Volnena voščilnica -- A Woolen Greeting Card



Saj ni veliko povedati - no, razen, da sem uporabila svojo volno, barvano z rastlinami. Želela sem z njo narediti nekaj, kar ne bo tako klasično kot pletenje in filcanje. Voščilnica torej. S pleteno nogavičko - obeskom za ključe. Stkanim dvobarvnim kvadratkom. Izvezenimi križci. Dvobarvnim tkaničenjem na zgornjem robu. In izvezenima številkama.
Pa res škoda, da Blogger vzame izvorno postavitev slike in je ne pusti obrniti ...

There's not really much to say - except that I used my natural dyed wool yarn. I wanted to use it in something not so standard as knitting or felting. So - a birthday card. With a knitted little sock on a key chain, a two colour woven square, cross stiches, two colour running stitch at the upper border, and digits in back stitch.
And it's a real shame the Blogger only takes the original setting of pictures and won't let me turn them ...

Blagoslovljen Božič! - Merry Christmas!

Vsem obiskovalcem bloga želim lepe praznike in srečno, zdravo in uspešno v letu 2016!

To all visitors of my blog I wish happy season holidays and happyness, health and success in 2016!

Pleteni islandski vložki za čevlje - Knit Icelandic shoe inserts

 
Včasih, ko se mi zahoče kaj drugačnega, prav pride projekt, kot je Balkanski copat gre na Islandijo. Ta celoletni projekt povezuje Slovenijo in Islandijo, natančneje Jesenice, Ljubljano in Reykjavik.

Sometimes, as I have a sudden desire for a change, a project like A Balkan Slipper Goes to Iceland is the thing. This yearly project connects Slovenia and Iceland, to be more precise - Jesenice, ljubljana and Reykjavik.

Konec oktobra smo se (na)učili plesti Illep, islandske pletene vložke za čevlje.
Na voljo smo imeli bosansko volno lepih barv. To je groba volna z dolgimi vlakni, kot nalašč za obutev, talne tepihe in podobno, kjer mora biti material trpežen.
V Muzeju arhitekture in oblikovanja so mentorice iz Zavoda Oloop  pokazale, kako se plete islandski Illep. Delale smo različne vzorce, jaz sem si izbrala petelinčka.
Islandski način pletenja mi je bil popolnoma nov - in precejšen izziv. Že bosanska volna je za moj otip precej groba, siva pa sploh. In trdo pletenje, ki ga zahteva vložek za čevlje, ni ravno moja prva izbira.

At the end of October we learnt to knit Illep, Icelandic knitted shoe inserts.
There was plenty of Bosnian wool yarn in beautiful colours. This is a coarse wool with long fibres, very suitable for footwear, floor carpets and the like where material is exposed to hard wear. We used various patterns, I chose a cockerel.
This Icelandic type of knitting was very new to me - and quite a challenge as well. Bosnian wool feels rather coarse, the grey yarn especially so. Besides, tight knitting is not my first choice either. 

Doma sem dokončala sivi vložek z rdečim petelinčkom, za drugi vložek sem pa raje izbrala samo rdečo in sem spletla enobarvnega.

At home I finished the grey Illep with the red cockerel and opted for red only for the second Illep. 

 
Takole skupaj sta mi prav všeč.
Zdaj moram pa še ugotoviti, kako naj ju porabim, ker za v naše čevlje niso. 


When I put the two Illeps together I quite like them.
All I have to do now is find some use for them - they don't fit into our type of shoes.

Nogavice za Krištofa - Socks for Krištof

 

Krištof je moj najstarejši vnuk. Prosil me je, če mu spletem tople nogavice za njegova potepanja v naravi, ki vključujejo tudi taborjenje v hladnih nočeh. Želel je nekaj res toplega in tako je bila moja domača volna v dve niti ravno prava. Ker ne pričakujem, da bo zelo pazil nanje, nisem uporabila veliko (dragocene) barvane volne, samo rdeče pete in na desni nogavici okrasni vzorček iz rdeče volne. Za rdečo sem uporabila barvilni brošč. Barvi se lepo dopolnjujeta. Krištofu so nogavice zelo všeč, jaz pa sem tega vesela.

P.S. Noge ima ogromne, nosi številko 47.

Pa še nekaj slik.

 

Krištof is my eldest grandson. He wanted me to knit warm socks for his hiking, trekking and the like, also camping outside during cold nights. He wanted something really warm so my two-ply wool was ideal for the purpose. As I don't expect him to take good care of the socks I didn't use much of my (precious) dyed wool, just red heels and an inlay on the right sock. The red wool was dyed with madder and goes very well with the undyed grey wool. He likes them very much, which makes me quite happy.

