Well, close enough: it’s actually the 24th this month, but i’m enjoying the beauty longer this way.
A medley of naturally dyed threads on indigo, 9×7″, and seriously joyful!!!!!
And yes, this is in the shop! SOLD
Category: cochineal
making
Because you just can’t let them sit around doing nothing.
Even Lalage, my nasty sewing machine got excited. Then the little boogers stuffed themselves, so they could sit upright.
All lined with indigo.
YUM.
FIRE IN THE STUDIO!!!!!!!!!!
Well, hell, i mean *i’m* on fire, at least in the dye department 🙂
Cochineal on silk, and on wool threads:
OOPSIE, i’m not sure why there are areas of gradation in those, as they were all mordanted properly and dyed by swishing around regularly, but it does make the colours more interesting to use. (I think though that the greyed areas in the silk are oxidization that occurred during the night, when the fabric probably bubbled up.) And i realized with the cotton results–that i won’t show :)–that most of my cellulose results, barring threads, have been rather weak, so need to play a bit with that still. Strange, since cochineal LOVES cotton, as witnessed by Central and South American dyeing……
I’ve been doing a lot of exploration with madder this summer, my “study” for the year. This week, i (accidentally!) discovered softer pink toned fabrics and threads by using soft (filtered) water, instead of our regular hard tap water 
I had still dropped in the ol’ Tum’s tablet, recommended to add that “hardness” of calcium (carbonate) to the bath, but for whatever reason, i used the filtered water this time………… (Too much on my mind lately…)
I’m making green threads today, not something i ever dyed a lot of, deliberately or accidentally. The current project demands them, for leaves and vines. Time to fire up the osage, privet berries and logwood.
And maybe (gasp), the indigo that has been hiding in the Dye Dungeon for 2 years at least…
a natural moon
I’ve been slowly (and not so diligently, as other pursuits in the studio have “interfered”) working on this indigo moon, using my newly dyed naturally dyed threads. This is a lesson in itself, as the indigo i’m working on is strong enough to overshadow certain colours, necessitating some more neutral backgrounds for future plans/use.
The moon is worked with cotton, silk, silk/wool blend and wool threads in cochineal, osage, logwood, and privet berries, with the brown of the seeds coming from potassium permanganate (actually an inorganic compound). I found a walnut bath i had stored several years ago, when i was setting up in the basement, and shall test to see if it’s still “live”, for some of my browns in future, though i do love all the permutations the PP gave on the skein of cotton. On the background surround, in cotton, silk, wool and silk/wool, the colours i used are privet berry, cochineal, brazilwood, rhubarb root, hollyhock (and that’s where the “oh-oh” happened, as some of the colours are so soft, they are barely discernible), osage, logwood, and sandalwood. Using pre-mordanting (VERY important), and post modifying methods, changes the colours to a wide range. (Ha, just realized i used none of the wonderful madder results!)
I have two other moons still in the finishing stages, and hope to get them done soon too! All will be in the shop.
more boring thread results, shop update
I say “boring” as in not many are truly interested in the subject! I however ❤ these 🙂 Madder, madder with cochineal and madder with sandalwood:
All on cotton, some of which will stay in my stash, and some into the shop (limited quantities!). There are also a few others listed, and these will be the last listings for awhile.
While i *am* working on Samara’s wings and my small all naturally dyed moon, i’ve plans for lots of potassium permanganate dyed pieces as well. I’ve been taking my sketchbook to work, as it’s been rather quiet lately, and am ruminating on where to start. Big work again, and frames will have to be built for some because of the size and orientation.
I’ve had my dyeing “binge”, the way i do everything really, and am ready to get back to stitching. My stash is nicely built, and it’s time to get serious with studio time.
happily ensconced in the dye dungeon
Sandalwood
Cochineal
Madder
Osage
NOTE: some of those above are overdyed or post modified, something i’m not about to share, not because it’s a secret, but because there are so many variables it would get ridiculous. (“Noblick tannin and Retooty acetate premordants, dyed with SuperPow pink, post modified with dog spit, overdye dip one end in Prang yellow, other in Choplitz blue, post mordanted AND modified with Ogden iron”…well, ya get the picture 🙂 ) What a range and hard to believe too that these are not synthetic dyes–who says natural colours are dull??????
