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Ruby Slippers

Sunshine Coast, British Columbia, Canada

My inspiration comes from Nature, the magical and mysterious and my inner life. I never knew what I wanted to be when I grew up. Now I realize how I want to be, how I want to live. I want to live with a feeling of wonder and magic, gratitude and appreciation, curiosity and discovery, love and joy, living gently and kindly, making a positive contribution to life as I go through my days doing things I love. Heather Apple

Interests: spinning, knitting (my Ravelry name is WootForWool), dyeing (especially with natural materials), felting, gardening, being in Nature, making little beings and creatures, books and things magical

Recent Activity

Hi Debra, thanks very much for your interest. I don't have an email list or newsletter so it's a matter of checking back to my blog now and then. Take care and happy dyeing!

Commented Jun 28, 2017 on lots of dyeing at Ruby Slippers

Hi Lynda, I haven't done light fastness tests on the avocado, broom, horsetail or myrobalan as I've read in trustworthy sources such as Karen Casselman and Jenny Dean that they are lightfast. I haven't done tests on the red maple leaves and really should. Last summer I did a variation of India Flint's Stuff, Steep and Store method with some pink, purple and blue flowers such as purple petunias, pink silver dollar flowers, blue iris flowers and pink and purple hollyhocks on both silk and wool. The results were very interesting. I did light fastness tests and found they did fairly well except for the purple petunias. I'm going to continue experimenting this summer, take pictures of the results and I'll do a blog on what I find. Happy dyeing!

Commented May 9, 2017 on lots of dyeing at Ruby Slippers

Thank you Bhavani. It's such a joy to work with the beautiful colours of Nature.

Commented Oct 7, 2016 on lots of dyeing at Ruby Slippers

Beautiful colours from Nature. Right now I have wool dyeing in a pot of arbutus bark. Happy spring!

Commented Mar 29, 2016 on rainbow shawl at Ruby Slippers

I finished my latest knitting project - a rainbow shawl knitted out of lopi wool dyed with natural dyes. Every year our Sunshine Coast Spinners and Weavers Guild has a stash day where members bring items from their stash that they no longer want. Over the years I accumulated a... Continue reading

Posted Mar 27, 2016 at Ruby Slippers

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drop spindle day

On Valentine's Day, Sunshine Coast Spinners and Weavers Guild members Dorothy and Verna came to my house to teach a group of Sun Haven Waldorf School teachers, parents and children how to use the drop spindle. Dorothy showed Mandy, the handicrafts teacher, how to warp the school's rigid heddle loom... Continue reading

Posted Feb 23, 2016 at Ruby Slippers

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christmas gifts

Now that Christmas is over I can post pictures of some of the gifts I made for Christmas. Here are a couple of little flower faeries, all made with naturally dyed wool. I also made a Japanese indigo little being but forgot to take her picture. And a little gnome.... Continue reading

Posted Jan 10, 2016 at Ruby Slippers

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a gift of mushrooms

I live in a rural area and live way at the back of my house so I was surprised when I heard a banging at my door one night. Who on earth could that be at this hour? I wondered. It was a neighbour bringing me a bag of lobster... Continue reading

Posted Oct 31, 2015 at Ruby Slippers

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little bags and felted balls

I love making little bags out of leftovers. This little bag is knitted from wool that I painted with Gaywool dyes and then spun into a single. It's stuffed with dyed silk hankies. A member of our Sunshine Coast Spinners and Weavers Guild gave me bits and pieces of wool... Continue reading

Posted Oct 25, 2015 at Ruby Slippers

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Thank you very much Darlene. And thank you for your Facebook friend request. Have a lovely Thanksgiving.

