Textile geeks can be a little Nuts.

Still making progress on the madder-red gown for my Viking ensemble.  Seams.  Lots of seams.  Tiny little stitches ...

Since my last update, I received my brooches (shiny!) and my book (informative!) in the mail.  I also got to work breaking a large bag of walnut hulls into smaller chips for use in a dyebath, and put my wool cloth through some mild torture to remove any sizing chemicals applied at the mill.  This involved hot water and washing soda (alkaline), which can be quite scary when handling raw wool, but I know as long as I don't agitate the fabric too much I won't end up with a giant lump of felt.

1.1 kg of the walnut hull chips went into a large plastic paint bucket, followed by 3 gallons of boiling water.  Stir, slap on the lid, and place the bucket in an out-of-the-way location.

One day and two nights later, I pried off the lid, fished out the biggest chunks of walnut hull with a slotted spoon, then poured the dye liquor through a mesh strainer to remove all but the smallest bits of solid dyestuff.  I poured 2 more gallons of boiling water over the soggy solids (again, in a large paint bucket), slapped on the lid, and it's now waiting alongside the bucket of strained liquid for the Husbeast to leave for work tomorrow so he doesn't have to suffer while the house is filled with the smell of simmering walnut dye.