Featured Artist: Jackie Graf of Dyemama Woolworks + Giveaway + Giveaway Winners!

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JG-Dw Jackie WheelPublisher’s Note: As it comes to working with wool, I’ve tried my hand at many things including natural dyeing.  Natural dyeing is true alchemy and those who unlock its treasure trove of secrets get my full respect.  Therefore, I’m in awe of this week’s Featured Artist, Jackie Graf from Dyemama Woolworks.  I’ve been a long time admirer of Jackie’s work, so it’s pretty thrilling to be publishing her profile at last!  

Spin Artiste (SA): Hello there, Jackie! Tell us how you got hooked by fiber…

Jackie Graf (JG): Hi! I’m so honored to be interviewed here. I learned how to knit as part of a high school sewing class. I was immediately obsessed and practiced at home with pencils until I could get some knitting needles. When I moved to Maine in the mid nineties for college, I sought out a spinning teacher who gave me a lesson, shortly after I bought a spinning wheel and started buying fleece. That said, I made ok yarn for lots of years in the background of my life until I began working for a yarn company, and began working professionally with natural dyes. I took my wheel back out and started playing with techniques, went to a camp Pluckyfluff, and kind of evolved as a spinner and dyer.

JG-DW Orange YernSA: It is amazing how one opportunity in your life sparked such a profound artistic directional change. You once quoted Ralph Waldo Emerson, saying “Nature always wears the colors of the spirit.” How has this quote inspired your work?

JG: I love Emerson…I feel that working with dye plants, and other dye sources is such a beautiful alchemy. Like you would never suspect that the roots of a bush would yield a red that was prized for ages, or that a pot of weeds will give you a brilliant yellow. I love the challenge of unlocking the color potential of a dye. I think that nature is the perfect palette, throwing burnt orange next to bright green, or grey next to turquoise. It always works.

JG-DW Dying JarsSA: Speaking of dyeing, your business name is “Dyemama Woolworks”. What got you into dyeing and what about it keeps you coming back for more?

JG: Haha. That silly name is a classic case of a ravelry name, turned etsy buyer, turned etsy seller, and before I had a chance to change it it stuck. I got into dyeing when I was hired to dye yarn for a small yarn and weaving operation, and had to learn pretty fast. We operate the only commercial natural dyehouse in the country (that we know of) and needless to say, dye a lot of yarn. My favorite dye to use is indigo, it’s pure chemical magic that will only work if conditions are exact. A couple years ago I started teaching natural dye workshops, which are such a great opportunity to share what I know and to work with people that are also passionate about fiber and color.

JG- DW Dyeing PotSA: Sounds like a fabulous class. I’m hoping to convince you to teach at my studio in the future…I already have a secret waiting list of people who want to attend!  You clearly see yourself as a natural dyer. What is it about natural dyeing that you prefer, and what are your favorite natural dyeing methods?

JG: The challenge of natural dyes is very alluring, and if you get it right, the rewards are immense. I just love coaxing color out of humble plants, insects and minerals. I’ve been playing over the last year with different mordants and modifiers using a single dye, to create a large range of shades. I taught a workshop this fall where we got 20 shades from a single madder root dyepot! I’m terribly fascinated by the chemistry of natural dyes. I can look at a vat of indigo and know what it needs to be perfect for dipping, I can look at an orange yarn that should be red and know which way to tweak the pH to get it the right color. At work we vat dye in the skein, but at home I prefer to dye fleece, and do my color blending on the carder. I’m generally a pretty industrious and precise dyer, I weigh and measure and can replicate my work.

JG-DW Outdoor Dying 2I’ve been inspired by the work of India Flint.   She does eco-printing on fabric which is something I’m itching to try. I’ve also been thinking a lot about dyeing fabrics for quilting and other sewing projects.

SA: Your beautiful yarns show that you have a clear passion for dyeing. In all your years of dyeing, what was your worst dyeing disaster?

