(photo from archives Whisper In The Woods)
What I miss most right now, are the madrones , Arbutus Menziesii, a unique kind of tree native to the California Coast and mountain ranges, with an interesting rusty orange bark that sheds in papery sheets…
Madrones have an indescribable color if ever you were to witness, it turning at first shed a bright green, which changes in a matter of days to a greyish orange, then to browner rust.
( photo from archives… Gone Wild)
Among the madrones is a wonderful place to be; hidden, enchanting, and ever-so-quiet, and kept company right outside of the window where I loved to write, knit, or spin. I have tried to capture my madrones, blending color after color, overdoing the layers, but eventually I think I found close to the indescribable. A bit too much orange I think, but I have made notes of how to improve my next blending experiment.
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Meanwhile Emma seems to be perfectly happy in her new napping places…
I take her up nearly everyday to the woods, the place where the house was ~~ will be again~~ (which is as of last weekend a nice freshly excavated dirt area) , and she loves to sniff the air while riding in the back of the car with the windows down, and bark at the cows or horses she see’s along the way. I spoil her a lot these days, and we love our trip up the mountain to the ‘house’ … we meander as before, and I am knit-walking again!
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Techy stuff for Madrone …
- Color Saturated Neutral recipe. for base: approx. 3g each of primary colors, and 10g of white, blended thoroughly on blending board 3 times (see Blending For Tweed Simplified) Note: for a more dramatic tweed, with gobs of color splashing through, blend only once , then continue.
- Added 10g each of cinnamon, rose, and amber, layered again.
- Lift batt, and layered again. Too pink, so decided to add 5g of amber.
- Not brown enough, so added 5g Hazelnut, and layered to have a bit of brown streaking in the spin.
- Drew off rolags.
- Colorway of blend “Madrone”
- Note of improvement: Next time more red instead of the amber step, and more brown on last blend.
- See ALL color blending experiments & recipes archived in Tweed Chronicles
Jenjoyce Design 
I don’t know, I think thats pretty damn close! I did also think of fuzzy apricots. I’m SO glad you’re knit-walking again. XOXO
Baby steps… xx
Of course Emma is Happy, she is near to you and feels your love. What else is there?
Thanks Bob, ” Emma Rose” sends wags your way…
I’m so happy that you are able to spend time on your familiar ground. ❤️
xx
I’ve not seen these trees before. They are beautiful, as is your new blend.
I think you could also call the color ” burnt orange ” which is very popular.
So happy you are knit walking again. I adore the madrone. We have a lot of manzanita here in the lower areas of the Valley, Both have amazing wood growth. The color you have in this blend is the most fascinating one so far for me. I just love this color. As you know I spin mostly Shetland in natural shades, but this one here….I am tempted to play. TY for the techie stuff too!
I know you’re a natural fleece Spinner, but if you do try, post a photo for us to see. xx
I will…it will happen eventually, all due to you!
Your latest post ,, the madrones… YOU NAILED IT… Colors gorgeous. Can I order a sweater ? It’s the mountain and your love for it. Sweetheart …sending love michele
So true, Michele. xo
Did I nail it? Thank you! xx (( one day I can make you something ))
Fascinating to do such blending! What a neat color of trees! I had never heard of the Madrone tree before. I think you have nailed the color quite well. Very nice!
You have inspired me to do some blending of my own on my big Indigo Hound double pitch combs. It’s been so much fun! And I can create my own combed top this way so my more coarse Romney fiber will be shinier, smoother and the luster will gleam to make the colors sparkle. It’s easy to draft off the long fibers as a long strip and then spin. The resulting yarn will be wonderful as weft for tapestry weaving.
It’s lovely to see how you are doing so well. Big hugs! I rejoice to see that you are knit walking as you have before.
So glad you’re inspired to do some color blending , that is what I hoped for. You spin for tapestry weaving? Amazing!