From Rosa's Walk

From one of my favorite and most inspiring places, 

a ervilha cor de rosa . . . 

lichens

In Gralheira the ground was covered with lichens. We collected a bag of them without even knowing it would be most suitable for dyeing. At night dried by the fire and the next day, back in Lisbon, put them in a pot with water and let boil for one minute. It seemed that no water would change color and I thought the experience would not work, but joined them with a skein ofBeiroa and let cook at low heat for about an hour. After this time the wool had won a very pretty golden color. It was not necessary to add vinegar or any of the cheeks that require many natural pigments to settle to wool.

It's a topic you feel like studying and experimenting. Some clues to read:

Pigments and natural dyes between the arts and sciences : abstracts of a symposium conducted in Évora in 2005. Dye plants : an article by Maria do Carmo Serrano, Ana Lopes, Ana Isabel Career Seruya. The History and Technique of Arraiolos Rugs : Masters thesis Rita Carvalho Teixeira de Oliveira Marques who will read from beginning to end. Dyeing with Lichens & Mushrooms : Mushrooms blog about Cornell University.

thanks, rosa.