JG: Hmmmm, I have been recently working with another commercial dyehouse in my state, and their head dyer of 40 years told me, “Anyone can dye yarn. JG-DW Yellow Fiber HanningA good dyer can fix the colors that don’t come out right.” I can usually make it right. Ok, but there was this one time I was trying to get an olive green on some raw wool using iron, and I used too much and ended up with a brillo pad mess. Had to compost that.

SA: Oh… what a mess. I’m sure a lot of folks reading this, including myself, have been there.   Ok, now lets talk spinning yarns; how would you describe your yarns?

JG-DW Yarn FenceJG: Yay! I absolutely love spinning. I love to make textured corespun yarns from batts, but I also love to make humble 2 plies from perfect undyed fleeces I’ve snatched out of fleece tents. I love the instant satisfaction of bulky textured yarns, and I also love the patient long haul of spinning a bunch of sport weight singles. Some fibers you just don’t want to end!

SA: When spinning, do you sit down at the wheel with a plan in mind, or do you let your fibers lead the way?

JG-DW SpinningJG: A little of both, I’d say. If I set out with a bunch of luxury fiber, I know I’m going to spin it fine to maximize it. If it’s a textured batt, it’s likely I’ll corespin it and embellish it somehow. Sometimes I start out one way, don’t like it, and change it up mid spin.

SA: Mixing a plan with whimsy is a great combination.  Speaking of spinning, what is your wheel of choice?

JG: I have 2 wheels that I use interchangably, a Lendrum DT, and a Louet S10.

JG-DW SpoolsSA: What can you tell us about your studio?

JG: I have several spaces at my house, a dye space in my garage which consists of a stove, a sink with hot hot water, and a commercial electric salad spinner that I spin fleeces out with. I also have a “wool room”, where I have my carders set up and bins and bins of wool organized by color and type. I usually spin either in my kitchen by the wood stove when it’s cold, or on my front porch when it’s nice. But who am I kidding, there is wool everywhere, in every state.

SA: Your home sounds like a fiber artist’s dream. What do you like about operating your own fiber business and what are your business dreams for the future?

JG-DW Bowl of YarnsJG: I love meeting other fiber people, I love supporting growers and choosing fleeces to buy. Because my 9-5 takes up so much of my time these days, I’m just taking it year by year. I have to be very selective with my engagements.   It’s easy to commit to too many events and become overwhelmed. The beauty of working for a yarn company, or anywhere for that matter, is that not every piece of it is my job. I would dye wool and spin yarn all day, but it’s the photography, selling, marketing, paperwork, shipping that takes up so much time. I have a good balance of a steady paycheck and artistic freedom. I also love what I call the commerce of craft, bartering with other craftspeople for items I wouldn’t otherwise be able to fit into my budget. It’s a beautiful thing.

JG-DW Red FibersSA: Finding that balance can be difficult, but your business is doing so well; I’m sure you’re very proud.  It is great to see how committed you are to connecting with fellow fiber artists by taking fiber classes, attending retreats, and supporting others’ work. How has the fiber community enriched your work and creative process?

JG: I have yet to meet a fiber person that I haven’t loved. I’m always inspired by and amazed by the art that people make from fiber, from spinning, to felting, to knitting. I’m also really passionate about wool in general, sheep breeds, fiber quality, history. I do lots of outreach with kids and fiber at our local schools. I bring in spinning wheels and carders and we make yarn, knit, needle felt. It’s so foreign to most kids, but such a beautiful tactile thing. I feel like it’s my duty to be the local steward of spinning for the next generation.

JG-DW White Art YarnSA: It’s wonderful that you want to carry on that fiber legacy, and even pass it on to the next generation. How would your family and friends describe your relationship with fiber?

JG: So I’ve noticed in talking to other fiber enthusiasts, that they come to it in a solitary fashion. That is to say, generally their best friend of 20 years doesn’t share their passion, or not to the level that some of us do. That’s the case with me, for sure. None of my close friends do what I do, although I have lots of friends I have met through fiber. I think they would describe my relationship with fiber as…strong. I definitely know more about wool than your average person.

JG-DW Yarn of the WheelSA: What was one of your favorite gifts from the last holiday season?

