Krhlika Alder Buckthorn

 Krhlika je en tak navaden grm, nič posebnega na pogled. Ima pa, vsaj zame, dve posebnosti: prva je, da se na njej hrani gosenica metulja citronček (Gonepteryx rhamnii), druga pa to, da daje krasne barve na volni. 

 Alder buckthorn is a bush with nothing special about when you look at it. But it is special to me in two ways: it is the host to the caterpillar of brimstone butterfly (Gonepteryx rhamnii), and secondly,it gives beautiful colours on wool.

   

 

 Wikipedia

 

Po navadi olupim sveže vejice, ko so v soku, včasih pa tudi kaj starejšega in debelejšega. Ob lupljenju izteka živorumen sok, ki močno obarva prste, a se na srečo zlahka izmije.

I usually peel fresh twigs when sappy, and sometimes also older and thicker twigs. Bright yellow sap runs from them that badly stains my fingers but is fortunately easily washed off. 

 Preja na zgornjih slikah je strojno predena in te sem pobarvala največ. Pravzaprav toliko, da še ne vem, kako bi jo uporabila in je na voljo tudi kakšni ljubiteljici domače volne, barvane z rastlinami.  

The yarn in the pictures above is machine spun and I dyed a lot of it. In fact so much that I do not have a use for all of it. So it is available to those who love naturally dyed autochthonous farmer's wool.   

Za izziv sem pobarvala česano volno in jo spredla na kolovrat. Je debelejša in neenakomerna.

I challenged myself and dyed carded wool and spun it on my spinning wheel. It is thicker and of  uneven diameter.  

Pletena v gladkem vzorcu 

Knit in stockinette stitch

 

   

Tudi ta je na voljo. Spredla sem različne količine različnih odtenkov in debelin - mogoče bi pa še lepše  prišla do izraza v tkanju? 

This yarn is also available. I've spun various amounts of different shades and thicknesses - perhaps it would best show its beauty in weaving?    

 

 

   

   

Filcan okrogel okrasni cvetlični lonček - Wet felted flower bowl

 

Za rojstni dan si je sin zaželel filcan okrasni lonec. Kakšen naj bo, mi je kar pokazal na sliki s spleta. Lep, preprost okrogel lonec.

My son told me he would love a felted flower pot for his birthday. And sent me a photo of a round felted vase from the internet to give me an idea what it should look like. A simple round vessel.

Vsaj pet let že nisem filcala okrogle posode, tako da sem se morala kar pripraviti in obnoviti znanje. Imela sem lepo mikano domačo volno, mešanico bele in temno rjave/črne. Ker je bilo temne več kot po navadi, je barva bolj rjava kot siva.  Rumeno-oranžno sem pobarvala sama, a sam Bog ve, s katero rožico.

 I haven't made a round felted  vessel at least five years so had to renew my knowledge. I had beautiful carded farmer's wool, a mixture of natural white and natural dark brown/black. There was much more dark wool in it than usual so it is more brown than grey. The yellow-orange wool was dyed by me but only God knows with which plant.

 

 P.S. Saj vem, da bi bilo še lepše in bolj zanimivo, če bi slikala še v drugem okolju pa s kakšno rožico zraven...
 P.S. I'm very well aware it would look much better and more interesting if I took a photo of the bowl against a different background, perhaps adding a flower or two ...

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.

Razstava naravno barvane volne - Exhibition of natural dyed wool

    

 



 Vabimo vas na odprtje in ogled razstave

 

»Petdeset odtenkov volne«

rokodelke Ladke Peneš

 

Foto: Tomo Jeseničnik

v torek, 4. listopada 2014, ob 18. uri

v Rokodelskem centru DUO, Mestni trg 34 v Škofji Loki

s kitaristom Leonom Ravnikom.

Izdelki Ladke Peneš so narejeni iz volne, barvane z rastlinami. Barva domačo volno jezersko-solčavskih ovc. Uporablja najrazličnejše rastline, ki jih nabira v okolju ali goji na vrtu – šentjanževko, lučnik, zlato rozgo, zelene orehe, čebulne lupine, vrtno cvetje, rabarbaro, brezo, vrbo in druge.

Poleg volnene preje in česane volne barva tudi svilo in bombaž.

Iz barvane volne ročno plete šale, kape, rokavice, nogavice, obeske in izdeluje polstene copate, torbice, nakit in različne druge izdelke.

 

Z barvami rastlin toplino poletnega sonca shrani v volno za hladne dni.

 

 

Razstava bo na ogled do 23. listopada 2014.

Prisrčno vabljeni!

 

The exhibition of my natural dyed wool and silk scarves will be held in Škofja Loka, Slovenia. 

