New Look

September 27, 2009

Dyeing without a Computer

Well, I've had the computer blues for some time now.  My main computer decided it's memory bank was full and would freeze leaving me with a wild screen of rectangles of color.  So instead of blogging and sharing...I took time off.  I spent time in the fresh air riding my new bike:

 So many temptations when the weather is so nice....but.... first I just had to take a walk and gather dye material.  =-)  The dogs searched and nosed around....but they couldn't tell the difference between oak galls and rocks!


But I found these.. the woods were full of acorns and oak galls this year...


I also picked lots of these....covered them with water and let them soak for a week...  Don't they look cheery sitting in that pot...waiting for the hot water?



Boy oh boy did they stink when I lifted the top of the crock pot this weekend.

I also decided to try some poke berries.  They stain the ground around them purple and when the birds eat them...well, the purple poopz do a number on your car paint.  They are the most gorgeous color...dark and inviting....but poisonous.  I love the fushia colored stems.
I also made up some walnut ink and added a pinch of iron.  This went into a quart canning jar with some silk .... but I will leave that for the next set of pictures.  My camera batteries have died and won't let me load up any more pictures....Ah, technology...

4 comments:

Dawn Edwards/Felt So Right said...

Can't wait to see what the poke berry dye looks like. We've got a large bush growing in the wild in our neighbors yard and I know they'd be happy to have me do something with it. Will the dye be purple or a dark pink? If you have the time, could you let me know how to go about using it?

Love your blog!

Thanks so much,
Dawn Edwards

gerfiles said...

This looks like a joy-+ successfull expedition... - and the bike: enviable...

LOVE STITCHING RED said...

Oh WOW! I've never before in my life seen poke berries. What interesting stems and poisonous you say? Did you dye with them? I can't wait to see what happens!

Hurry up, camera batteries, charge ... charge ...

Guzzisue said...

oohh, excited, a guzzi rider who is a fibre nut...meet a guzzi pillion who is a fibre nut :-)