By Susan Eshelman

The "Guide to Dye Plants" offers an exceptional collection of information, painstakingly gathered over the years.

Here's some of the great information you'll find in "The Guide":

• A list of more than 450 common North American dye plants and trees
• Full descriptions of which individual plant parts can be used as dyestuffs (berries, bark, leaves, roots, etc.)
• Detailed lists of the colors (often multiple) that can be derived from each plant's dyestuffs, when used alone or combined with various mordants
• Chapter on wool mordanting, with tried-and-true recipes for various mordants (alum, iron, tin and copper)
• Color-specific lists of all the plants and dyestuffs that are sources of yellow, orange, reds and pinks, green, blue, purple, gray, black, browns and tans.
• Additional instructions for the preparation of dyestuffs, the dyeing process, fabric preparations and tests, procion print & screen paste recipes, working with Indigo, and much more

The "Guide to Dye Plants" also provides a wonderful suggested reading list. This CD-ROM includes a color image library of more than 170 dyeing plants along with a digital version of the book that opens is a browser and a Microsoft Word file. The Guide will become your wool and textile dyeing master book. It will encourage you to push the creative edges of your craft, and will stir you to a deeper love of the beauty inherent in Mother Nature.