Nettle

.In our back yard by our brush pile we have an over abundance of stinging nettle, it's a awful plant that grows like crazy. Years ago it used to be made into fabric, the same long procedure as making linen. I read you could use it for natural dying so last weekend I gave it a try

With gloves on I picked enough for two pots, one stainless steel and one iron. I poured boiling water over and let them set overnight. The next morning I simmered the leaves for a couple of hours, then added the wool fabric.

I first bundle the wool with string, I love the mottled look I get when it's bundled and put in the dye bath dry. You get many different shades of color. I simmered it together for awhile.

After around 24 hours in the pot I washed out the fabrics. The gray green on the left came out of the iron pot and tan from the stainless steel. The green is a beautiful color in real life! I make small samples to test the new dyes then if I love them I dye a larger piece of fabric.

These are two greens side by side from my iron pot, left is nettle and right is carrot greens.

My good friend went to Hawaii and sent me this cute little bag. It was made using recycled vintage fabrics from Hawaii. The name of the store is Muumuu Heaven.

I have to show you this cute little project my friend at work made for me to put in a tomato plant, ( it's like the container you can buy for hanging tomato plants). He took a empty coffee container, drilled some holes in top to water the plant, put on a wire hanger.

On the bottom of the container he drilled a 1 1/2" hole for the plant to grow out of. I painted it with plastic paint. Filled the bottom with sphagnum moss to keep the plant from falling out, tucked the plants roots in from the bottom and filled the rest of the container up with good soil from the top. Watered well and hung them in the sun.

This is one on a shepherds hook. It's been in the pot for about a week and now the plants starting to grow upwards. Well see what happens when the tomatoes come on.

And another one hanging on a hook at the back of our house.

Last night was our herb meeting, this month it was held at the Utopian Marketplace, the topic was organic gardening. It was very informative. The store/restaurant has beautiful herbal arrangements around. This is a few of them. A six pack on the front counter.

A 4 pack on another.

Another single bottle, the wonderful feathery herb in the background is bronze fennel.

This is a ceramic plate with rocks glued on. Clever ideas to use with you favorite beverage bottle.