How It All Began…

Hi, I’m Wendy, and I figured a good topic for my first blog post would be to tell the story of how I began my journey into the world of natural dyeing….

2016 Ecuador - The Knitting Tour. That’s what my husband called our trip to the Andes of Ecuador in 2016 because, for me, it was all about fibre, fleece, yarn, and the artisan women of Ecuador. At that time, my passion was all things knitting; I began knitting in the 70’s, in high school.

My Ecuador goal was to bring home wool and alpaca yarn…. lots of it. And I did, but what ended up being more exciting was my introduction into the world of spinning yarn and natural dyeing. I came home with a new focus! I told Reider, “I want to do that!”

Spinning lessons began and so did my journey into dyeing with plants, roots, lichen, mushrooms, and bark. I became fascinated with the colours our natural world can produce and the science behind bringing those colours to life on fabric, yarn, leather, and paper. It’s scientific and also quite magical! Foraging became the norm for us on our daily walks; clippers and bags in hand to collect roadside weeds - tansy, pineapple weed, curly dock, bindweed… you name it! Did we get strange looks from passersby? Yup! Did we care? Nope!

I continue to knit, spin, dye, and give workshops, but because of arthritis in my hands and wrists, my work primarily focuses on natural dyeing these days.

The launch of this website is very exciting for me, for it allows me to educate and showcase, through my creations, the magic of natural dyeing in all its forms.

So glad you’ve found me. Come back often!