Having a hank of silk embroidery thread that has already been through a long, cold alum soak has been going to my imagination. Usually when I think about local dyes I am thinking about eucalypts, but one recent weekend I went to the farmer’s market and when I cut the tops from these treasures, I was struck by the urge to dye with them.
Into the pot they went without delay.
Once the water went in, I saw there was a passenger. Can you see it (her, probably)?
I did get her out of the pot eventually, and yes, with a long handled wooden spoon.
Here, a photo of the dyer reflected in her pot, a day later.
The thread is a greenish shade of yellow. I have plans already!
Local & Bespoke 
that’s a very pretty colour, did you have any idea that you could get colour from carrot tops?
LikeLike
Yes, I had been told by another dyer that this was possible. It wasn’t a totally random experiment! There used to be a spinner and dyer working on a stall at the local farmer’s markets and she offered me carrot tops a few times!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yikes! Strange that the little red back was in the carrot tops… they are usually such shy spiders… I did find one in a bunch of grapes I bought once… However, spiders aside, I like the green you made…
LikeLike
Hi Lydia, I guess it was dark and cool inside the crate of carrots! Like you, I think of red backs as spiders that like it best in the dark and prefer to stay out of sight. I never would have known she was there except that I submerged her home and she had no choice but to rise to the top.
LikeLike
Celery green from carrot tops … I love it
LikeLike
It’s nice, isn’t it? 🙂
LikeLike
ARGH, and now our summer and ‘tons’ of carrot tops are GONE! Next year, I will remember. Thanks.
LikeLike
Ah, carrots… they will come again. Sorry I broke the news too late!
LikeLike
aack. I just looked up the spider because it’s so striking…that’d be enough to put me off carrots with tops! Glad you saw her before she took a bite.
LikeLike
This is the most famous Australian spider… there is even a song! But in all my 50 years of living here I’ve never been bitten. My parents taught me never to put my fingers anywhere I couldn’t see into. As another reader said, this is a shy spider and finding it in carrot tops was a big surprise. Glad I saw her before she got cooked!
LikeLike