colour, colour everywhere
more woven shibori samples ready to dye, but the indigo vat is outside and it is raining
I am waiting to see which weft structure I want to use to weave the remaining 2 meters
a picture to remind me how they were woven, once they are dyed and the gathering threads removed it is difficult to remember
instead of re-tying a warp when I cut off a woven portion I weave approximately 1/2 inch, weave in a strong rod, weave another 1/2 inch and then cut
tightly tie the rod to the front apron and you’re back to weaving in minutes
more dyeing
left to right – home-grown madder, cochineal, madder top-dyed with cochineal and the exhaust bath with the two dyes combined in one pot – tussah silk with alum mordant
the ties are cotton and the colours are much lighter
yesterday – a beautiful day in the sun
with time to relax
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Lovely colours, Jean. Madder takes up such a lot of space but it’s so worth the colours you get! Mine got dug up last fall. No more until 2015 sadly. Yes, it’s been raining here too. The Japanese indigo is growing along with the tomatoes!
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Louisa – it’s COLD here, my indigo has stalled and I still have seedlings in the greenhouse. I’m afraid to plant them, they might drown.
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I love the rosy colours you are getting with the madder, cochineal etc. What a beautiful temperate garden you have Jean! We’re more tropical down here.
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Myra – that’s not my garden, different places around the neighborhood. My garden is a jungle, we have had cool rainy days with the occasional hot day. Everything is growing.
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So happy to see your madder results! I’m in the third year of growing some here in Ontario and hope I can get some of the intensity that yours shows. Just beautiful shades!
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digital gardener – you may get better results with your madder, my soil is very poor, wet and has a lot of clay. I used 1 3/4 oz of ground-up root that was dug up approx. 4 years ago. Time to dig again this Fall.
Kristin – I got the rod tip years ago from another weaver, happy to pass it on. the colours are very strong, I love them, too.
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The rod thing is VERY smart. Thanks for the tip. I absolutely love the dyeing. Some of my favorite colors (next to blue). Silk is amazing, isn’t it?
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