Vrbovo listje - Willow tree leaves

V tej poletni vročini sem se pozno popoldne odpravila s kolesom po gozdni poti, ob kateri raste precej vrbovih grmov. Nabirala sem listje, dokler me napadalni komarji niso prisilili k "umiku".

Late in the afternoon in the hot summer weather I took my bike and rode along a forest road with many willow bushes growing by its sides. I collected leaves until aggressive mosquitoes forced me to "retreat".

Listje sem kuhala več ur, dokler se ni res  zmehčalo. A voda je bila precej svetla, nekako sivkasta. Bala sem se, da ne bom dobila tiste lepe, močne rumene, ki jo imam v spominu od prejšnjih let.

I simmered the leaves for a couple of hours until they softened. But the dyeing bath remained rather light coloured, somehow greyish. I was afraid I would not get the beautiful intense yellow I remembered from previous dyeing sessions.

Kako sem se zmotila! Moj strah je bil neutemeljen. Volna iz barvilne kopeli je bila močne, živorumene barve, še precej bolj, kot kaže slika.

I could not be mistaken more! My fears were ungrounded. The wool yarn came out of the dyeing bath beautifully intense yellow colour, even much more so than shown in the picture.

Na slikah je volna iz prvih dveh barvanj, tretje barvanje ni skoraj nič manj intenzivno, barvala bom še četrtič v isti barvilni kopeli.

Vrba - tako skromno drevo, pa tako razkošne barve!

The pictures show wool yarn dyed in two successive dyeings in the same dye bath. The third dyeing gave a colour almost equally intense and I'll be able to do a fourth dyeing in the same dye bath.

Willow tree - such a humble tree giving such rich colours!

Odtisi jesenskih listov na svilenih šalih - Autumn leaf prints on silk scarves

Liste iz prejšnje objave sem že uporabila. Natisnila sem jih na svileni šal Pongee08. Prav dobro so se odrezali. Škoda, da je zdaj vse listje že odpadlo z vej, začelo razpadati v večdnevnem dežju in za tisk ni več uporabno. 
Podlago sem barvala z vrbo, natisnila sem javorjevo listje. 
Na notranjem šalu prevladuje vrbova barva, odtisi listov so samo nakazani (ginko).
Spodaj je še nekaj slik šalov.

The leaves from the previous post have already been put to use.  I printed them on a silk scarf Pongee08. They performed very well. It's a pity all the leaves have fallen from the branches, started rotting after several days of heavy rains and can not be used for eco printing any more. 
The background was dyed with willow on which maple leaves were then printed. 
On the inner scarf the willow colour dominates and the leaves are just subtly printed (gingco). 
Below are some more pictures of the two scarves.

 

  

Barvanje z lubjem asimine - Dyeing with pawpaw tree bark

Na srečanju vrtičkarjev je kolega prinesel vrečko vejic asimine Asimina triloba po pomladanskem obrezovanju. Lubje sem olupila z vejic in razdelila na dva dela in z vsakim poskusila barvati po različnem postopku.

En del lubja sem namakala nekaj dni, nato sem v vedro s tekočino in lubjem dala štrenico čimžane volnene preje in meter, dva nečimžane. Po nekaj dneh je bila bledo rumene barve - premalo, da bi bila uporabna. Zato sem lubje odcedila, volno pa v barvilni tekočini grela pod vrenjem okrog dve uri in pustila, da se shladi.
Drugi del sem grela  okrog dve uri, pustila stati nekaj dni. Bilo je toplo vreme in je začelo fermentirati in seveda smrdeti. Potem sem tudi to precedila in v barvilni tekočini barvala volneno prejo kot s prvim delom lubja.

In rezultat? Prav boren: nekaj bledo umazano rumenega in nekaj bledo sivorjavega :(  
Skratka - ni uspelo...

I was given a bagful of prunings of pawpaw tree Asimina triloba at  a gardeners' meeting. I peeled the bark from the twigs, divided it into two portions and tried to dye with it following two different procedures.

The first portion got a several days soaking after which a skein of alum mordanted wool yarn went into it, and also a few metres of unmordanted yarn. After some days it got pale yellow, not enough for use. I therefore strained the bark and heated the bath with the yarn in it up to simmering for about two hours then let it cool.
I simmered the other portion for about two hours and let it stand for some days. As the weather was quite warm the liquid started to ferment and smell. I then strained the bark and proceeded in the same way as with the first portion.
And the results? Rather poor: something pale dirtyish yellow and something pale greyish brown :(
A failure, in short.

Čebulne lupine - Onion skins

Za Veliko noč pirhe vedno barvam tudi s čebulnimi lupinami.

