Sunday, March 22, 2015

Quiet Reflection Sunday







And Spring arose on the garden fair,
Like the Spirit of Love felt everywhere;
And each flower and herb on Earth's dark breast
Rose from the dreams of it's wintry rest.


Percy Bysshe Shelley


Ah Spring and poetry go together. I can hardly wait
for the leaves to turn. Saw a robin the other day!
This photo was taken at a park not far from my home.
It is my favorite spot. Hope you have a wonderful
Sunday. I will be busy painting with my grandson.



Saturday, March 7, 2015

The Dye Pot






I've been busy with the dye pot again.

I call them my experiments. It feels like I am a scientist, madly working 
in my lab.

So I had some indigo and white fabric
and I wanted to see what it would 
look like dyed. As you can see from
the first picture, I laid some silk
ribbon and coins on the cloth. Then 
I rolled it up around a copper tube.

Meanwhile in the kitchen I had a 
large pot of water boiling to which
I added turmeric. Love turmeric, it 
is good for you too.

So once I had rolled the cloth around
the copper tube, I tied it on, varying
the spaces between ties. 

I then stuck it in the pot and boiled away for an hour. I turned the pot
off and left it to sit for 24 hours. 
After 24 hours I took the cloth out,
unrolled it and hung to dry. 

I like the lines the silk cloth made
on the fabric and the yellow color.
The copper coins did not show up,
or change the color of the dye. I'm
not sure why, but I will leave that 
to the chemists and just enjoy the
fabric. 

Note: I did run it through the dryer
and I pressed it to heat set the color.

Also, once I removed the fabric 
from the pot, I rinsed it out.

Hope you will try dyeing with 
natural products. It is great fun.

Have a good week. 

Sue

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