I started the new year in the best way possible. Camping on a gorgeous bush block on the south coast of New South Wales with delightful friends and eco dyeing using plants straight from the bush.

I managed to score a couple of old horse shoes at a local market. I used one and wrapped my bundle around it. I only used leaves and bark from the property in my bundle. Stepping way out of my comfort zone, I had no idea if any of them would give any colour. It was pretty experimental for me and I'm not sure how I feel about the results. Certainly not as much of the wow factor of more recent attempts but it's growing on me.

The last few times I've done eco dyeing has been with at a friend's house and we've had four pots on the stove at the same time. It was great to pare things back and have a single steel pot over an open fire. I love pulling the smoky bundles out of the pot and smelling the wood smoke and leaves on the wool. It is such a wonderful sensory experience. Outdoors on an open fire is my favourite to eco dye, when it's with friends, it's even better!

Primitive fire + water + air + earth + spirit = magic.

It's hard to believe that all these incredible scarves came from the same dye pot. They're all so different, just like their makers!