After the mordanting, the (so much more rewarding) dyeing. Four hours straight on a blustery day. I shared the dye pots with Annette who creates lovely needle felted things. She dyed roving, I dyed my linen and cotton fabrics and thread.
This was the set-up, on the sidewalk in front of Craftology: two heavy-duty gas camping burners, a lot of pots filled with the most interesting dye stuff and a clothes line. We switched out pots, as they became too cold and rotated colors. Indigo was definitely a favorite of both of us. It is just such a thrill to take out your piece and watch it turn the loveliest blue as it reacts with the oxygen.
This is the cochineal pot in front, the only not exactly plant-dye of them, since cochineal is a tiny bug, which, when dried and ground, releases a deep pink (sometimes red, depending on water quality, heat, concentration and other temperamental circumstances).
This is Brazilwood. It yields this perfect warm shade of brownish-reddish-orange.
This was an experiment with lichen, but it didn’t give off a lot of color at all. It could be the way it was set up or our half-hearted try, distracted by the more flashy and vibrant colors we had available.
These are other trials Diana got passed on from somebody. They certainly looked interesting, but didn’t show stunning results. Same as above, I guess.
Despite the picture being a little dark you can see the bright yellow of Osage Orange in the back. It is the bark of the Osage Orange tree that performs this trick.
A good sunny spot for drying my embroidery/crocheting thread.
Brazilwood and madder root.
Cochineal – what an amazing pink!
This is how I felt after hours of dipping things into dye pots, exchanging rinsing water in big buckets, pondering about color combinations and sequences and withstanding the wind. Thank you, Diana, for a wonderful day and such a lovely result!*
*I will have to take pictures of my washed and folded fabric, the harmony of the colors is really something else…
