[Regia-NA] [Fwd: Natural Dye Guide - Wool & Fiber Color]

[Carolyn Priest-Dorman]

Magnus wrote:

>However, I thought someone -might- like to have it and
>give us a review.

I have not seen this book.  Word of this self-published work came across 
the SCA_NaturalDyes list in late September 2001, when it was offered on 
E-bay.  Mistress Anneliese wrote to the author and received this response 
which she posted.

>Thanks for your inquiry.  This is a self-published book, and isn't
>available in bookstores.    Someday I may 'formally' publish it.  The
>content that's 'compiled' is primarily mordanting and wash recipes, culled
>and refined from years of experience with other teachers, books and active
>work.  However, the majority of content in this Dye Guide is the result of
>my personal research into dyestuffs - collecting, processing and testing
>dye lot colors.  I think (and quite a few advanced  dyeing folks have
>agreed) that this is the most comprehensive list of dyestuffs available.
>You might be interested to cruise through the feedback records.  Lots of
>happy weavers and dyers have written with their comments.

At that time (September 2001) the author also had a website 
(www.sorceryn.com, which seems to be closed to visitors now) where she also 
offered for sale the "Green Witch's Guide to Dye Plants, Color."  Although 
I didn't visit the website, AnneLiese reported to the list at the time that 
'the same person is also aparently an "authority" on Trance Hallucination 
and Tarot.'

You can fiind the discussion on SCA_NaturalDyes under the topic "Dye Plants 
Guide on Ebay," presuming that the archives are still there.  (I'm not a 
Yahoo member, so I can't see any of the archives and therefore don't know 
if they're there or not.  I'm basing all this on the information I saved on 
my own computer.)

Magnus quotes the author as saying to him:

>  The Guide was featured at the International Color Conference
>in Ames, Iowa, and is being used as part of many art
>education programs.

I gave a paper at this conference ("Colour Congress 2002" in May 2002 at 
Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa).  I do not remember seeing this work 
at any of the vendor booths, hearing it mentioned at any paper 
presentation, or hearing any buzz about it at all during any casual 
conversation.  According to the Proceedings listing of attendees, she did 
not attend the conference.  (She might have attended without registering in 
advance, I suppose; I know some SCA people who did that.)  She is not 
listed in the Proceedings as having presented her work in any form (i.e., 
no poster presentation).  So I'm not sure I'd say her guide was "featured."

So there's my two cents, and a little more besides, FWIW.  If anyone has 
seen or used this book, I'd like to hear about it.


Carolyn Priest-Dorman              Þóra Sharptooth
  http://www.cs.vassar.edu/~capriest/thora.html