Every now and then, I get obsessed by colour, this time it's orange and yellow. I have been dyeing wool with turmeric and sappanwood recently, both giving the colours of Tibetan Buddhists monk's robes. They have such clear colours very similar to the nasturtiums in the garden. Colour is fascinating to play with, if you single ply some silk then ply together with wool, interesting shading and contrasting colour will appear when dyed. You can even get obssessive about spinning and dyeing ending up with too much wool to knit. As an inspiration Alison Daykin and Jane Deane have been doing this for years.
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| Turmeric chips |
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| Sappanwood |
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| Elderflower made a couple of weeks ago http://northstoke.blogspot.com/2010/01/japanese-dyes.html |
Wow, it's like stepping back in time. Do you wander around trying different plants and flowers to see what colours they will make or do you just follow what is in a book?
ReplyDeleteHi Jarmara, flowers do not make dyes, its normally the plant as a whole or the roots where the dye comes from. My partner has a collection of dye materials in the studio, mostly he uses mineral dyes for the scrolls..http://northstoke.blogspot.com/2010/01/japanese-dyes.html
ReplyDeleteBut I've been dyeing for years, sometimes with natural stuff other times chemical dyes, its all fascinating ;)
What lovely colours. WHEN we move, I am planning to really get to grips with my craft hobbies again. At the moment, I am finding it hard to focus on leisure! Having said that, I found myself UP TO DATE (!!!) with housework today, and i couldn't garden because of the heavy rain, so I sat down, listened to the Archers omnibus, and set a few stitches in my Devon village x-stitch which I haven't touched for a year . . .
ReplyDeleteI would love to get some spinning and dyeing done - I have at least brought my spinning wheel into the sitting room now . . .
I remember the bag of sheep's wool I left last year when we came to visit, your garden is looking lovely. Tried to say something on your blog but eblogger is playing up for me!
ReplyDeleteYes I am keeping my fingers crossed for your house, our cottage still has the bathroom suite sitting on the floor downstairs and no sign of builder and plumber, though there are signs of stirring this week....
I could swear but won't ;)