Vesel Božič! - Merry Christmas!

 

Vsem obiskovalcem bloga želim

blagoslovljen Božič

in

srečno, zdravo, uspešno

leto 2015!

Ladka

 

I wish

Merry Christmas

and

a Happy New Year

to all visitors of my blog!

Ladka

 

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.

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. 

Letošnja šentjanževka - Hypericum perforatum - St. John's wort of the year

Letos sem barvala s svežo šentjanževko samo enkrat. Na vrtu sem je porezala en res velik šop, skuhala in barvala kot ponavadi s to barvilno izredno obdarjeno rožico.
Rezultat je bil - kot že ničkolikokrat - lepo presenečenje. Barve so bile izredno intenzivne. Drugo barvanje (brez čimže) je dalo privlačno vijolično, pa sem dala v lonec še eno štrenico brez čimže, in nato še eno. To so srednje tri klobke na sliki. Šele potem sem barvala spet čimžano volno. In ven ni prišla zlatorumena, ampak še vedno z zelenim nadihom (skrajno leva klobka).
Kakšne tople barve poletnega sonca na volni za mrzle zimske dni!

This year I dyed with fresh St. John's wort only once. I cut a real large bush in the garden, cooked it and proceeded to dyeing with this colour-wise extremely rich flower as usual. 
The results were - as so many times so far - a nice surprise. The colours were real intensive. The second dip (unmordanted yarn) gave an attractive violet (or is it purple in English? I never know)so I dipped another skein in the dyepot and yet another one. This are the middle three balls in the picture. Only then did I use mordanted yarn again. And what I got from the pot was not golden yellow but still had a greenish touch to it (the ball on the left).

Such warm colors of summer sun on the wool yarn for cold winter days!

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:

Rumena kozmeja - Yellow cosmos - Cosmos sulphureus

 

 

Tele lepe rožice niso samo lepe, ampak dajo tudi lepo barvo na volno. Letos se jih je na vrtu zasejalo zelo veliko in sem jih precej pustila rasti. Zdaj obilno cvetijo, pridno jih obiram, skoraj vsak drugi dan, in jih sušim za kasnejše barvanje.

Kakšnih 150 cvetov sem pa svežih skuhala in uporabila za barvanje. 

 

 

These pretty flowers are not only pretty themselves, they also give a pretty colour on wool. This year many flowers self-seeded in the garden. I let grow many plants which are now in full bloom. I pick flowers almost every other day and dry them for later dyeing.

I cooked about 150 fresh flowers and used the bath for dyeing.

 

 

Oranžna je bila precej močna, pa sem se lotila še malo obdelave barve. Levo štrenico sem namočila v barvilno kopel, ki sem ji dodala nekaj bakrovega acetata. Srednjo štrenico sem namakala z dodatkom žličke sode bikarbone. Desno štrenico sem pustila brez dodatne obdelave.

Barve na sliki so kar precej realne, mogoče so v resnici še malo bolj oranžne, zlasti desna. 

Slika je mogoče malo "nevolnena", a vse to se zdaj suši na balkonu. Pa še lepo paše skupaj  :-)

 

The orange was very intense so I decided to do some postmordanting. I soaked the skein on left in the dyebath to which I added some copper acetate. The skein in the middle was soaked with the addition of a teaspoonful of baking soda. I left the skein on the right side without any postmordanting.

The colours in the picture are pretty real; perhaps there is a bit more orange in real life, especially in the skein on the right.

