March 9, 2011

No Cooking!

Not much cooking in the last couple of weeks while Mr Notjustnat was away on an overseas trip. All that cooking on the stove was this eco dyeing with the new found eucalyptus leaves my friend Jacky brought me. All the time I have been doing eco dyeing I have never got imprints from any of the plants or flowers I tried, but this magic Eucalyptus Silver Dollars (Eucalyptus Cinerea) has given me beautiful imprints on my vintage kimono silk. 


I didn't expect the leaves to give me any imprint so I just wrapped them into a bundle. I wished I had arranged the leaves to get the most out of the prints. Well, next time I know what to do. It pays to read India Flint's book Eco Colour before dyeing!  


Two different pieces of dyed silk. The piece on the left was immersed under the leaves and cut up branches in the liquid and the piece on the right was wrapped around the leaves and sat on top. I have a big plan for my dyed fabric. I'm making a big quilt! 


Here is how it looked before the steaming process started. I must tell you the boiling gave out a beautiful eucalyptus scent. This week I have been looking out for more of the silver dollars leaves on my walks and I'm happy to report that I have spotted a few already. They are not as common as the other types of eucalyptus trees, but if you know what you are looking for you will find them.

I'm so delighted to get a comment on my last post eco dye using bark from the master of eco dyeing, India Flint herself. She told me something I didn't know about bark.  India Flint will be giving a 3-day workshop here at Beautiful Silks in Dec. 2011. Did you know that India's new book Second Skin is due out soon!


13 comments:

Queen Of The Armchair aka Dzintra Stitcheries said...

now nat look at all the interesting things you can cook up with mr not just nat not there haha...look great and what an interesting and unusual quilt it will make...love dzintra

Simone de Klerk said...

Mmmmm, the process looks very interesting and the result is stunning. But, I don't think this would really be my kind of work.
Love to see it though!

Nedra said...

How wonderful that you get to learn from a master.
Beautiful dye designs.

deanna7trees said...

your mention of the silver dollar leaves has me thinking. when i was a child, my aunt who lived in connecticut (cold in winter) used to grow a silver dollar plant. the leaves would be green but when dried, the green part would fall away leaving a beige translucent type leaf that was beautiful. my mom had bunches decorating our home. is this the silver dollar plant you speak of? i will google to see if i can find a picture.

Anonymous said...

Ooh Nat, I just love your new fabrics and it is so much fun to hear of your adventures with eco-dying. Personally, cooking is overrated and am trying to stay out of the kitchen. Wonderful ideas for new uses of my pots and pans, giggle. Hugs to you and keep up the wonderful work, it is all just beautiful.
Cheers,
Bobbie

Needled Mom said...

Those fabrics are wonderful. What a thrill it must have been to see a comment by someone you admire so much. I will have to check and see if I can find her book locally.

Peggy said...

Nat, oh my heavens alive! It is so amazing that those leaves gave that color. Wow.
I think Deanna is talking about the "money plant" called lunaria -- I will have to investigate eucalyptus to see if any varieties grow where I live. I sort of doubt it but who knows?

Janet said...

You really are wonderful at the dying process, it all looks so interesting and fun. I love the silver dollar out of all of the gums.

Suedio said...

Nat, what wonderful results. Can't wait to see your big quilt!

Regards, Sue

Herm said...

Nat, love the color and leaf prints from the eucalyptus "silver dollar" tree - did you use any other type of fabric besides silk?

Queen of the Tea Cosies said...

Clever clever clever and beautiful too.
I think I said this once before but I'm saying it again - is there ANYTHING you won't put your creative mind to?

Dot said...

I am enjoying your dyeing blog posts Nat. Look forward to seeing what you create with this fabric. You are the queen of dyeing!

Kitiya Palaskas said...

Wow! I love the results, the fabric kind of looks like cuts of meat..
x

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