This year I grew my first Hopi Black Dye Sunflowers. As seen by the photo below they did quite well. I started harvesting the heads when I noticed the birds were starting to go after the seed. I cut the stems about a foot from the head and bundled them together to hang upside down in the garage. I continued harvesting for several weeks as some of the seeds really didn’t look ready. Today I brought the biggest head in and removed the seeds. They do not come out easily. If anyone has tips on how to remove them I am eager to learn. The largest head produced 131 grams of seeds. I have a lot more heads to work on.
The sunflowers have inspired me to invite some fiber friends for a dye day so hopefully it won’t be too cold next week as we gather with our seeds and plants to experiment with various fibers and mordants.
Judith Colvin Designs 