Commented Oct 9, 2015 on small dyed book at Ruby Slippers

onion skin shawl

In the summer of 2011 I dyed some wool with onion skins using a variety of mordants. I spun the wool and put it in a basket for our Sunshine Coast Fibreshed display. This past winter I started knitting it into a shawl which I recently finished. The green wool... Continue reading

Posted Aug 12, 2015 at Ruby Slippers

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Japanese indigo dyeing day

This is the third summer that some members of our Sunshine Coast Spinners and Weavers Guild have grown and dyed with Japanese indigo. I have six garbage pails planted with Japanese indigo – 3 plants per pot. This is more than I need but I grow extra for those who... Continue reading

Posted Aug 2, 2015 at Ruby Slippers

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smoke bush gift

When I came home from our Guild's spin-in yesterday I found that a Good Fairy had left a smoke bush on my driveway. I guessed who the Good Fairy was - my friend Dorothy knows that a smoke bush is a bundler's Bliss. This morning I planted it and it... Continue reading

Posted May 27, 2015 at Ruby Slippers

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horsetail and garden dye plants

Unfortunately this picture of horsetail is taken in my garden – in a bed which has been overrun with it. I have to admit, however, that this time of year it’s really quite pretty. I cooked up a basket of horsetail - pulling it up where it’s invading the path.... Continue reading

Posted May 21, 2015 at Ruby Slippers

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stuff, steep, store, bask

It’s time to clear the frozen flowers from last year’s garden out of the freezer. Top left to right: fresh silver dollar flowers, fresh orange rhododendrons, frozen pink and purple hollyhocks. Bottom left to right: frozen purple iris, frozen delphinium flowers, frozen purple petunias. I used a version of India... Continue reading

Posted May 7, 2015 at Ruby Slippers

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I wanted a quick knitting project and I love making little bags. So I knitted this little bag from curly mohair dyed with natural dyes. Continue reading

Posted May 1, 2015 at Ruby Slippers

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the mushroom family comes home

Some years ago I needle felted a family of mushrooms and put them in our Sunshine Coast Spinners and Weavers Guild’s Christmas sale. They sold, and while I felt happy that they went out into the world, I was also a bit sad to see them go. A couple of... Continue reading

Posted Apr 22, 2015 at Ruby Slippers

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from the dye pot

My dye pot has been simmering away on my deck. Winter, when my garden is asleep, is a wonderful time for bark dyeing. Last summer a friend gave me some apple bark peeled from pruned branches and I put it to soak in a back corner of my deck. And... Continue reading

Posted Apr 16, 2015 at Ruby Slippers

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Thank you for your lovely comment Gloria. I am happy to have discovered your beautiful blog and share a bit in your inner and outer Journey.

Commented Mar 9, 2015 on summer sunshine on a winter day at Ruby Slippers

basket of summer

When I was dyeing with Japanese indigo last summer I pre-mordanted one roving and some silk with alum so that I could experiment with over dyeing. I decided to raid the stash of frozen flowers I have stuffed in my freezer and use them to over dye the blue wool... Continue reading

Posted Feb 4, 2015 at Ruby Slippers

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Thank you. It is comfy to wear and warmer than I'd expected - not for really cold winters but fine for our winters here in Coastal British Columbia.

Commented Jan 29, 2015 on ruana at Ruby Slippers

My nature is such that I usually make small ‘useless’ things such as treasure holders, little bags, magic wand holders and small books. So it was an undertaking for me to make something large and useful. This ruana is knitted with Gaywool-dyed handspun and mohair as well as miscellaneous novelty... Continue reading

Posted Jan 19, 2015 at Ruby Slippers

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I love the colours from Nature. And what always amazes me is how all the different colours go so well together.

Commented Jan 13, 2015 on alder bark dyeing at Ruby Slippers

The summer before last I got some bark from a tree freshly cut down and I soaked it for weeks and got a darker colour. I planned to do the same with this bark but after a couple of days it started to smell mouldy - possibly because the bark had been picked up out of the mud and it's very wet here in the winter. Coastal British Columbia is mould capital! I love your blog!

Commented Jan 11, 2015 on alder bark dyeing at Ruby Slippers

alder bark dyeing

Even though my garden is sleeping my dye pot is still busy. For years, a group of alder trees has been leaning precariously over our community mailboxes. Last month they were cut down. My neighbours probably thought – oh good, now they won’t fall on our mailboxes. I thought –... Continue reading

Posted Jan 9, 2015 at Ruby Slippers

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