P.S. His feet are enormous, no. 47 (European I guess).

Here are a few more pictures of the socks.

 

 

 

 

  

Volneno na Visokem - An event for wool lovers in Visoko, Slovenia

To nedeljo, 6. septembra, bo na Visokem v Poljanski dolini, na Tavčarjevini, en lep dogodek, bogato dogajanje na temo volne. Sodelovala bom z razstavo svoje barvane volne, prikazom barvanja z rastlinami, z izdelki na modni reviji in na stojnici. Pa še pri organizaciji sem zraven. Jutri je še TV snemanje na to temo, za oddajo Dobro jutro.
Takole pripravljam barvane volnene niti za razstavo.

 V živo pa v nedeljo na Visokem v Poljanski dolini!

Japonski indigo - Japanese indigo

Takale modra je prišla na volno z balkona! Čisto zares! Barva na volni je pravzaprav turkizna, na mojem ekranu je pa bolj modra.
Na temle grmičku japonskega indiga je "zrasla":
This blue colour has grown on my balcony! No kidding! In real life the colour is turquoise, and my computer screen shows it rather blue.
The colour has grown on the small bush below:

   

Ta grmiček indiga mi v loncu na balkonu prav dobro dela. Lepo ga zalivam v tej vročini, tisti na vrtu pa večkrat trpijo žejo. V sredi grmička je 30-centimetrsko ravnilo, za oceno velikosti rastline. Indigo je skrit v listih, postopek barvanja pa je - v nasprotju z večino drugih barvilnih rastlin - brez kuhanja.

The plant in the pot on the balcony fares fairly well. I duly water it in this extremely hot weather, whereas those growing in the garden suffer from thirst sometimes. I placed a 30-centimetre ruler in the pot so you may have an idea of the size of the plant. The indigo is hidden in the leaves and the dyeing procedure - in contrast with most other dyeing plants - requires no heating.

 

   

Nekaj indiga je ostalo v vodi, ta se ne prime več na volno. S kolegom ga bova poskusila izločiti iz tekočine, da dobiva pigment, nato poskusiva narediti oljno barvo.

To bo še zanimivo to poletje! 

Some indigo remained in the water and would not stick to the wool. Together with a colleague dyer we'll try to separate the indigo from the water to obtain pigment and use it to make oil paint.

This year it's going to be a very interesting summer for me!

Komaj čakam, da se temperature malo spustijo in se lotim kakšnega večjega barvanja z rastlinami z vrta.

I'm waiting for the temperature to fall so I can start a larger dyeing project with the plants growing in the garden.

 

 

 

Navadna krhlika (Rhamnus frangula) - Alder buckthorn

 

 

Navadna krhlika me mika že precej let. Tule sem že pisala o njej - ko mi je končno uspelo dobiti tako zaželeno rdečkasto barvo. Zdaj sem imela na balkonu v vrečki 40 gramov skorje krhlike, starane cela tri leta. Ponovno sem prebrala navodila Helen Melvin o fermentacijskem barvanju s krhliko. Krhliko sem v mrežasti vrečki dala v steklen kozarec in jo prelila z vročo vodo (verjetno bi bilo bolje, če bi bila samo zelo topla). Nato sem posebej pripravila pralno sodo, raztopljeno v vroči vodi in izmerila pH. Sodo sem dodajala, dokler ni bil pH 10, to nalila na krhliko v kozarcu in vanjo dala oprano in čimžano volno.

Naslednji dan sem volno potegnila iz barvilne kopeli  - bila je močno oranžna :-(

 

Alder buckthorn bark has been tempting me for a couple of years. Here I wrote about it when I finally obtained the long wished for reddish colour. Now I found on my balcony a bag with 40 gram of bark aged for three years. I reread Helen Melvin's instructions for dyeing with alder buckthorn bark using a fermentation vat. I placed crushed bark in a netted bag into a glass jar and poured hot water over it (I had probably better used warm watger). Separately I prepared a solution of washing soda in hot wter and measured pH. I continued adding washing soda to reach a pH of 10, poured the soljution onto wet bark in the jar and placed a skein of washed  and mordanted wool yarn in the dyebath.

The next day I took the yarn out of the bath - it was intense orange :-(

 



.

 Izmerila sem pH - padel je na 7, zato sem spet dodala raztopino pralne sode in vanjo vložila štreno oranžne volne.

I measured the pH - it had dropped to only 7. I therefore added more washing soda dissolved in water and placed the skein in the bath.
 