JG: My husband actually opened an etsy account and secretly bought me some perfume from one of my favorite sellers. It was a total surprise.

SA: Yay husband!!!   Sounds like a terrific gift! Back in October, you posted on Facebook that you spun some amazing cashmere and didn’t know what you were going to do with it. So tell us, how did you use your completed cashmere yarn?

JG: Haha, it’s still hanging near my tub where I let it dry after I set it. I fondle it when I walk by. I’ve been thinking I may ask one of my weaver friends at Swans Island to weave it into a wrap for me. Or I’ll knit something lacey. It was such a dream to spin, I can’t wait to get more.

SA:  Readers, don’t you just love Jackie?!?!  It’s probably a good thing I don’t live closer to her…I’d be following her around like a puppy to learn more about natural dyeing…luckily for two of you, Jackie is giving away a two natural dye kits to fortunate readers here at Spin Artiste! dyekit Yes!!  I think it’s the first time in three years I’ve had the pleasure of this type of giveaway.  The kits contain enough material to dye three pounds of fiber.  To enter, leave a comment here letting us know if you’ve ever tried natural dyeing…if you did, how was the experience?  Additional entries for sharing on FB, Twitter, etc…as well as liking Jackie’s FB page (hint, hint).  Just leave a comment here letting us know that you did.  Deadline for entering is next Sunday, February 16th, 5 PM EST.  Best of luck to all!

But, wait, Arlene, what about the Jane Thornley giveaway winners?  I absolutely did not forget you!  Here they come: a hardcopy of Jane’s upcoming book, “Rogue Wave” goes to Tammy; a membership in the Inspired Knitter’s Club 2014 goes to Terry and the $40’s worth of patterns goes to Susan Mitloff!!!  Congratulations to all…I will be in touch via email to coordinate you getting your prizes.  Thanks so much to Jane for her incredible generosity!

49 thoughts on “Featured Artist: Jackie Graf of Dyemama Woolworks + Giveaway + Giveaway Winners!”

  1. Thank you for this wonderful interview! This is so serendipitous, as Miriam and I were just talking about how interested we were in natural dyeing, and looking for information. As if you were listening, here is the answer to our questions, just marvelous! And very excited to find that Dyemama Woolworks has a FB page!!!

  2. The only natural dyeing I have done was using tea bags to dye paper, to make it look old, for our children’s school projects. I’ve been researching natural dyeing, have scoped out walnut and chestnut trees in the neighborhood — intending to gather fallen dye material this summer. My hesitation with natural dyeing is that since I sell much of my felted work, it’s essential that colors be colorfast! The interview with Jackie was so inspiring — it encourages me to experiment and figure out colorfastness so I can incorporate natural dyeing into my studio work!

  3. I’ve never tried any sort of dyeing. I love color and nature so I find the idea of natural dyeing fascinating!

  4. I started dyeing with chemically reactive dyes, which was fun. Then I took a couple of classes in natural dyes, and THAT was *exciting*. Now I’m experimenting dyeing with native plants growing on our 22 acre property, and starting to dye my gorgeous suri alpaca’s fleeces.

    I’ve been experimenting with pot dyeing (fast) and solar dyeing (slow but low maintenance). I’ve tried steaming some of India Flint’s eco dyeing parcels with some success, but need to concentrate on the best local plants to use.

    I’ve also got Dyers Weld and Woad growing from seed but with the drought have not had enough to dye with. I have a couple of Indigo plants in pots in my shade-house that have lasted through 2 of our winters 🙂 Not big enough to harvest yet, more stock plants as I’ve been able to strike one from a cutting and harvest quite a lot of seed.

    Sadly Madder still eludes me – low germination rate from seed and can’t get the damn thing past about 3 months from sprouting.

    The drought here is causing eucalyptus trees here to drop limbs, and one to go over (glad I wasn’t underneath it at the time). But that has brought a couple of decent sized mistletoe clumps down so I have a pile of leaves drying for some more dyeing sessions. I’ve found dried leaves give better colour than fresh with eucalyptus, hoping the same holds for mistletoe.