Vesele velikonočne praznike! - Happy Easter holidays!!

.... vsem obiskovalcem bloga.
Letos sem naredila voščilnice v obliki pirhov. V prvi seriji sem v jajčast izrez kartona vstavila barvne kose filca, voščilnice izpisala, vstavila v kuverte, zalepila, napisala naslove in prilepila znamke. Šele ko sem vse nesla na pošto, me je prešinilo - nisem jih poslikala :-( 
Za drugo serijo sem jajčaste kartončke oblekla v napol sfilcano  volno, barvano s košeniljko, in jih prilepila na kartončke. Te pa sem poslikala, preden je bilo prepozno.

... to all visitors of my blog.
This year I made greeting cards in the shape of coloured Easter eggs. In the first series I used cards with egg-shaped cut-outs where I placed natural dyed pieces of loosely felted wool, wrote my greetings, inserted the cards in envelopes, closed (with glue), wrote the addresses, and placed the stamps. It was only when I was carrying all of them to the postbox that I realized I hadn't taken any photos :-(
To make the other series I dressed egg-shaped carton cut-outs into half felted wool dyed with cochineal and glued them onto sartons. And I did take photos before it would be too late. 
.

Slike - Photos

Končno sem prišla do slik moje barvane volne, ki so - vsaj v mojih očeh - zares lepe in vrhunske kakovosti. Seveda jih nisem posnela jaz, ampak g. Tomo Jeseničnik, in sicer za katalog Podobe rokodelske ustvarjalnosti, ki je bil izdan v sodelovanju slovenskih in avstrijskih organizacij za domačo in umetnostno obrt.
At last I obtained pictures of my dyed wool that look  - at least to my eyes - very beautiful and of top quality. Of course, I didn't take them myself; it is Mr. Tomo Jeseničnik that contributed the pictures for the catalogue representing the works of some Slovenian and Austrian Art-n-Crafters.

Volnene velikonočne voščilnice - Woolly Easter cards

 Kmalu bo Velika noč in počasi skončujem svoje letošnje volnene velikonočne voščilnice.  Nekaj sem jih naredila s striženo volno in nekaj s česano, vso seveda barvano z rastlinami. Filc sem pritrdila na ročno izdelan papir. Na nekatere sem svoje voščilo napisala na papir, pri tistih, ki so pregrobi za pisanje, pa sem dodala razlikano čajno vrečko, obarvano s čajem.

Easter holidays are near and I've nearly completed my woolly Easter cards. I made some cards using shorn locks and others with carded wool; of course all wool is natural dyed. I fastened felted pieces onto handmade paper. I wrote some wishes on the paper and when it was too rough for writing I added a tea dyed bag I had ironed before.

Takole so bili videti filci v vodi, kjer sem jih spirala.
This is how felted pieces looked floating in rinsing water.

Začetek je bil videti takole: strižena volna, česana volna in različne nitke in koščki. 
This was the beginning: wool flocks, carded wool and various yarns and pieces.

Nekaj voščilnic pa sem izvezla na zeleno sintetično platno in na stramin.
I also stitched some Easter cards on green synthetic cloth and on etamine.

Voščilnice sem delala v nekakšnem mirnem veselju in je to zame tudi priprava na velikonočne praznike. Upam, da bodo razveselile tudi tiste, ki so jim namenjene.

I made the cards in sort of peaceful joy and it was also my preparation for the Easter holiday. I hope they raise the spirits of those who will receive them.

Volnene nogavice 1 - Wool socks 1

Z vejicami od obrezovanja jablan sem pobarvala domačo volno. Brez galuna sem dobila tole lepo breskovo roza, ki bi bila po "Name That Colour" lahko Chardonnay, #FFCD8C, RGB: 255, 205, 140. Pri naslednjih barvanjih v isti kopeli je barva prehajala v marelično roza in nato proti "roza" s precej manj marelično oranžne, ki je ne znam opisati.

I used apple tree trimmings to dye some wool of our native sheep. Without alum I got this nice peach pink that would correspond to "Name That Colour" Chardonnay, #FFCD8C, RGB: 255, 205, 140. The following dyeings in the same bath gave colours moving towards "light apricot, #FDD5B1, RGB: 253, 213, 177".

Pri teh nogavicah sem še posebno ponosna na peto, ki sem se jo naučila januarja in februarja na tečaju tete Vide na Kovkovem. V realnosti je zelo tridimenzionalno, kot satje.

What I'm especially proud of in these socks is the heel that I learnt in the course given by Aunt Vida on the Kovk farmstead last January and February. In real life it looks 3D and looks what I would call honeycomb pattern.

