Twistedspinster

Gathering chamomile while we may

One of the highlights of the whole trip was when Demetrio took us up into the mountains behind Teotitlan to gather dyestuffs. We were even shadowed by Carol, who was filming a documentary. Here, we're collecting a small flowering herb that Demetrio called chamomile (probably related to the herb we drink as tea, but not identical). He also had us strew seeds from previous gatherings, so that he'd have more plants in the future.


This is the chamomile plant. If there are any experts in Oaxacan botany that can give me a latin name, please do!!

Tomorrow night, I'll show you the oak galls.

Fiber progress: I spun about 20-30 yards of tussah silk that's going to be beautiful. This has a lot of short ends, so I'm glad I decided to spin straight from the tops. Usually, I get the smoothest yarns from spinning from the fold, despite what Judith McK McC says.

I also cast on for another sample of the Ice Queen from Knitty. This time, I'll have a rounded corner at both ends, and a couple of repeats in the middle. It took me a couple tries to get the stitch count right, but it looks awesome so far! It might be just the ticket for Superbowl Party knitting.

posted by Ruth S. @ 10:18 PM