Some Dye Results

Last Saturday I opened all the dye bundles I did earlier and I got some surprising results to share with you. Some Instagram friends keep asking me if I would share a dyeing tutorial on my blog. I told them, I don't really write tutorials because I'm too busy working in my day job. I dye for myself because I love it, but I'm happy to answer any questions you may have about plants, method etc. So leave me a comment and I will be happy to answer you. 

The first two bundles I did over a week ago. I had some eucalyptus leaves leftover from before Christmas. I didn't want to waste any of them knowing that they would give me 100% result! Lately I don't just use one kind of leaves. I like mixing several dye materials in the same bundle. The trouble is, sometimes I forget what I put in the bundles! I also get carried away with the dyeing and don't stop to photograph what I do. 

I wrapped up two bundles using eucalyptus leaves for the main dye source. I sprinkled grated purple carrot in one bundle. The second bundle I used walnut leaves, round eucalyptus leaves and the rest of grated purple carrot. I steamed the bundles for one hour and left them to cool overnight. The next day I dropped both bundles in a walnut bath that I boiled in a copper pot. I left the bundles soaking for 1 week.

The top bundle contains walnut leaves, grated purple carrot and round eucalyptus leaves. The second bundle has only grated purple carrot and iron bark eucalyptus leaves. The results are in the third photo. I called the pair Liberty and William Morris.

The next bundle I dyed using the Christmas bouquet including poinsettia, kangaroo paw and other leaves. I steamed it for two hours and left this bundle in an oak bath for two weeks. The poinsettia leaves left very good leaf imprints, but the red flowers only left purple and blue marks. I quite like the combinations of the imprints on this piece.

More pieces from the bundles including a silk scarf and a plain piece from the walnut bath. 

In one of the bundle I dyed a cotton tank-dress. It's fun to dye something wearable sometimes. I wore it to work on Monday and got lot of compliments from my colleagues. 

I did some hand quilting on this little quilt. I started just before Christmas, but couldn't get it finished. I hanged it in our en-suite. The quilt sits perfectly well on the red wall. 

Does anyone have a favourite corner or shelf that you place anything you can't find spot for. My spot is on this hutch in the dinning room. The Japanese vintage blue and white plate is the new addition to the spot. I picked it up at our local op-shop last weekend. Every now and again I pick up something interesting at op-shops. 

New Year has got off to a good start. We have planned our holidays for later in the year. Work is getting busier with the new semester starting soon. There is a nice routine about going at work which I'm very happy about. Having a day job is a blessing. I love going to work and spend a different life enjoying my workplace. Hope you are all enjoying whatever you are doing, and keep well.

Until next time

Nat

Bits and Pieces

Sometimes I have too many things and photos to share with you. I could split them into 2 posts, but I know I won't feel as excited telling you next week as I am telling you now. I will keep the writing to a minimum and let you see the photos and captions. 

Just want to update you on the exhibition "Connecting with Nature" preparation. I used last weekend to organize all my exhibits and lay them out as I envisaged them in my mind. I'm happy with how it looks and I am now madly typing out the descriptions for each display. Then I took a quick trip to Ziguzagu to get more silk for dyeing. When I got to the shop they told me that there is a 50% sale on at the warehouse so I went there as well.  Enjoy the following photos and a bit more dyeing process...

Rolls of silk Obis going cheap. Some of them are woven silk made specially for Obis. There are yards of fabric in each Obi. Delicious!

Rolls and rolls of vintage silk for dyeing. I have never seen pink, yellow and orange other than white and cream. I got enough to last me awhile.

 

So many men's Kimonos are on sale too. I didn't get any this time. I already have a few to deconstruct for fabric. Most of these Kimonos are wool and in excellent condition. 

Japanese pottery was on sale too. This one caught my eye. Simple leaf design on earthy glaze. It was quite expensive, but I got it at a sale price. It will be lovely for a Christmas present. 

Small tea cups going cheap. I got some of them to go in Christmas parcels. These cups are specially made for green tea. I was told that they were quite old because ZZ had them in the warehouse for years. 

I found these gorgeous vases too. They were over my budget so I didn't get them. Seeing them again here I wished I did. 

A large bin of mixed fabric pieces. I dug deep, but didn't get much from it. They will still be there next time. 

What I got below is worth talking about. A child's Kasuri (Ikat) jacket. Old, boro indigo dyed Kasuri jacket in almost perfect condition and the indigo colour is still lovely and blue.  

If you love indigo, you've got to love vintage/old indigo fabric. The fabric for this jacket was indigo dyed yarns and woven in Kasuri style. The fabric is categorised as collectible and expensive in Japan. 

I got it to deconstruct for fabric. I can hear you say NO! My thought exactly! But there were 2 of them and I got them both. One to deconstruct and the other to keep and put boro patches on it. 

I got one sleeve off already. There are some torn areas under the arm. Even though it was hand stitched, the threads were old and strong. They were tough to remove each and every stitch. I really enjoy Kimono deconstruction. I take my time and think of the previous wearers of the garments. 

There were some holes on the back part of the jacket. Perfect for me to boro patch over them. I noticed where the holes were on the jacket. All holes happened on the un-dyed area of the fabric. It means that indigo is not only for colour, but also acts as preserve to the fabric.

Before leaving for work yesterday I opened one of my dyed bundles. I did it and ran out of the door. Doing it this way I didn't have a chance to open any more. Self discipline is needed and I don't have it when it comes to opening dye bundles! 

This is what I got in the bundle. It was still wet when I took the photo, but it didn't lose much colour after it dried.

I opened another bundle when I got home and this is it. I think this one had oak leaves from last winter. What an amazing print I got from it. I'm happy with that. 

I didn't stop there! I opened a few more after that. If you are a dyers you would know the feeling. Once you open one, you can't stop until they are all done.

I love the result of what I got in this dye batch. I used rusty prongs in the bundles. The rust creates those black lines on the cloth. Very dramatic.

These are mulberries and mulberry leaves. I don't have the tree myself, but there was one in the neighbourhood and I dyed and blogged about it here. To my disappointment the tree is no longer there! 

I discovered another tree on a nearby street and that is where the leaves came from. Nan, my work colleague kindly gave me the berries. She has a tree in her backyard and didn't know what it was until I told her. 

I got a really lovely pink from mulberry berries when I used them previously. I hope I get it again. Nan said she will get me more, to dye threads with. 

Well that was a lot of bits and pieces in one post. 

Do you know that it will be 5 years in December since I started blogging? A life-long journey that I have enjoyed tremendously. Blogging is my journal; my life activities and where I keep all my creativity in one place. I can't imagine making something and not blogging about it. Not doing it for profit means that there is also less pressure on me to update it regularly. I know blogging is like having a second job, but I'm loving it. I love meeting bloggers, friends and my readers out there. I do treasure each and every comment you leave me. Thank you. 

Until next time

Nat