Monday, August 16, 2010

A Cautionary Tale

I bought a sheer blue and white stripped silk shirt at the thrift store. I thought it would be perfect to do some shibori stitching, so that is what I did. I cut off one of the sleeves and stitched it all over, following the wavy stripes. Then I put it in a jar of Oak leaf dye I had made and let it sit for a day in the sun. The next day, I took it out and left it on the balcony to dry. It was a hot, dry day with no breeze. I checked on it a couple of times and noticed it was almost dry. I could hardly wait to see what it was going to look like. However, when I checked on it again, it was gone! A gentle breeze had come up and I guess the silk got carried away. I searched and searched, but it was no where to be found. I repeated the whole process with the other sleeve and the result is pictured here. Underneath it is a piece of cotton muslin, folded and dyed in the same oak dye. This time I made sure it would not fly away.
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What Is This?

15 x 6
I bought this wooden object at a thrift store this weekend. It slides apart and the pegs fit in the holes.I have no idea what it is Do you?

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Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Yarn On A Stick

Hand spinning with homemade spindles, plying on a spindle and spinning on a stick!

More Experiments


I am cooking leaves today. These Spanish oak leaves are cooking in a crock pot in the Frio River water. On the stove, I am cooking Chinese Pistache leaves and berries in a tin can of tap water, in a water bath. What do you think will happen?

The Frio River

I spent the weekend at the beautiful Frio River. The water is crystal clear, so I collected some to use in making natural dyes. I read in India Flint's book that water can make a difference.

Results


Here are the results of my recent experiments with natural dying-- the black rice tied up in previously dyed silk and some samples of other plant dyes. The pink is Passion Flower tea on cotton.

Thursday, August 5, 2010