    I love natural dyes, and the feeling of alchemy you get preparing mordants and soaking protein and cellulose based fibers. I only use alum, copper and iron although I have recently acquired some tin. I also like to do controls with no mordant 🙂

    So far I’ve dyed cotton, silk (various weights from gauze to silk velvet), merino and alpaca fleece. I’m hoping to get some hemp and bamboo cloth to dye with natural dyes as well.

    I just love this stuff!!! Natural dyes and natural fibers just feel so right.

  5. Jackie taught a madder course and an indigo course at Fiber College last September. I took both workshops. She was terrific. She is an excellent teacher. Her talent and guidance rekindled my own love for natural dying.

  6. I feel fortunate to have met Jackie and have taken her indigo dye class. I’ve also had the fortune of working with natural dyes with a local farm, A Wrinkle in Thyme ! I have a small flock of Shetland sheep and love working with the fiber, from shearing to knitting and yes, dyeing.

  7. I liked Jackie’s Facebook page! JazzTurtle posted the interview and I’m glad she did. I’ve been lucky enough to visit Swans Island with an aunt who lives in Maine, and I was given a book on natural dyes for Christmas… I haven’t dyed fiber with plant-derived dyes yet, though, so this would be a treat.

    Thanks for the interview!

  8. Jackie, your Interview was very inspiring! I love to color hair and I can’t wait to get my hands on some wool to practice on for my first time. Thanks!

  9. I have never dyed fiber with natural colors. But it would be wonderful to pair some naturally dyed roving with my goat milk soaps and do something felted.

  10. The only natural dyeing I have done is with goldenrod, since I have that growing all over my yard. I picked every single flower I could find and boiled them up in my kitchen to make a dye bath. Phew! Never do this in your kitchen unless you like the smell of cooking weeds 😀 Sort of a cross between asparagus and dirt. I dyed raw fleece and spun yarn and they all came out a soft creamy yellow-pretty! I’d love to try indigo and cochineal some day.

  11. I’ve dabbled in natural dyeing, both on wool and silk. I still wear the alkanet-dyed silk scarf, and adore the many possible colors of logwood. I also have a plastic tote full of randomly dyed skeins of wool for which I now need to plan a project. lol

  12. This was such a fun read! Unfortunately I have yet to be brave enough to dye spinning fiber naturally, but one year for Easter we did a dye experiment on boiled eggs! I got together with my mom, aunt, and cousin to dye some fabulous colors with onion skin, spices, spinach, beats, grape juice concentrate, and other things we found around the kitchen. It was great fun!

  13. What a great interview! I have been dyeing for over 10 years, but have never tried natural dyes! Now that I see a natural dye kit is available, I am going to have to try it out!

  14. Hi I did some solar dyeing with natural dye. Mostly yellows though 🙂 I switched to use mostly silk because I like to mix in the golden silk into varied batts.

    I would love to look into a professional natural dye studio…

  15. I’ve only used walnuts, but hope to do more natural dying this summer. Love this interview and would also love to take a class with her.

  16. While I have done lots of dying of yarn and some fiber, I have always used readily available acid dyes. I would love the opportunity to try natural dyes – this really speaks to me! And this interview is so inspiring! Thanks.

  17. The only natural dyeing I’ve done has been with coffee & tea. Would love to explore naturals more and incorporate into my spinning and weaving.

  18. I love the process of natural dyeing and am always looking for additional information. In some recent books I bought I was surprised how many plants I am already growing in my yard that are good for dyeing. Can’t wait to try them out this summer.

  19. My natural dyeing has had highs and a few lows. Using celandine from a scraggly lot was very rewarding, and trying indigo, well, some of the dips were okay…

  20. Nice article. I took a natural dye class from Jackie, even though I don’t imagine I’ll ever be doing much dyeing. It was really fun – she is an excellent teacher!

  21. Loved this interview / very inspiring! I’ve used natural dye on cloth and yarn, but not raw fiber…something new to try. And an electric salad spinner, wow, a new tool to shop for!