I always dye Easter eggs also with onion skins.

    

Po praznikih v vodi, v kateri pustim tudi lupine, še pobarvam volno.

When the festivities are over  I use the dyeing bath including the skins to dye wool.

   

Od leve proti desni:

1. štrenica volne

2. štrenica volne

3. bombaž

4. štrenica volne

na krožniku: pirhi v različnih rjavih tonih.

From left to right:

1st skein of wool yarn

2nd skein of wool yarn

3rd cotton

4th skein of wool yarn

On the saucer: Easter eggs of various brown hues.

Prva in druga štrenica sta bili barvani istočasno, a sta dobili drugačen odtenek; nista bili povsem beli, ker sem ju že  prej z nečim barvala.

The first and the second skeins were dyed together but obtained different shades; they were off white since I'd dyed them before with I don't know what.

Šentjanževka - tkani kvadratki St. John's wort - woven squares

   

Lani sem nasušila precej šentjanževke, za barvanje, za čaje in za v olje. V suhih cvetovih  je bilo kar nekaj žužkov, zato sem jo še zamrznila. Ker je do letošnje sveže še kar nekaj časa, sem to posušeno in zamrznjeno šentjanževo cvetje uporabila za barvanje volne.
Ni mi bilo do vseh odtenkov, ki jih običajno daje šentjanževka. Drugo barvo - rdečerjavo oziroma vijoličnorjavo  brez galuna - sem želela izpustiti. In sem barvala 50 g volnene preje, čimžane z galunom. Dobila sem pa ravno to rjavkasto. Ko sem barvala naslednjo štrenico, tudi z galunom, se je barva spet kazala kot rjavkasta. Dodala sem še nekaj galuna, kar v barvilno kopel, česar sicer ne delam, in dobila (sivo)zeleno. Tretja štrenica, spet z galunom, je dala pričakovano rumeno, pa tako nepričakovano živo, da je bila mokra videti kar malo fluorescentna.
Prav nepredvidljivi rezultati. Po dosedanjih izkušnjah in tudi po izkušnjah drugih barvilk bi namreč morala prva barva biti zelena, rjava pa samo na volni brez galuna.
Pa razumi, če moreš! 

Last summer I dried quite a lot of St. John's wort, for dyeing, teas and for oil extraction. There were several insects in dried flowers so I put them in the freezer. Since this year fresh flowers can not be expected very soon I decided to use these fried and frozen ones for dyeing wool.

I didn't want all the shades and colours this plant usually produces. I wanted to leave out the second colour, ie reddish-brown or violet-brown obtained without alum. So I set to dyeing 50 gram of alum mordanted wool yarn. What I got was exactly this brownish colour. When dyeing the next skein the colour shown was again the brownish. I added some alum in the dye pot, which I don't usually do, to obtain (greyish)green. The third skein, also alum mordanted, was the expected yellow, but so unexpectedly bright it was almost fluorescent when wet.

These results were quite unexpected. In my experience up till now, as well as in that of other natural dyers, the first colour should be green whereas the brownish would only develop on unmordanted wool.

Who could understand the surprises in natural dyeing!


Fotografije seveda slabo prikazujejo te bavne nianse. Slikala sem z osvetljavo z bliskavico in brez, pa nobena ni čisto realna.
Pa še nekaj dodatnih fotografij:

Of course the photos show the colour shades very poorly. I took pictures both with and without a flash, yet none shows the colours right.
Below are some additional pictures.

 

Večbarvno - Multicolour

Že poleti sem naredila nekaj bečbarvnih štren in štrenic. V sivem, turobnem novembru se mi je zahotelo volne v živahnih, intenzivnih barvah. A kaj, ko ni bilo nobenega sonca... potem pa v paro, da barva preide iz cvetov v volno. 
Last summer I prepared a couple of multicolour skeins, small and large. In the grey, dull November I wished for wool in lively, intensive colours. But, alas, there was no sun - so it was steamed to provide for the transition of color from plant material onto wool.

Suhe cvetke rumene kozmeje in koreopsisa pa še na štiri koščke razrezane zelene orehe sem razporedila na vlažno štreno, čimžano z galunom.
I arranged dried flowers of Yellow cosmos and Coreopsis, together with green walnuts cut into four peaces, directly on the yarn.

 Štreno s cvetovi in orehi sem zavila v najlonsko mrežo (nekdanje zavese) in trdno ovila in prevezala z nitjo. Za približno en dan sem jo dala v lonec nad soparo. Po malem sem dogrevala, tako da je bila štrena kar največ časa v vroči sopari.

