 |
| top to bottom: forsythia, daffodils, tulips |
 |
| violets folded and hammered into fabric |
 |
| un-dyed yarn, daffodil yarn, holly nostepinne, bookbinding hammer |
It's a bright and windy spring day here.
I put some more yarn in the mordant bath this morning
and then made for the local park, hammer in hand.
The book I've been referencing for some of my dyeing experiments,
Harvesting Color, by Rebecca Burgess, has a section on direct dyeing.
I presoaked my muslin in soda ash and then placed fresh violets on
one half of the cloth, folded the other side over, sprayed with a
solution of soda ash/water then gently hammered the flowers
to release their dye.
A woman and her dog wandered my way to ask what I was doing
while others stayed close by and tried not to stare!
Tonight I will cook up a dye bath of red onion skins.
The top photo shows the blooms I am collecting and drying
to use in a mixed dye bath.