  22. I love natural dyeing – had a morning lesson in Iceland 2 years ago weth Gudrun – Hespa yarn – she is developing Viking dyes. Fascinating. After visiting her I tried dyeing with rhubarb – she gets a lovely salmon shade. Suffice to say I did not. Later discovered that lots of time is a major factor in natural dyeing. Now I let the dyestuff soak a good 24 hours and also the fibre soak in the dyebath at least 24 hours. Much better results. After reading about dyemama I realize that I must take time to be more precise!

  23. Thank you for a wonderful interview! I have been interested in natural dyeing for a long time. I have tried some this fall, using zinnias & marigolds from my garden, calendula & elderberries. The best results were with the calendula; the worst was the elderberries (and I wish I knew why I only got a dirty cream). That little bit has gotten me hooked! Can’t wait to find more info on what Jackie is doing. Wish I could take a class from her.

  24. I have been natural dyeing for several years.I have taught A firs Scout troop (mine) and played with different mordants and same dye liqueur. I love cochineal when I can get it. I grew woad,and our lady’s bedstraw. Never got much out of the bedstraw, but the woad worked on the tiny sample. Have a tub of black walnuts fermenting. I am very much a process and am always delightfully surprised at the colours I get.
    Wish I could take a class from Jackie.

  25. Wow! I’m really touched by all these lovely comments. Thank you! I just wanted to post here that at this time, I am planning on teaching at Twist Fiber Festival in Quebec in August, FIber College in Searsport, ME in September and at Rhinebeck in October. None are live yet, but if you are thinking of taking a workshop, look out for these!

    I will post on my Facebook page if any mini workshops pop up. And feel free to contact me if you are interested in setting one up!

    xo Jackie

  26. I’ve never tried natural dyeing, but have been wanting to for years. Hopefully in a couple of years there will be time.

  27. My hand dyeing has consisted largely of coffee and turmeric. I LOVE the soft browns you get with coffee, and the sunflower yellows and golds you can achieve with turmeric. But, I harvested and dehydrated several trays of dandelions last to mix with a fresh crop of dandelions this coming spring.

  28. Wow, this is amazing and beautiful! I have used natural dyes to color Easter eggs 🙂 Thanks for the chance 🙂

  29. When I first started spinning (about 3-4 years ago) I thought natural dyes were going to be all I ever used, until I found out how complex they really are. It’s been about a year since I experimented with them and I really want to stick my toe in the water again! I have used madder, safflower, mint, turmeric, and a few other things; so far madder is my favorite because it’s so forgiving and versatile. Fresh mint made a surprisingly nice olive color, and I have gotten gorgeous yellows from safflower but haven’t unlocked to secret to red yet. Really want to try indigo!

  30. Forgot to mention that I’ve also experimented with coffee and tea, and I just liked your Facebook page. Your work is gorgeous, Jackie! I would love to take a natural dyeing workshop and learn how to get some of these amazing colors!

  31. I am fascinated by natural dying! I have never tried, but I do want to learn! We have a couple of ladies in my spinning group that have done this for years and we are trying to convince them to do a workshop so we can learn!

  32. Great interview, and i also love to dye with natural plants, i dye with union peels, and ” boeren wormkruid” I don’t know what that in english is, it dye’s yellow. it is a plant with little yellow bals. I never did indigo, but i want to try that once.

  33. I dyed some Targhee fiber with Goldenrod and alum. It came out a lovely buttery yellow. I have yet to spin it. 🙂

  34. I’ve never tried natural dyeing but it sounds ideal. I love the connection I feel when spinning, I’m sure using natural dyes would only increase it.

  35. I have done natural dying of silk with my colleagues at the Waldorf School and in puppetry trainings with the wonderful Suzanne Down. I have been wanting to try natural dying of wool, but haven’t yet!

  36. Great interview, wonderful artist! I’m always amazed at the colors one can get from natural dyeing. I have only worked with acid dyes so far, but would love to try some natural dyes!

  37. Christina Childress

    I am new to the fiber arts & absolutely love it!! I haven’t tried dyeing yet myself but really want to try!! My Mother gave me a book on dyeing using home grown materials to dye.

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