Black-eye susans dot the fields and roadsides around our farm in abundance. Every summer, I collect the flowers to use as a natural dye for our yarn. I pull the flowers off their stems and boil them in water to make a dye bath. As the flowers boil, the water turns a dark black. It is difficult to imagine that this dye bath will produce a desirable color of yarn!

Today, walking back from the pond down the road, I stopped along the way to pick flowers growing along the road. The black-eyed susans were scattered throughout the field which is waiting to be hayed. Wading through the tall grass, I popped the flowers heads off their stems and put them in my towel to bring home. As dinner cooked in the oven, my flowers simmered on the stove top and the yarn soaked in the tub.


I couldn’t wait until morning to dye my yarn! As I type, the yarn is in the pot on the stove. After an hour of simmering, the yarn will turn a wonderful shade of olive green! Those who have purchased our Naturally Dyed Yarn CSA will get one of these skeins at the end of the summer.