The talk was far-reaching; touching on bio-accumulators of alum, historical dye-use, and the motivations behind such colourful figures as Edward Bancroft - double agent during the American revolution and author of a treatise denying the possibility of a plant-based mordant. Also presented during the talk were some geologic underpinnings to cultural dye practices. Central to the lecture, however, was symplocos a bio-accumulator of alum that can be used as a mordant.

[Together with Sara Goodman and William Ingram, Michel Garcia has put together an overview of dyeing with symplocos - including recipes for different fiber types. The PDF can be found on the Mawia web site.]

Next up in the lecture series is Adrienne Sloan - Unravelling Political Knitting. From Mme Defarge to yarn bombing - Adrienne will take the audience through knitting with intent.  Not to be missed!