Madder Week

Dyeing with Madder Root all week.  Soaked the roots for a week or so, then did a solor dyeing which yielded a salmon colored skein (not pictured).  Then ground the soaked roots in the blender and did a dye bath, simmering soaked wool yarn for 1 hour.  I put the blended root in a bag, but I really should have sieved it first, as little bits of dyestuff remain in the wool.  I did 2 more dye baths on the next two days which yielded different shades...the brick red becoming more burnt orange.  In my readings this AM, I learned that leaving out the Cream of Tartar from the mordant bath would yield stronger reds and including it throws the range more to the orange.

The silk tie was bundled with eucalyptus, cherry leaf, yarrow sprays and iron nails, simmered 1 hour, left overnight and opened.

The cherry bark was soaked for about 3 weeks and simmered an hour, left to cool, then the soaked yarn was added the next day and simmer 1 hour...forgotten for a day or two before removing.  I like the color, quite golden and looks lovely with the madder skeins.

Eucalyptus Cinerea Experiment

I was following a discussion about eco printing with Euclyptus leaves and decided to try a little experiment.  I used 3 scarves mordanted with alum and wrapped them with fallen Eucalyptus cinerea leaves and a few other ones...rose and red amaranth, all bundled around a bamboo stalk.

I boiled one bundle in a stainless pot, boiled the second in an iron pot, and steamed the third in an aluminum steamer.  I cooked the bundles for an hour, let them cool in their pots, and then waited a week, keeping them moist.

The 2 boiled bundled took on a deep red (from the amaranth) which eventually washed out.  The rose leaves were most visible on the steamed bundle.  There doesn't seem to be much difference between the two boiled bundles.  I am still looking for some of the blues others seem to get with the iron.

Scarf boiled for an hour in stainless pot

Scarf boiled for an hour in iron pot

Scarf steamed for an hour in aluminum steamer