Case in point. While in Greece visiting family two years ago, I was fascinated by this beautiful rock.
It was a lovely day after a summer storm and I was irresistibly drawn to the beauty of the rock peeking from the sand, with the water washing over it. Truth be told, if I wasn’t worried about disturbing the natural order of the environment (and if it didn’t look so darn heavy!), I would have tried to somehow sneak it into my suitcase for the trip home. Instead, I had to be satisfied with taking picture after picture as the waves washed over it. I was in awe of the rusty red, mustard and slate blue colors of the rock and how it contrasted beautifully with the aqua blue sea washing over it. I found the the lovely spiral patterning of the rock that seemed to just appear from the depths of the sand as the waves rolled out entirely mesmerizing.
Back in my studio, I became absorbed (some might say obsessively so) with recreating in fiber the colors and mood from that lovely moment. I mixed color after color, and meticulously recorded my recipes in my dye journal, all in the hopes of matching the color scheme of the rock perfectly.
Finally, the moment arrived for the dyeing to begin. I chose some yummy merino wool roving, envisioning the rich mix of browns and blues I saw on the beach that day and began the process.
This was the result:
Not at all what I envisioned. Instead of capturing the ocean scene, the dyed roving had an earthy, woodland feel to it. And do you know what? I absolutely adore it! There is just something about the way the colors blend together that makes me almost feel the crisp mountain air on my face and imagine myself in the hushed quiet of a forest. If you are in a woodsy sort of mood, you can find this earthy roving in my brand spanking new shop.
So, what life lesson did I learn while getting dye on my shoes? Sometimes, during the dyeing ritual, as in life, you just have to let go of expectations, and find magic in the unexpected.