The picture may be a bit "non-woolly" but this is what is now drying on my balcony. And what's more, they go so well together J

 

 

 

Lišaji in lučnik - Lichens and mullein

 

V zaprtem vedru na balkonu sem že dve leti imela namočene lišaje, nabrane po potepanjih z družbo po hribih. Še danes ne vem, kako je temu lišaju ime. Je sivkasto-srebrne barve. Po večjem vetru jih je pod smrekami vse polno, radi pa rastejo tudi po odpadlem vejevju, ki leži na tleh in trohni.
Na srečo sem na vedro napisala, da je bilo suhega lišaja okrog 240 gramov in datum začetka namoka. Tako dolgo sem odlašala barvanje z njimi iz enega samega razloga: bala sem se smradu pri kuhanju.  Ko sem vedro odprla, ni bilo kakšnega posebnega močnega vonja. Bila pa je plesen, kar nekakšna goba. Nič je nisem odstranila, samo malo razkosala, dolila vodo in  - hajd na delo. Lišaj sem počasi kuhala okrog tri ure. Pa nič smradu: v kuhinji je med barvanjem vladal vonj po starem, vlažnem smrekovem gozdu. Ko se je kuharija ohladila, sem tekočino precedila. To pa je bila že težja naloga in je kar precej smeti ostalo v barvilni tekočini.

For more than two years lichen has been sitting in a well closed pail, soaking in water, waiting on the balcony. I had collected it during my wanderings in hills in company. I still don't know its name. It is greyish-silver in colour. After any strong winds it lies in plenty under spruces, and it often grows on fallen branches rotting on the ground.

Luckily I placed a sticker on the pail saying it contained about 240 gram of dry lichen, and also the date. I delayed dyeing with it for a single reason: I feared the smell of cooking lichen. When I opened the pail there was no special odour. But there was mould on the surface, a real mushroom. I did not remove it, just tore it to pieces, poured in more water and set to work. I cooked it on low fire for about three hours. There was no unpleasant smell in the kitchen during cooking, only an odour of an old forest of spruces. When the cookery cooled down I strained the liquid. This was a tough task and many a piece remained in it.

Nadaljevanje kot po navadi. Oprano in dobro omočeno volno sem dala v hladno kopel, počasi segrevala, tako "kuhala" približno uro in pustila čez noč, da se ohladi. Volna se je obarvala toplo rumeno. Meni na sliki sicer pokaže prej rjavo kot rumeno, ampak glavno, da je volna rumena.

Then I proceeded as usual. I placed washed and well wetted wool in the cold bath, slowly raised the temperature, "cooked" it for about one hour and allowed it to cool down overnight. The wool acquired a warm yellow colour. My monitor shows it more brown than yellow, but in real life it is much more yellow than brown, in this is what really matters.

 

 



V lonec sem dala barvat še drugo 50-gramsko štrenico in dobila rumeno z nekaj rjavega odtenka. Nato sem tekočino zlila stran.
Od takšne količine lišaja sem pričakovala več rumene barve, a očitno jo je plesen oziroma goba "požrla". Škoda, da nisem prej porabila.

Another 50-gram skein went in the pot, and came out of it yellow with a bit of brown. I then discarded the dyebath.
I'd expected more yellow colour from this quantity of lichen: I assume mould - or mushroom for that sake - had eaten the colour. It's a shame I hadn't used it earlier.

Imela sem še okrog 100 g posušenega lišaja. Namočila sem ga čez noč, kuhala kot zgoraj in od prvega barvanja dobila zelo podobno barvo kot prej. Drugo in tretje barvanje sta dala še vedno lepo rumeno, vsakič malo svetlejšo, a nič rjavo.
I had another 100 grams of dried lichen. I let it soak overnight, then cooked as described above. The first dyeing gave me a colour very similar to that obtained in the dyeing session described above. The next two dyeings also gave yellows, a bit paler each time, but with no brown in it.

 Na spodnji sliki je v sredini štrena volne, ki sem jo julija barvala z lučnikom na soncu. Ta barva je pa čisto taka kot v resnici, lepa nežna zelena. Štrenica je še skoraj mokra dobila novo lastnico :-)
The picture below shows a skein of wool (in the middle) I had sundyed with mullein in July. The picture shows the real colour, a lovely soft green. The skein got a new owner as soon as it was dried. 

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.

