Going Green

Carrot tops, and they came out great on the silk/wool skeins...the centre one is straight carrot, simmered, then strained, and the two outer ones had 1/2 tsp iron added the last l5 min. of the bath...I love them and now want to do more.. I haven't had a huge success with greens so this is very "sagey" and lovely tones...I rinsed the iron ones right away in really hot water, same temp as the dye bath, so that the fibre wouldn't be harsh, and it is very soft and as it was cool today we had a fire going so they are hanging next to the woodstove in all their glory....so greening the world one skein at a time...lol

dyeing to dye

Here is the photo of the multi dyeing I did with cochineal, fustic with logwood, and logwood...sort of the color of springtime apple trees and I love it. Yet another batch I am reticent to part with...I must stop this and take them to market as they can't all be for me. The market has been bountiful and two more to go for the summer, but am selling really well and the natural dyes are a big hit with everyone...I put my acid dyes from last year all on sale for half price, and that has slowly been disappearing...it was just too much to label and sort, and I have basically decided to do the naturals only...of course, once said you can never be sure, but that is of my mind right now. With a few days of rain we went mushrooming today, but no luck. a little early perhaps, but I did hear some Prince and Chanterelles were spotted.
I have carrot tops on the boil, and wool and silk mordanting as I write so I am looking forward to trying a new green. I will post the results. I am boiling carrot tops, then will stain and put in a few skeins of silk/wool, then the last thirty minutes of dyeing add a quarter tsp. of iron, and see what results I can get... I loved the green from doing that with the fustic, so I will see what I can get with carrots. Don't really have much Queen Ann's Lace here so the carrot tops are the next best thing. The tansy is rampant here, and so is the weld in my garden so they will be next into the pot.
I put a stat counter on my site as I was feeling a little alone, and although most people don't actually leave a post, which I can totally understand, at least I feel that some are getting the pleasure from the site anyway. I like having the counter...56 in just four days...a bit mind blowing to say the least. I really should be selling wool on this site, but I just haven't gotten that together yet...perhaps in the fall and winter...

Take Two

Next batch of rainbow dyeing with natural extracts took place today, with great success, alas the camera didn't really agree, but in real wool life, they turned out great...I did several batches of silk/merino alum and COT, and mixed up some fustic with a drop of logwood and got the greatest greens, that was in Earthues by Michelle Whipplinger, and she mentioned under Fustic that you could get green but adding a bit of logwood....she of course, is more exact, but I am apparently allergic to exactness...from birth, could be genetic, but I don;t really intend to repeat exactly, anything I do, so it does take thepressure off me to be exact, but I do keep the odd note about it so I can remember what I have done, just not the measurements exactly....
I mixed up the fustic, logwood, madder/lac, cochineal, all in extracts, and then had fun mixing and playing...this time I used a large sponge applicator, it took longer but was less messy, and less liquid to mix although you have to be very careful to get all sides if you want solid bands of color....I did this early in the morning so by an hour ago, they had cooled and could be rinsed, without much loss of color, which is great...I microwaved them for 7 minutes, resting every couple of minutes for it to cool slightly, then left them bundles in there saran wrap, and plastic baggie until cool....so cool I do really appreciate being able to do this technique with natural dyes....I also cooked up the flower tops of the goldenrod I gathered last week off the highway...
and it initially came out a clear yellow, but I did cook it a little hard, and then the color browned slightly, I later, right that was too late, read that keeping it at simmer was best to keep color clear...I have read this before on yellows so perhaps I should try and remember this...
although the color it came out was great. I also have some giant knotweed that I gathered which I cooked up into a deep deadly caramel, so I will dye with that tomorrow. for now I will see which now batch I will keep for myself, as I definitely feel possessive about some yarns, not being able to repeat et al ...lol next I will be gathering the weld and hanging to dry as I have quite a few plants...and I love that clear yellow it gives.

I could hardly wait

Hideously colourful, just what I wanted...I have planned for this day for awhile, ordering extracts of dyes, as I am very much for the easy route, life being so short and all, and then researching, and then finally multidyeing with natural dyes, thanks to several folks out there in internet land...so generous everyone has been with their data...having been a vat rainbow dyer for at least 24 years, the folks expected multi colored dyeing from me...I, was getting a little bored with it, with the acid dyes, and voila, back to the future, with natural dyeing, revisited again from the late sixties...and then multi colored skein and roving dyeing which is so not!!! boring it was like a whole new adventure in fibre land, and of course loaded with sideroads, which Iplan to explore in ad nausea...to some but oh so fun to me...so here are the yarns of the day....the olive green kid mohair and silk boucle, you;'ll have to believe me on the color as it didn't photograph well, green being so rare a color for me in natural dyeing that it was like taking a picture of a miracle...lol

I started with the premordanted alum, and cream of...and then put them in osage bath, then removed them after thirty minutes and added a solution of hot water and half tsp. of iron, ferrous something, and then the olive colors came out...I am thrilled, it is sort of a golden olive but at least I have some greens happening without overdyeing in indigo and woad...just don;'t want to do an indigo bath right now...so I am thrilled with the color, and it would look so elegant with soft mauves and deep purples...I do love color.

the multi skeins were a lesson in patience, which all natural dyeing is for me, and so I waiting overnight before unwrapping and rinsing...some needed almost no rinsing , the logwood purple needed a lot...but I do like the colors, the multi color one with cochineal, logwood purple, and fustic is my favourite, but the silks are wonderful in thesun....so this was a safe experimental journey, but I can see so many roads to travel into this realm, mixing my own extracts more, although I did mix some fustic and brazilwood together, which are the orange tones....oh for retirement and a big lottery win, I would so be dyeing full time...

lac se daisical

New Lac dye from Aurora silk, and it is very lovely, compared to the lac from Earthues, which is more bluish...this is definitely a dark pure raspberry and very rich, richer than it appears here. I did soak the silk in cr. of and alum, and let it sit in the mordant overnight and then another day before rinsing and dyeing. I also put some rinsed in the fridge for a few days, and today did some multi dyeing with some extracts, like fustic, madder, cochineal, logwood purple, and brazilwood. Then I microwaved and now I am practicing patience as they cool in the wraps. I also am not sure how long to leave them so overnight might be the answer. This is so not me, as I love to open them right away.
I will post the results, they are all silk or silk/wool blends and already skeined up. Next I am going to do some silk roving and see what comes of that. this waiting is a bit much, no wonder I am not a potter, I would definitely be opening the kiln too soon...