But there was one happy exception: the burgundy and gold petals from the Mexican hats ...
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So the new plan is to wash out the steel wraps ...
and the copper wraps ...
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then over-dye them all with as many Mexican hat petals as I can harvest before the flowering season ends. Shouldn't be too hard to do ...
I am REALLY glad you didn't have this hobby when I was in high school. I can't imagine explaining what my Mom was hanging in the yard. Hahahaha
ReplyDeleteWindsor Forest would have been scandalized for sure (big wink)
DeleteYAY! I'm so delighted that you got such a magnificent and unexpected color from the Mexican hats; isn't it astonishing to think that burgundy can give you such a rich blue, almost looks like dark indigo. I think Liz that you got eleven out of eleven because all of your cloths, to my eye, are terrific with good color and story telling markings and in such a short amount of time. To a one, they are the kind of dyed cloths that I love, those random markings that speak to me so much of landscape. While I am not a very huge fan of yellows, your yellow cloths have tonal shadings from a bright yellow to a soft buttery color with hints of other colors that hold my attention and interest.
ReplyDeleteIn the second photo, the cloth on the left, looks to have green markings and I see a landscape forming in my mind with this cloth.
Still, there is no question that the burgundy Mexican hat cloth is mesmerizing in color and design. At first glance, I see a beautiful ancient Japanese kimono; then I see the essence of a stormy night both at sea and here in the desert. There is such a rich ancient feel to this cloth and if you do decide to over dye the other cloths with more Mexican hats, what a canopy of cloth you will have created.
I have to admit that I'm hoping the yellows will give a good green when mixed with the Mexican hats (actually ... Thimble flower seems the more apt name at this point).
DeleteThank you so much for sharing your burgundy leaf "recipe" leading to this wonderful result. I do wonder how fast the color will be ...
It has been a few days since I got my bluish green dye from the dried burgundy leaf branch and so far so good. I don't wash my cloths so the color holds probably more than washed cloths plus when I stitch one of my landscape collages, I try not to hang them on walls that get a lot of sun. The one cloth that I have in my kitchen that was dyed with madder and crab apple is the one with the most fading, color is more like apricot now.
DeleteWell, the cloths that I laundered definitely gave up their color ... I was probably too quick to let them go. The blue cloth got less intense as it dried (no surprise), but it's raining again so it's getting a rainwater rinse
Deletei don't know whether it's true or not, but i leave cloth hanging in intense sun after
Deletebringing out of the pot. Days. I somehow believe it Sets it.
But then, i don't use cloth how you do...making mostly collage things, not
things that will need to be washed because of use....
I laughed out loud when I read this ... we haven't seen the sun for more than ten minutes at a time for weeks! Well, maybe not that bad, but El Niño is definitely putting the kibosh on our usual sunny weather. So, I settled for a rainwater rinse.
DeleteAnd now I find myself reconsidering purpose ... if I am going to dye cloth with ephemeral things, I need to consider what its best use is for stitch. If I want to run it through the wash every week, natural dyeing is not a good choice. I can work with that.
Your cloths are ALL great! The purply-blue is wowza, but I do have a fondness for the greys…they're soothingly great for backgrounds.
ReplyDeleteGlad you gave a yes vote for gray as the purple-y blue is heading that way fast! Ah, but I have pictures of its first emergence and that will always maker smile!
Delete"make me smile" (not "maker" ... ha!)
Deletethe blue, well....so Blue and just great, but i love the steel wraps.
ReplyDeletefor me, this would be great success.....and all this, i think today i'll
go out to the Elderberry....it's Time....
you encourage and inspire...
Inspiration ... so happy to be the giver as well as the receiver of same!
Deleteo wow...i cannot understand your not satisfied with your cloth....i love it!
ReplyDeleteOh, I feel like such an ingrate after all these wonderfully supportive comments ... I guess I should say I was hoping for one of those transcendently beautiful eco-print botanical images that the Australuan dyers seem particularly good at ... one where you see not only the outline of leaves and petals, but the veining as well.
DeleteI shall be more appreciative of future results ... trying to find what the cloth is trying to tell me rather than imposing myself on it.
Ummm, that would be "Australian" ... where's the autocorrect when you really need it?
DeleteYou never cease to amaze, Liz. Your dyed cloths are fabulous - I love them all. What will you be doing with all this cloth when you're finished? I'm sure you have some incredible projects in mind. The top photo of the blue is just taking my breath away.
ReplyDeleteAh, sad to say the blue is quite fugitive. As for the others, I am thinking of playing with some patchwork practice a la Jude Hill's paperless piecing. Some samplers to document these dye trials, with some stitching to identify the dyestuffs ... unless something else pops into my head (which is entirely possible)
Deletelove those wild Mexican thimble hat flowers & all the experiments
ReplyDeleteI'm having so much fun it feels criminal ... though I haven't quite reached the point of bleeding fingers. You set a high bar!
Deletesometimes it is just expectation that ruins the fun...
ReplyDeleteI think I'll see things with different eyes next time around. I am learning and have found so many good teachers
DeleteWow, who knew the yellow/red of the Mexican hats would go lavender, what do you attribute that to?
ReplyDeleteI was hoping you could tell me ... ha!
DeleteOr rather a bluish purple, whatever it is i love it!
ReplyDeleteIt has grayed out, but still unmistakably blue. I'm actually overseeing it with more of the same to see what happens.
DeleteAt this point I don't know if it's the soy milk, the vinegar, the alum or the copper pot. So I keep using all four ... stay tuned for more results.
That would be "overdyeing" not "overseeing" (dyac)
DeleteWhen it gets warmer here in IL, I must try my hand at fabric dyeing. Spring hopes eternal!
ReplyDeleteGood luck ... I've gotta say that the best colors are right out of the vat when the cloth is still wet. Even using Synthropol for laundering, color is lost. And still more fades away with time. I do like India Flint's idea though ... if it fades, just re-dye!
DeleteP.S. I got the spelling wrong ... here's a link to the laundry detergent I use after dyeing: http://www.dharmatrading.com/chemicals/synthrapol-detergent.html
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