Thursday, September 13, 2012

Got the blues


I am delighted with all the blues I was able to get from my freshly harvested indigo....the plants did really well and have even begun to flower which is huge, as I will bring one pot into the house for seed next year.  It is polygonum tinctoria and it was generous with one dip..I was able to do about
l0 skeins of l00 gm each and still get vivid blues with one dip each....I will harvest more next week and do multi dips and see how dark I can get but loved the colour with the one dip so stopped there..
the vat was able to continue without any freshening through the whole process, and I followed Jenny Deans recipe in Wild Colour.  One of the improvements from the past was her suggestion to dip in clear water the same temp as the bath, right after pulling out of the bath and before oxygenating....this seems to help a lot with regularity in colour, as all the flocking indigo falls away and does not leave splotches of dark blue on the fibre....great tip there.
Fall is falling, starlings chattering, and indigo flowering and still no fire in the woodstove, which is saving a lot of wood....we are still able to have morning coffees outside, and we practically live on our deck in the warm weather so we are stalling going inside as long as possible, even moved the
hot barbeque over to our table after dinner and were able to sit out until 7:30 last night spinning and
staying warm....it was like a wee fire...a bit less aesthetic perhaps....lol

5 comments:

Zenitude said...

What beautiful colour! I must give indigo a try but first I have to find some seeds.

cedar said...

I'll be happy to send you some should my plants survive and produe them..they are small like poppy seeds and one plant produces a lifetime supply..cedar

Ginny Huber said...

Speaking of inspiring.. great to know that this indigo, your own from seed..and with Jenny Dean's updated recipe worked so well; it will b einteresting too to see how the second dip works if you decide to go that route..so glad you found my blog and now I am moving along to look back at more of your postings..

cedar said...

Thanks Ginny...now very small flowers are beginning to bloom, so perhaps seeds? Nature is so so generous and we hardly deserve it...ever grateful...

Anonymous said...

wow such a nice color, hmmm makes me wonder if that plant would also survive in my garden.