I wrapped the skein with the flowers and walnuts into a nylon netting (old curtains) and tightly wound with thread. I placed it into a pot to be steamed for about one day. I applied heat from time to time so that the skein spent most of the time in hot steams.

    

Tole so vmesne faze ...

These are interim statuses ...

... in tole je pobarvana, oprana in posušena volna.

... and this is the dyed, washed and dried wool.

Slike z razstave - Pictures from the exhibition

Tole bo bolj slikovna (pa tudi slikovita) objava. Rokodelski center Škofja Loka je na svoji strani objavil precej slik z moje razstave, pa jih delim z vami.

This is going to be a rather pictorial post(and picturesque as well :-) 

 Odprtje razstave je prijetno popestril mladi kitarist Leon Ravnikar (ki ga žal ni tu na sliki, zvoka pa tudi nismo snemali).

The live music played by the young guitarist Leon Ravnikar was a nice addition to the opening of the exhibition (it's a shame he's not in the picture, and the sound wasn't recorded either).

 

  

Šentjanževka je carica!     St. John's wort rules!

Lučnik in rumena kozmeja  -  Verbascum et Cosmos sulphureus  - Mullein and yellow cosmos

Razkošje oreha  - The luxury of walnut

Pestrost barv  -  Rich variety of colours

 

Lučnik na striženi volni belokranjske pramenke (zeleno) -  Mullein on locks of wool of "Belokranjska pramenka" sheep (green)

 

Potiskani kosi polfilca (kozmeja, lepe očke,  listi pelargonije)  -  Eco printed pieces of prefelt (cosmos, coreopsis, leaves of geraniums)

 

 



Bombažna preja, barvana z rastlinami  -  Natural dyed cotton yarn

 

 

Svileni šali, potiskani z rastlinami  -  Eco printed silk scarves

 



Toliko v slikah. Pridite pogledat v Rokodelski center DUO na Mestnem trgu v Škofji Loki.  Če vam bo kaj zelo všeč, lahko tudi kupite. Razstava je odprta vsak dan od 10.00 do 18.00, ob sobotah do 13.00, ob nedeljah in ponedeljkih zaprto.

This much can be presented in pictures and words. Come see the exhibition in the Art&Craft Centre DUO at Mestni trg 34, Škofja Loka, Slovenia. If you find something you like very much you'll have the opportunity to buy it. The Centre is open daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m, on Saturdays till 1 p.m., and closed on Sundays and Mondays.

Indigo modra s silino - Indigo blue with woad

Letos je bilo tako deževno leto in tudi silina, ki ima rada sonce, ni rastla tako bujno. Tako sem prvič barvala šele v začetku septembra. Tistih klobk še zdaj nisem poslikala :-(
Sinoči sem se pa končno  spet spravila k barvanju s silino. Naredila sem dva kosa predfilca iz bele volne, da bom imela za krašenje filcanih izdelkov. Liste siline sem na gredi odrezala že v temi, doma se mi je grel lonec vode in sem hitro začela. Liste sem splaknila v hladni vodi, ker so bili spodnji blatni. Polžke je pa dobil moj Miško, želvica rdečevratka, tako da je še on imel svoje veselje z indigom!
Prvi kos filca je bil proti mojim pričakovanjem precej močne modre barve in drugi skoraj nič manj. Hitro sem naredila še en kos. Ko se je ta namakal v indigu, sem naredila še enega, potem še enega. Na koncu je bilo že pozno, bila sem utrujena, pa sem naredila še štiri kroglice in jih čez noč pustila v kopeli indiga.
Močne barve od siline skoraj sredi oktobra mi kar ne gredo v račun. Sem mislila, da je bolj jeseni manj indiga v listih, pa se očitno nabira ves čas, kar raste. In prvič sem porezala samo dva grmička, ostali so pa zdaj dali tele lepe barve. Komaj čakam, da bom lahko barvala še s preostalo silino! 

This year we had such a rainy summer my woad plants that love full sun did not produce an abundant harvest. I made my first woad dyeing session only in the beginning of September. It's a shame I haven't yet taken pictures of those balls :-(

Yesterday evening I finally set to dyeing with woad again. I had prepared two pieces of prefelt from white wool to use later in decoration of felted items. I cut leaves of woad late so it was already dark. A large pot of water was heated on the burner and I immediately started dyeing. I rinsed the leaves in cool water since the lower ones were muddy. I also removed a few snails and gave them to Miško, my little red necked turtle so that he too enjoyed my woad.

The first piece of prefelt came out surprisingly intense blue and the second one was practically no less intense. I hurriedly made another piece of prefelt. When it was soaking in the woad bath I made another piece, and then yet another one. Finally it was late in the night, I was tired and only made four small balls, dipped them in the woad bath to stay there overnight.