I made myself a form of Niddy Noddy to wind skeins on, and happily wound 31 before realizing that my measurement made it necessary to do 40 winds to get 20 yards–i ended up with 10 yard skeins because i counted to 20……..ah well, that means when packaging, there will be two of those per card then, as i intend to keep the offerings to 20 yard lengths. You’ll note too, that most of these are on cotton: i do love the wool (which i am now out of) and the silk/wool blend that arrived rather snarled from the supplier, but the strands are so tangled that i’m having the devil of a time winding skeins. Have to figure out some sort of hanging apparatus so i can wind, untwangle and skein, without major body english and copious swearing. My rudimentary engineering and building skills are getting a work out also!
I’m spending most of my time this month dyeing threads and little bits of fabric (can you say mm–mm packs going into the shop soon?), while in the evening trying to get some stitching in. The naturally dyed moon is coming along nicely, but i’m not ready to share it yet.
Good thing too, that i am happily engaged. A typical fall week here: winter on Monday the 2nd and back to summer on Thursday the 5th, and now back to “seasonal”! (Thankfully, i dealt with the madder pot heeling in already!)
a new moon
This one is particularly satisfying–99% natural dyes!
The first section is osage and cochineal on cotton,
centre section is privet berries on silk and potassium permanganate on cotton (technically an inorganic chemical dye…)
and third section is three flavours of cochineal and logwood on wool, silk, and silk/wool blend, all on a background of indigo on cotton. (And yes, i am fully aware there are natural substances for browns, but i happen to like the permutations of “potperm”, and i have none of the naturals at the moment.)
And i just realized, that as usual my photos are mislabelled…….left and right always confuse me………..these are portrayed in the correct order above, but the orientation in the file name is reversed!
I have only to add a few more milkweed seeds to the centre, and then i can finish the whole.
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Apparently i have scared a few people with the potassium permanganate. It’s as “safe” as using any other dye, WHEN you follow the protocols! (Would you drink or bathe in Procion??? Or even indigo???????) People also assume that “natural” immediately classifies as safe, and that’s not true either. Yes, PP is corrosive, so wear gloves—-i don’t stick my bare hands in ANY dye pot, mordant or assistant, i wear protective gear when mixing. PP is inert on the fibres: it is not going to explode or spontaneously combust, UNLESS you let ALL the liquid in the bath evaporate and then store it improperly. PP is poisonous–guess what? So are pokeweed, privet berries, rhubarb leaves can be problematic with all the oxalic acid, and logwood is potentially deadly. I also NEVER stick my nose over a pot and inhale deeply while exclaiming how earthgoddessywonderful it is, or blithely swish my unprotected hands through a conventional indigo vat, or even a 123 vat (there’s lime in there, right? and i’m not talking about the fruit.) Common sense people, common sense. We *don’t* know cumulative effects for most of these substances, because when they were in common use, nobody was doing studies about it, were they? Who wants to die from dyeing?
i’m dyein’ here
🙂
There ARE plans for stitch coming, ideas developing as i dye the threads and fabrics i want to use.
Last night i tried a wee bit of overdyeing and some modifier experiments:
Left, osage dipped in cochineal, logwood dipped in osage–a lovely surprise as i’ve wanted this colour combination for the longest time! , then logwood and cochineal, and cochineal with soda ash, which didn’t deepen as purple as i thought it would. The two logwood overdyes have to have those ends dipped in some iron though to improve the lightfastness, so i wonder how much it will change, and if any will seep into the osage?
