The Fall Weaving

Handwoven black cottolin and handspun wool from 1991 naturally dyed with wild madder root. 36 X 36 inches. 2024.

Bedstraw is an invasive plant in Vermont and much of the Northeast that grows in fields and ruins grass for hay. It is poisonous to most grazing livestock so the plant is avoided and grows abundantly. I spent all of Fall, until the ground froze solid, digging up bedstraw for the roots. The roots of this bedstraw plant are wild madder and produce orange to red clay colors when used in natural dyeing.

Photography by Marie Machin.