Like the title? Another paronomasia for you. Get it? As in, Dieing and becoming compost! Maybe this one wasn’t so funny; composted death didn’t find play in my tired imagination so I was left with that boner.

So what’s going on with these postings? Well, I had this bright idea to give Caroline 40 gifts for her 40th birthday and over November I chased, read, talked, researched all matter of things pertaining to fiber, yarn, dyeing, spinning, knitting and was coming up short finding enough gifts that were somehow meaningful. Every so often inspiration would strike, like this coup when I ran into the work of Kimberly Baxter Packwood of Prairie Fibers in Iowa. Kimberly dyes using an unusual technique of rusting, composting, and fermenting substances on fiber, yarn, and cloth giving stunning results. It was great finding the author of the two books dealing with these unique processes; she dedicated and signed them for Caroline.