rich brown I was hoping for! To be honest, this picture looks just a little pumped up on my screen but not by much on the brown. The orange yarn was dyed with pokeberries. I wasn't as attentive as I should have been with the pokeberries and the dye got too hot, bringing out the tanins, so no pink. I like it anyway. The walnut brown could have done with more stirring for an even color. Parts of the skein sat in the concentrated sludge at the bottom of the pot and became very dark. I'm just going to claim that I meant to do that to add more interest. This morning I made a paste out of some more walnut hulls (minus the skins) by mashing and cooking them with salt. The plan is to paint or print on fabric with it. If you are new to black walnut dye, please heed all the warnings about how deeply it will stain just about anything. My rubber glove had a hole in one finger and even though I was careful, I have a "suntanned" fingertip now.

More Local Color

I've been out for more maple leafed viburnum berries. About two cups of berries was enough to dye three skeins of deep blue, one medium blue and one light blue. Interestingly, there was a color shift between the medium blue skein and the light blue one. The lighter one went a bit more turquoise in tone. The colors all look well together, it's subtle. I combined the leftover viburnum bath with some leftover goldenrod to see if it would make a green, which it did but it was very washed out. So I added some new berries and fresh goldenrod blossoms. The viburnum was pretty strong so I dumped in some leftover autumn olive leaf gold. The end result was a good grassy green. I'd still like to get a really deep brown so I'll be going out to look for black walnuts and whatever else looks interesting. That's my first sock from the plant dyed colors. I had a very soggy outdoor craft show Sunday and was glad to have my knitting with me. The down side is that my right hand is sore from knitting too much in one go. I hate to purl and don't like ribbing anyway so I started the top with some crochet. The heel is made eastern style by knitting in the opening for the heel with waste yarn then continuing the foot a bit. Then I went back, picked up the stitches above and below the waste yarn, removed it and knit the heel. I'm eager to work on the second sock but it will have to wait. When the socks are done, it will be time for some fair isle mittens. Next year I'm going to get skeins of the lighter weight sock yarn to dye. Too much fun!

Autumn Means It's Time For Plant Dyes

Fall weather is finally here and that means it's time pull out the dye pots and go foraging for dye plants. This just makes me so happy! It's something I wanted to do when I was a kid but I never pulled it together. The only yarn I knew about came from Bradlees and was acrylic so it wouldn't work. Maybe that's why I get so much satisfaction from plant dyeing now, it's an old desire fulfilled. This batch of dyes was my best yet and I think that some of the credit goes to the wonderful yarn I got from Potluck Yarn during their Labor Day sale. I got a ten pack of the super sock dk and I love it. All the skeins were premordanted with alum and cream of tartar. I watched the heat carefully and simmered the dye, never boiling it and left the skeins to cool in the pot overnight. Left to right they are: goldenrod blossoms, goldenrod and bedstraw exhaust baths mixed, autumn olive leaves, polypore mushroom off an oak tree, sumac berries, bedstraw root 1st, 3rd and 2nd bath, and maple leaf viburnum berries. I had come across a mention online that the autumn olive, which is an invasive species, was brought here as a dye source and that it would produce an olive green dye. I got a very nice rich gold but adding copper or iron might turn it olive. I'm not sold on the idea that it was imported for dye purposes. I believe it was for erosion control and ornamental value. In any event, it's made itself at home and we'll never see the end of it. I like the idea of finding uses for invasive plants. The berries also make an excellent jam. If you like strawberry rhubarb pie, you'll like autumn olive jam. The navy blue skein was dyed with maple leafed viburnum berries. I checked online but found nothing about using them for dyes but I can't imagine I'm the first person to try it. I need to get back out and pick some more!

Hat For A Towering Intellect

As you can see, the silk neckties have worked their way into my hats. It was time to revisit the Hat For A Towering Intellect with the improved skill set I've developed. This is really fun! I used to give each hat a title and a fun story tag back when they were at Zoe & Floyd, the much missed gallery that used to be in Seymour CT. But doing shows and general business led me to drop that. I think it's time to return to tagging the hats and to the level of carefree craziness I had at that time. There's an odd synergy between playful and serious. That's what I'm going for.