The Dye Dungeon Openeth Again
BANG. “Shit”, pause, “Sorry!” BANG. “Fuck”, pause, “Sorry!” BANG. “dammit”, pause, “Sorry!” The poor water heater man was in the basement, fixing things, and that’s what i kept hearing. Our basement is low ceilinged after all, being in a 107 year old house. You *can* walk upright (unless you’re 6′ plus, in which case you will be grazing the first floor bracing beams), but there are areas where furnace ducts are low, and both Greyman and i regularly bash our heads on them. When my hair was long and i wore it pinned up, it would be a common part of the experience, catching that full tilt on the top of the head……….I finally had to tell that poor workman to stop apologizing, and just get on with. I’ve heard all those words before, so whatever 🙂
And yes, our basement is slightly creepy. The house is after all Old, and there are parts behind walls down there that are the original stonework and earth dug-outs. It doesn’t smell musty or moldy, just old, no strange growths anywhere or slithering whatthehellisthats, one of the benefits of Calgary’s dry climate, even with us being beside the river and probably not that far above the natural water table. (Actually after the 2013 Calgary flood, we *know* it’s not far above, but we do know we also have the only self draining house on the block!) You can stand up in it, something not said about a lot of 107 year old basements, it’s floored with concrete and mostly painted white. We don’t use it for much beyond storage and it occurred to me yesterday that it was largely being wasted.
It’s divided into 4 strange little rooms, evidence of the original size and shape of the house, documenting add-ons and renovations. There’s actually no basement below the teeny back bedroom, laundry room, kitchen, bathroom and one bedroom, unless you count the old stone and earth part (!), but it’s still big enough for a lot of uses. Dyeing space immediately comes to mind through the winter. The garage is uninsulated and too far from the house in terms of -30c weather, so why not just descend to the depths?
That’s where the Dye Dungeon is again, in the back part near what is the old cistern, long boarded and bricked up, and containing we are sure, a body or two…..There’s a tiny backroom with lots of old wood shelves for all my dye supplies, natural and un-natural chemical/synthetic, plenty of old pull string lights, and a concrete floor. Nothing fancy down there at all, just space where the dog never goes (she’s afraid of the creepy old narrow stairs down), and the cat rarely, as “it’s boring, so boring”. (You know how cats are.) I *did* have it set up 7 years ago, but admittedly didn’t do as much then as i had thought i would. I’m afraid right now if i keep using the studio, that the mess will become a wet one, with pots and jars all over, and inquisitive studio assistants, Slapshot (official studio cat) and Nessie the DogFaced Girl (resident i-go-everywhere-Mom-is dog).
(I’ll post pics in another entry 🙂 )
And the first cochineal results are in, and i am very very quite happy 🙂 These are dry too, so none of that misleading wet photograph stuff–we all know wet is more intense looking than dry!
Same threads, different light, to show their beauty, all on wool or a silk/wool blend, different mordants and modifiers.
I have cotton threads as well now, dried after a long soak in the dye bath, and oh i am thrilled with the results!
So, in the last two weeks, with experimenting and testing that i am doing things correctly, behold my new stash!!!!!!!!!
As soon as i can plan for being more productive, quantity wise, i really would like to be offering these in the shop. Stay tuned 🙂
dramatic cochineal
One of THE easiest dyes to use! Yes, it’s expensive, but not with Cost of Wear, known in the dye biz as WOF, the measurement used to calculate how much dyestuff to fabric. Yes, it’s dead bugs, so if your sensitivities include no “animal” products, don’t use it. (And don’t lecture me either.)
Basically, the bugs are scraped off cacti, dried, sold whole, and ground down to a powder with a mortar and pestle for use, cooked, and decanted 3 or 4 times, and pre-mordanted fibres are thrown into the resulting dye bath. Mordants and modifiers can shift the colours from oranges, to fuschias and reds to deepest purples with every flame colour in between. Very versatile but because of these colour variations, in use after, Ph neutral care is important, though wash and lightfastness are excellent.
Tip o’ the Day: do not be making grape jelly at the same time: the colour is the same 🙂
Since my practice is to leave things in dyebaths at least overnight, you won’t see the results just yet 🙂 And BEST practice with all natural dyes, is to let the fibres dry, then let “em “cure” for at least a week before rinsing any excess out, so you’re still not going to see them until the 13th earliest. I’m gonna be biting my nails in anticipation.
I intend to do cloth as well as threads, testing all the colour permutations possible, with mordants and modifiers. And overdyes as well–indigo yields another purple over top, and osage would warm it beautifully also, i’m sure.
I threw some of the wool thread in the 2nd extraction logwood bath–yum.
However, i know logwood is not as lightfast as other dyes, so this will be overdyed, or post-mordanted with some iron, which apparently will help with that factor.
albedo too 
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