Open Toe Socks

During my recent art residency in Queenstown, Tasmania I had some time to collect and experiment with plant dyes from a range of plants in the area. I created a colour range inspired by the landscape as well as a couple of extra colours before I ran out of time and had to come back to the mainland. While I'm working on the shawl with the colour palette I named 'The Colours of Queenstown', I thought I'd quickly knit up some open toe socks which have been on my to-make list for quite some time.

I love having bare feet but as you would expect, my feet get cold in winter, so I envisaged making a pair of toe-less socks to wear around the house. The socks are made from wool so they are extra cozy and have the added benefit of allowing me to practice yoga without slipping around, and to easily slip my thongs on for the walk to the compost heap to empty the bucket.

The red brown yarn for these socks was dyed with eucalyptus, hawthorn berries that I gathered on a drive to Hobart, and ash and iron mordants. I wasn't quite happy with the dye I extracted from the hawthorn berries so I threw it in the dye pot again experimenting with some eucalyptus and mordants until I was happy with the colour. The lighter brown is just eucalyptus leaves, a different species however, to the red brown dye.

Experimenting with plant dye is something I've dabbled in a little over the years and feels a lot like witchcraft. Knitting socks is one of my favourite things to do, every time I turn the heel it feels like magic and I can't quite believe how simple it actually is. I enjoy connecting with these ancient crafts almost lost to industrialisation and fast fashion, and love that I can create functional art with these skills.