Experimenting with Mother Nature

While an Etsy update is still pending, I did update my Gallery (look over there -->) with the September yarn and fibre photos.  I've also added, and will show below, some of my Nature Dyeing exercises from the OHS class this past summer.

I have to hand in a detailed assessment of this, but here are a couple of photos of what you can do with wild-gathered weeds and berries.

First, a batch of samples dyed with Elderberries:

Left to right, the different treatments are:

1. Pre-mordant with Oxalic Acid
2. In-Pot mordant with Tin and Cream of Tartar
3. In-pot mordant with Copper, citric acid rinse
4. In-pot mordant with Copper, ammonia rinse
5. Post- mordant with Alum and Cream of Tartar

And, a batch dyed with Goldenrod flowers:

Left to right again, the treatments are:

1. Pre-mordant with Oxalic Acid
2. In-pot mordant with Copper, citric acid rinse
3. Post-mordant w/Alum and Cream of Tartar
4. In-pot mordant with Iron

Though not many of these are "my colours", and the one I thought I'd like because the dye bath turned royal purple is still pretty brown, I'm impressed with the range here.  While samples have to be mounted and handed in, I think I'm going to come up with some sort of stranded work to show these off together.

These were all done yesterday with a classmate.  I spent today mucking around with the spent dyebaths, and have some fainter colours on full-size hanks of yarn.  The Goldenrod exhaust produced greens, and the elderberry started with a purple that browned down to a mauve, and ended with a pale green as well.