Naslednji dan sem stvar ponovila: oranžna je bila malo bolj rdečkasta:

On the next day I repeated the whole procedure - the orange had some more red in it.

 



Ker je pH spet padel, sem spet dodala pralno sodo in volno pustila v barvilni kopeli še en dan. Ves čas je bila na temperaturi malo pod 40 stopinjami.
 
 

Po tretjem dnevu je bila barva precej temnejša. Štreno sem pustila na zraku nekaj ur, da je barva oksidirala. In voila - moja lepa barva!
Zdaj se barva druga štrena volne. Jutri nadaljujem :-)

Posušena in zdrobljena skorja navadne krhlike je videti takole.

The pH dropped again so I added washing soda and let the wool yarn sit in the vat for another day. The temperature was maintained a bit below 40 degrees Centigrade all the time.
After the third day the colour was considerably darker. I let the skein hang in air to oxidize the colour. Et voila - my beautiful colour!
Dried and crushed alder buckthorn barks look like this:

 

Ko sem na nekaj drobcev nalila vročo vodo s pralno sodo, je takoj začela puščati barvo - lepo rjavkasto rdečo.

When I poured a little hot water with washing soda onto a few small pieces of the bark it immediately discharged colour - a beautiful brownish red.

Tudi to sem uporabila. Tri dni sem v tem pogrevala čimžano belo prejico in sukanec za klekljanje. Na bombažu in pri tako majhni količini krhlike je barve seveda bistveno manj - dobila sem nežne roza.

This was to be used somehow :) I placed a few metres of alum mordanted cotton yarn and bobbin lace thread in the solution and gently heated it from time to time for three days. Cotton takes much less vegetable colour than wool, also the amount of dyeing material was really modest, so there was not much colour to fix onto the yarn - I got pastel pinks.

Barvanje s krhliko je zahtevno in zamudno, ampak je vredno. Meni je barva na volni zelo všeč - pa vam?

Dyeing with alder buckthorn bark is a demanding and lengthy task but a rewarding one too. I like its colours on wool very much - how about you?

Veselo Veliko noč! - Happy Easter!

Veselimo se in praznujmo - Kristus je vstal!

Let us rejoice and be happy - Christ is risen!

Velika noč-voščilnice - Easter Postcards

    

S takimi voščilnicami sem letos prijateljem, sorodnikom in znancem voščila za Veliko noč. Oblika pirha je narejena z rastlinsko barvano česano ali filcano volno. Modra je pobarvana s silino, rdeča z barvilnim broščem in najtemnejša s košeniljko. Nekatere voščilnice so narejene tudi z ročno izdelanim papirjem, ki sem ga pred leti delala iz starega pisarniškega papirja in odpadnih škatel za jajca.
Tudi izdelovanje in pošiljanje voščilnic je del moje priprave na praznovanje Velike noči.

This year I wished a blessed Easter feast to my friends, family and acquaintances with these Easter cards. The shape of the egg is filled with natural dyed carded or felted wool. The blue is obtained with woad, the red with madder and the darkest wool with cochenille. Some cards include hand made paper I made a few years ago from waste office paper and egg boxes.
Making and sending handmade Easter cards is also a part of my preparation for the Easter feast.

Topla kapa - A Warm Hat

Na spletnem mestu Ravelry, skupnosti za pletenje, kvačkanje, dizajn, predenje, tkanje in barvanje, sem našla poziv za testno pletenje kape Sangreta hat (Galinaf Sangreta hat). Pa sem se navdušila nad vzorcem, poleg tega rada preskušam kaj novega - tokrat vzorec, kot ga še nisem delala. Malo je bilo težav, ker se moja domača volna plete drugače kot v njenih navodilih. Tako sem pač naredila eno kapo, jo pomerila na hčerini glavi, polovico sparala in naredila drugo. Ta je zdaj pravšnje oblike.
Uporabila sem volno, barvano z zelenimi orehi - rjava in z rumeno kozmejo -oranžna.  

On Ravelry, a web place for knitters, crocheters, designers, spinners, weavers and dyers I noticed a call for test knitting Sangreta hat (Galinaf's Sangreta hat).  I immediately liked the pattern; besides, I love trying new things - this time a pattern I haven't knit before. I had some problem with the gauge. My wool yarn didn't make the gauge Galina gave in her instructions. So I made the first hat, tried it on my daughter's head, frogged the top half and made another one. This one has a perfect form.
I used my wool dyed with green walnuts - brown and with yellow cosmos - orange.

Še dve sliki:
Here are two more pictures: