Indigo dye class

 I went to a fun class at the extension office early this month. It was a lesson on using indigo dye.

The class was originally scheduled to be held outside. It was a 90+ degree day so I was relieved to find that they had set up in the agriculture building instead.

We had instruction pages that described different techniques of folding, twisting and using rubber bands to make different designs on the fabric to be dyed.

We started out with a practice piece, then a dish towel and a bandana.

That's my bandana below. The wood square also blocks a bit of the fabric from the dye to create a pattern.

We went outside to use the buckets of dye. The pieces stay in the dye for 5 minutes, then they are out of the dye for 20 minutes. Repeat this 4 times altogether.

Here are some of the pieces during a "rest" period. This is after going in the dye twice.

Mine are on the front left.

I was getting a bit antsy after the third dye cycle...and I'd left the cat outside at home, so 

I bagged up my pieces and finished a bit early.

I did the final rinse at home and opened the bundles to dry.

The bandana must be made of fabric not very receptive to the dye.

I like the results of the sample fabric and the large dish towel.

Now what should I do with these pieces?

The Sasquatch and I had an Independence Day cookout one day early.

He grilled big hamburgers and garnished with little grilled peppers from his garden.

I made a salad recipe using some of those husk cherries. It included grilled fresh corn, cucumbers, jalapeños, shallots, basil and lime. 

The burgers were delicious on those onion buns. The salad was good too - an unusual flavor combination.

A few things from the garden...yellow small tomatoes, eggplants, peppers, mini potatoes and squash.

I roasted everything together except the tomatoes.

One of the squash was a butternut squash...accidentally picked too early. It was tasty roasted though. I think I prefer picking them early.