Pa še dve sliki nogavic.
Two more pictures of the socks are shown below.

Volna vs. bombaž - Wool vs cotton

Tole ni kakšna pajčevina, ampak štrenice bombažne preje, prevezane z volneno prejo. In kaj je tu tako zanimnivega? Zame to, da sta bili obe barvani hkrati v istem loncu. Ta razlika, kako rastlinsko barvilo prime volna (namreč odlično) in koliko rastlinske barve sprejme bombaž - bore malo.
This is not a spiderweb but small skeins of cotton yarn tied with wool yarn. And what is so interesting about it? For me it is the fact that both were dyed in the same dyepot at the same time. The difference between the amount of plant dye taken by wool (excellent) and that taken by cotton (poor).

Tele niti so bile pobarvane z zelenimi orehovimi lupinami. Volna je temno rjava, bombaž pa sivkasto bež. Na nekaj mestih je videti precej močneje rdečkasto rjavo obarvane madeže. Nastali so tako, da sem vlažno prejo obesila nad lonec in jo samo delno pomočila v barvilno raztopino. Barva je nato potovala po mokri preji navzgor: različne barve, ki jih vsebujejo zelene orehove lupine, so potovale različno visoko, kar se na zviti štrenici ne vidi tako dobro, ko je visela nad loncem, pa je bilo dobro vidno. 

No, takole se igram z rastlinskimi barvili in temu rečem "rastlinska barvna kromatografija", he-he.

These yarns were dyed with green walnut hulls. The wool is dark brown and the cotton greyish-beige. Some spots are dyed fairly better - there are reddish-brown colorations. They developed when I hung the moist skein above the dyepot and dipped only a part into the dyeing solution. The colour travelled up the moist yarn: different colours contained in green walnut hulls travelled different distances upwards, which is not so well seen on the twisted skein but was very well seen on the skein hanging above the pot.

 Well, this is how I play with plant dyes and call it "plant colour chromatography", he-he.

Copatki - Tiny boots

Čisto majhni copatki iz domače volne, barvane z rastlinami (v resnici so precej bolj rumeni).
A za koga? Za Darjinega (moja drugorojenka) prvega, ki ga pričakujemo jutri :-)

25. oktobra: Copatki so za Naceta!

Tiny little boots made from wool of Slovenian native sheep and natural dyed (in reality they are much more yellow)
For whom, you may ask. For Darja's (my second daughter) first baby that is due tomorrow :-)

25 Octobre: The booties are for Nace (boy)!

Poletno barvanje 1 - Summer dyeing 1

Poletje je krasen čas za barvanje z rastlinami. Vse bujno raste, vse cveti, da kar ne vem, s čim začeti ... pa delam vsega po malem.

Summer is the excellent season for natural dyeing. Everything grows abundantly, blooms exuberantly so I just don't know what to start with ...so I use more or less everything.

Rabarbarine korenine sem imela v velikih kosih, pa sem jih tesno povila v štrene oprane volne, dala v velik kozarec, dolila toplo vodo in dala na sonce. Ker je bilo sonca dva tedna res veliko, je dobro opravilo delo - volna je rumena in živo oranžna, drap barva je pa od orehov.
Rhubarb roots I had were in large pieces so I wrapped them tightly in skeins of washed wool, placed them in a large glass jar, poured in warm water and placed in a sunny place. As the last two weeks were really sunny the sun did its job well - the wool yarn is yellow and bright orange, the beige part had been dyed with green walnuts.

Imela sem tri štrenice različnih neizrazitih barv - izčrpana kopel šentjanževke, jelševa skorja in cvetovi kokardije - pa sem polovice namočila še v delno izrabljeno kopel zelenih orehov. Zdaj je preja mnogo zanimivejša!

I had three skeins of various plain colours - an exhausted bath of St. John's wort, another of alder bark and of cocardia flowers - so I dipped halves into a partly exhausted bath of green walnuts. The skeins look much more interesting now!

Tidve štreni, pobarvani na soncu z rabarbaro, sem pomočila še v raztopino zelene galice.
I dipped these two skeins that had been sun dyed with rhubarb roots into a solution of ferrous sulphate. 

Tele nežno zelene štrene mi je v kozarcu z lučnikom in bakrovim acetatom prijazno pobarvalo sonce.
It was the sun that kindly dyed these lovely light green skeins in a glass jar with mullein flowers and copper acetate. 

Zeleni orehi, ki so junija odpadli po vetru in dežju, so dali tole čudovito temno čokoladno rjavo na volni.
Green walnuts that had fallen from branches after rain and wind in June gave this miraculous deep dark chocolate brown on wool yarn.