Naj sonce barva mojo volno - Let the sun dye my wool

Letos sem barvanje in vse ostalo delo v zvezi z volno in svilo postavila v drugi plan. Zdaj, ko takoj čez cesto na zapuščeni zemlji bujno cveti lučnik, na vrtu pa se košatijo lepi grmi šentjanževke, mi žilica ni dala miru. Če svoj čas namenjam drugim stvarem in ga zmanjka za dolgotrajne priprave in izvedbo klasičnega barvanja v loncu na štedilniku, je tu še sonce, ki lahko opravi večino dela zame.
Tako sem predvčerajšnjim zjutraj skočila z vrečko in škarjami čez cesto, nabrala lučnikovo cvetje s stebli vred in stehtala - 400 g. Tole s tehtanjem je izredno, bi rada enkrat vedela, koliko materiala uporabim. Ponavadi kar nabašem v kozarec in tehtam samo volno in galun.

This year, natural dyeing and other wool- and silk-related work is placed in second plan. But now that I can see mullein in abundant blossom, right across the road, and that rich bushes of St. John's wort  catch my eye in the garden, I could no longer put it off. If I dedicate my time to other things and have no spare time for the time-consuming preparations necessary for standard dyeing in a hot bath on the cooker, and for its performance, I said to myself: "Let the Sun do the job for me."
So the morning before yesterday, with a bag and scissors  in my hands I leapt across the road to collect mullein flowers on stalks. I weighed the material - it weighed 400 gram. This weighing is an exception to my routine dyeing. I just wanted to know how much material I use. Otherwise I usually just stuff the plant material in a jug and only weigh alum and wool.

.

Na to sem v mrežasti vrečki položila 50 gramov bele česane volne jezersko-solčavske ovce, ki sem jo namakala čez noč in nato oprala. Sicer bi bilo bolje, če bi v mrežico dala lučnik, ampak pri roki nisem imela nič uporabnega. Na vrh sem počez zatlačila lučnikova stebla, da bi držala volno pod gladino.

On top of this I placed, wrapped in a netted bag, 50 gram of carded white wool of the jezersko-solčavska ovca sheep breed. It were better if I put the plant material in the bag, but there was none at hand. On top of wool I stuffed some stems of mullein to keep the wool under surface of the dyebath.

 

Na to sem nalila bakrov acetat. Sliši se učeno, a je to samo živo modra tekočina, ki jo dobimo, če kos bakra dovolj dolgo namakamo v kisu.

 

Then I poured in copper acetate. It may sound a bit scientific but it is only the vivid blue liquid you obtain if you let a piece of copper sheet or wire (or coin for that matter) in vinegar for a sufficient period of time.

 

 

V vroči vodi sem raztopila 5 gramov galuna (to je 10% na teži suhe volne), razredčila s hladno vodo in vlila v kozarec.

Počasi se zelenomodra tekočina dviga po omočeni volni.

 

I dissolved 5 gram of alum in hot water _(this is 10% of the weight of dry wool), diluted with cool water and poured into the jar.

Slowly, the greenish-blue liquid rises uop the wetted wool.

 

 

 

Na soncu se vsebina kozarca lahko zelo segreje in celo kipi čez rob. Počasi lučnik oddaja svojo barvo, ki skupaj z modro bakrovo vodo volno obarva svetlejše zeleno.

Ves napor pri tem barvanju je potrpežljivost, ker moram počakati vsaj dva tedna, lahko pa tudi cel mesec.

Sredi julija pa vidimo, kaj bo nastalo :-) 

The sun can heat the liquid very much, even to make it spill over tge brim of tha glass jar. Sloswly, mullein gives off yellow colour that, together with the blue copper water imparts a light green colour to the wool.
The only hard work in this method of dyeing is patience: I have to wait two weeks at least, and sometimes even an entire month.
By mid-July we'll see what will have been produced :-)

PIRHI Easter eggs

 

 

Letos sem pobarvala samo deset pirhov. samo s čebulnimi lupinami in kurkumo, pa nekaj rastlinic.

This year I only made ten Easter eggs, using onion skins and curcuma (turmeric), and a few plants.

Vsem obiskovalcem bloga želim blagoslovljene velikonočne praznike!

I wish a blessed Easter to all visitors of my blog!