Wednesday, May 22, 2013

Dyeing lesson

Yesterday I went to E's house to learn how to over-dye my wool. It is quite a process, especially using things found in nature.

We used lichen found on the rocks near E's house. She collects it in the winter month when it's easier to get off the rocks.

 
Because it is such a long process E had already boiled and strained the lichen based dye.
 
 
 
Here is the result: (E also used another plant to get a gold color, I forgot the name of that one). The wool in the middle was the original piece. The pink on the right is from the lichen, and the gold was from the unknown (to me) plant.
 
 
Here are two more examples. The wool on the left is the original color.
 
 
 
 
 


I like the way the one above turned out, it's more purple than pink.

Like I mentioned earlier it was a long process but I had some beautiful scenery to look at. This is the view from E's back patio:

 
I could have set there all day enjoying the view.
 
But E had other entertainment for me. She had just returned from a 10 day trip to Monument Valley and I got to see her amazing pictures. She went on a tour where you take your horse, camp in the valley and take horseback tours of the valley. I got E's permission to share one of her pictures:
 
 

I told you they were amazing, they didn't look real. She even got to go shopping on horseback, how cool is that?

As promised I took a picture of E's rug. This is the picture I posted the other day:

 
Here is where E is now:
 
 
I had a great time yesterday and am worn out today. Think I'll work on designing my next rug.
 
Til next time, Ronda

 

6 comments:

  1. That rug looks like a painting. Great lesson in dying wool from nature's own stuff. All interesting.
    Thanks for sharing Rhonda.
    JB

    ReplyDelete
  2. How beautiful.
    Thank you for sharing
    Woolie hugs

    ReplyDelete
  3. I am always interested in dyeing experiments using plant material! And yes, it really is a process. But the results are so much fun :)
    The rug is gorgeous - I especially like the trees!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Quinn, It was fun, I liked seeing the fabric when it was pulled out of the dye. Can't wait to do my kool aid dyeing, that should be fun too.

      Delete
  4. Your wool is beautiful. I love the colors that you got out of the lichen. I noticed that you are my newest follower. Thank you. I enjoyed reading your posts.
    Kim
    My Field of Dreams.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Kim, Thanks for stopping by. I found your blog from the post Kim made about her birthday on Millie's Mat's, I had to check you out. I'm glad I did I enjoyed your blog. Ronda

      Delete

I'd love to hear your comments and will do my best to respond. Once you enter a comment you can choose Name/URL from the list , enter your name, leave the URL blank and click on continure.