The intense blues obtained from fresh woad in mid-October came as a great surprise. I had believed that later in autumn there is less indigo in the woad leaves, but now I'm inclined to think it accumulates in the leaves during growth. When I dyed with woad in September I cut the leaves of only two plants and the remaining ones now gave me these beautiful colours. I am impatient to make another woad dyeing session!

Filcani copati pa zelene orehove lupine - Felted slippers together with green walnut hulls

Prejšnji teden sem imela dva dodatna dneva prosto pa me je potegnilo v filcanje. Pa ne, da bi naredila en par ... Ne, ko sem izgotovila prvega, sem bila tako navdušena, imela sem še dovolj česane volne in barvilne tekočine, da sem šla delat še en par. 
Tokrat sem filcala z belo, nebarvano volno, in nato narejene copate barvala z zelenimi orehovimi lupinami. To delam zelo redko, saj moram imeti res dovolj lupin. Pa ta največji lonec moram izvleči izpod vse druge šare, zasede mi tri četrtine štedilnika, težek je in ga komaj prestavljam. Ampak je vredno.
Last week I was granted two additional days off and I immediately set to felting. But it was not only one pair ... Oh no, when the first pair was finished I was so delighted about it, I had enough carded wool and dyeing solution left, so I immediately started another pair.
This time I used white, non-dyed wool for felting and dyed finished slippers with green walnut hulls. I do this only very rarely, I have to have really large amounts of hulls at hand. Besides, I have to get out my huge pot from under all sorts of junk, it takes about three quarters of my stove, it is rather heavy so I can move it only with great effort. But it does pay off. 

  Copate je najbolje nositi na boso nogo, saj volna zelo blagodejno deluje na noge. Zelo primerni so tudi za boleče noge, ki otekajo, saj ni treba nositi nogavic, ki po navadi stiskajo nogo in ovirajo krvni pretok.
The slippers are best worn on bare feet since wool has a very beneficial effect on feet. They are well suited also for swolen and aching legs because no socks are needed that usually compress the leg tightly, making blood circulation even poorer.
Pa še to: copati so zelo elegantni, čeprav slika tega mogoče ne prikaže dovolj.
In še nekaj posnetkov ustvarjanja teh copatov:
What's more, these slippers are nice and elegant although the pictures may not show it very well.
Below are some pictures of the felting process.

 

   

 

 

Pa še ena bolj poskočna :-)
And here is a more lively picture of the slippers:

Gobe, gobe ... končno gobe za barvanje -- Mushrooms, mushrooms for dyeing - at last

 

 

 

 

Končno mi je uspelo dobiti gobo za barvanje. Ker nisem gobar, se na gobe - razen na krožniku - prav nič ne spoznam. Imela sem srečo, da sem od gobarja dobila žoltorobega rjavoporja, težkega okrog 40 dag. Po literaturi naj bi dal toplo rumeno z galunom in zeleno z železom. In sem barvala s tema dvema čimžama in tudi dobila lepo rumeno in  olivno zeleno.
A kaj ko fotografija ne kaže prave barve, tudi ko sem dodala nebarvano volno :-( Na zgornji in na spodnji sliki z vsemi štirimi štrenicami je realna barva rumena druga z desne. Skrajno desna je v resnici topla svetlo rumena, prav nič bež, skrajno levi pa sta zelena in zeleno-rumena, prav nič rjavi v resnici. Ampak tako zeleni kot na tretji sliki pa spet nista ....
No, toliko o slikanju barvane volne. Sicer pa je barva od te gobe zelo obstojna. Pa še to prednost ima tale rjavopor, da ga ni treba pripravljati z lugom in da pri kuhanju nič ne smrdi.
Upam, da pri gobarjih počasi dobim še kakšno drugo zanimivo gobo za barvanje.

I finally managed to obtain a mushroom for dyeing. I am no mushroompicker and have no knowledge of mushrooms except on a plate. I was lucky to be given a dyer's polypore weighing 40 dag. Literature says it gives warm yellows with alum and greens with iron. So I used these two mordants and actually obtained a nice yellow and an olive green.
But the photos won't do them justice even when I added an undyed white ball of wool. In the top and the bottom pictures showing all four skeins the skein showing the real colour is the yellow one lyeing second from right. The skein on the right is warm light yellow with no beige at all. The two skeins on the left are green and greenish yellow, with no brown in them. But still not so very green as the third picture shows them ...
This said about taking pictures of naturally dyed wool, the advantage of this mushroom is the colours are very fast. What's more, no alkali is needed for its preparation and no unpleasant odour produced.
I do hope I get other mushrooms interesting for dyeing.