happy weekend all! we are settling in for another scorcher day, so i am hiding out in our basement suite which stays nice and cool for the most part. i may try and find myself a shady patch outside to sit and stitch in a moment, but first i wanted to share some recent natural dye results with you. my mom had given me a beautiful bouquet of red dahlias from her garden a while back, but after they were enjoyed and the flowers shrivelled up, i saved the heads. after soaking for a few days in water, i had a murky brown liquid to work with - that is what you see on the left with some fabrics dyeing away. i also mentioned a couple weeks ago that i had gathered a bunch of oregon grape berries on a forest walk. after simmering in a pot for a hour or so, i strained the liquid and used that for my second dye batch (on the right).
i think i ended up with some lovely autumnal colours, an almost dusty rose from the berries and a nice golden tone from the dahlias. with the berries i dyed silk, wool and washing linen, and the dahlias just the wool and linen. i need to mordant some more fabrics soon so i can try dyeing with mushrooms (if it ever rains again so we can get some 'shrooms). you may have seen in my friday flickr faves some gorgeous fungi dyeing from Lisa that i am in awe of.
and to some other berries that i definitely am not dyeing with - blackberries! this heat is making the berries quite happy and they are ripening all over the place. i hope to get out and pick some more this afternoon. i am filling up the freezer (okay, and also filling up my belly) for winter baking and smoothies, but a couple friends and i have also hatched a plan to take a large crop over to the local u-brew place and make some blackberry wine. yum.
okay, best get back to my stitching - this piece is taking too much time and i am feeling the deadline crunch! must finish this weekend so i can send my pieces of to Schmancy for Plush You!
9 comments:
out collecting mushrooms this morning to print and dye with.
The colors you obtained are just gorgeous
lovely lovely colours
I was out picking blackberries with a friend this morning. We were aware that a local bear had been near, as the purple piles of poop told us! We filled our buckets, and then moved on when we heard rustling in the bushes ahead of us. Berries enough for everyone to have, we left the area to the locals.
Your fabric dyeing is so lovely.
some great colors there! did you mordant your fabric or dye it straight? i think the oregon grape did fantastic.
im doing some cortinarius dyeing this weekend and my family hates the smell.
these are such rich colors
I'm so happy you got such nice colors !
happy weekend to you !
oxox
Beautiful dying results K! Lush autumnal color. Can't wait to see what you make with them.
Wow, beautiful dyeing! I just love that yellow. Blackberries are my favorite.
A U-Brew place?? I've never heard of such a thing, but that sounds amazing! You'll have to post your results. :) I turned my exuberant crop of blackberries into jam and cobbler.
just a quick question...when you soak your flower heads, do you then boil the liquid and the add fabric and boil or do you just put fabric into liquid in jar and leave a few weeks? thanksxlynda
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