Foraging for Homestead Dyeing

One of my fun projects this summer has been doing some natural dyeing. It appeals to both my frugal self and to my creative self. Frugal, because by foraging for dyestuffs, I get them for free. Creative, because there are many ways to get nuances of color variation. And it's useful! Fabrics and yarn can be dyed of course, as can other natural materials: leather, paper, shells, bones, horns, stones, feathers, hard boiled eggs, reeds for basket making. Even some plastics will take up the dye pigments.

Natural dyeing is time consuming in the sense that it sometimes takes several days to complete a project, but it's no more labor intensive than canning, cheesemaking, or making bread. It requires specific tasks to be done at specific times, but with long wait times in between. 

I have two books for reference:

• Wild Color by Jenny Dean 
•  A Dyer's Garden by Rita Buchanan

Here are this summer's results. Some of them are what I hoped to get. Others were a surprise! The links in the captions will take you to more photos with specifics about the process for dyeing with each plant.

pokeberries

more experiments with pokeberry dyeing

black eyed-Susan flowers (the rest of the plant is said to give a different color)

more experiments with black-eyed Susans

hardy hibiscus

more hardy hibiscus dyeing experiments

and one more experiment with hardy hibiscus

pear leaves (another color can be obtained from the bark)

more experiments with pear leaf dyeing

So that's this summer's experiments. Now I'm thinking ahead to next year. Not only to foraging, but also to planting a dyer's garden. More to come about that one of these days. 

Foraging for Homestead Dyeing © Sept. 2024

by Leigh at http://www.5acresandadream.com

Masonry Heater: Building the Core

Continued from Progress on the Thermal Mass

The core consists of two parts: the firebox and a modified riser. The riser is basically an internal chimney of specific length. It's purpose is to complete the burning of the wood (exhaust) gases produced by the fire. The port is a specific opening between the firebox and the riser. It regulates the exit of heat and exhaust from the firebox. It's the combination of the burn chamber, riser, and port that makes for an efficient, clean, smokeless burn of the firewood.  

Dan poured the base for the core before he started the brickwork. 

First layer of firebrick. Refractory mortar is typically used for these. 

The firebox (burn chamber) is in front, the modified riser
is behind. The opening between the two is called the port.

There are a number of designs and variations for a core. Our's is called a "double shoe box," chosen because of our space limitations.

You might recall this cutaway image from my Masonry Heater Project post.

It's designed to retain the heat and smoke to facilitate a clean, efficient burn. 

For the top, Dan used ceramic fiber board.

The smokeless heat exits the core through the slot in the top.

The heat is held in the thermal mass to radiate heat to the bricks, and in turn to the rest of the house. As it cools, the warm air sinks and exits the chimney at the bottom of the mass. 

The channel in the bottom is for the 
secondary air tube, pictured here.

The firebox door is next. (Click here to continue).

Masonry Heater: Building the Core © Sep 2024

by Leigh at http://www.5acresandadream.com

Masonry Heater: Progress on the Thermal Mass

Continued from Masonry Heater Project

One decision that had to be made was, how should the top of the stove be finished off? Flat one-piece? Flat bricked? Arched? Corbelled? How did we want it to look? Which would be more practical? Which would be easier to build? Each idea had to be analyzed in terms of time, skill, and resources. 

Dan continually asked for my input and preferences, but I was honestly okay with any of the above. I told him to choose the option that he felt most comfortable with. The following photos will pretty much speak for the process.

Form for a brick arch. There isn't anything you can't learn on YouTube.

If you recall, the woodstove alcove walls above the bricks are cement board.

Dan cut the bricks to make the circular shape

One question that might come to mind is, how did we know how big to make it? There's a formula for that! Ours is a 6-inch system (based on the size of the chimney pipe), so we aimed for an internal surface area (ISA) of approximately 57 square feet. 

Masonry Heater: Progress on the Thermal Mass 

© Sep 2024 by Leigh at http://www.5acresandadream.com