I think trying new things must be hard wired into my DNA.
This leads to getting obsessed from time to time.
This is one of those times.
I put together another bunch of papers, and plants and threw them into a dye pot the other day. The whole time they were simmering on the stove, I was in a panic that I had experienced beginner's luck, and this go round would be disastrous. [I'm so FULL of confidence eh?]
This batch did turn out different. There was a lot more yellow in it. And I think I have a guess as to why. I put in several grape leaves and I think they brought out the yellows in the bundle... I also used some Marlahan Mustard seeds, which are from a noxious weed that grows all over the valley. There are many jokes and curses against it. But it IS a plant that is very useful for blue dye. You just have to know how to prepare it properly.
They were very striking on the papers. They turned a very deep navy blue.
The one below has asparagus fern and hollyhock petals...
The little spidery lines in the above were from Smoke Tree blossoms. Oh my!
The next one was on the outside of the bundle with the wire mesh that holds it all together. Not real fond of the mesh pattern, but I love everything else...
I put a few envelopes into the bundle this time and really loved how they turned out... Here's the front and back of one of them...
As I am writing this, I am just about to pull out the bundle from Dye Pot number three.
I did a little field trip this morning with Suzie Cube, gathering weeds and ferns and leaves from blackberry bushes hither thither and yon. There are plants EVERYWHERE to try. :-)
It's a good thing I am a bit of a fool for papers of all kinds. I still have lots to experiment with.
So far anyway....
:-)
They were very striking on the papers. They turned a very deep navy blue.
The one below has asparagus fern and hollyhock petals...
The little spidery lines in the above were from Smoke Tree blossoms. Oh my!
The next one was on the outside of the bundle with the wire mesh that holds it all together. Not real fond of the mesh pattern, but I love everything else...
I put a few envelopes into the bundle this time and really loved how they turned out... Here's the front and back of one of them...
As I am writing this, I am just about to pull out the bundle from Dye Pot number three.
I did a little field trip this morning with Suzie Cube, gathering weeds and ferns and leaves from blackberry bushes hither thither and yon. There are plants EVERYWHERE to try. :-)
It's a good thing I am a bit of a fool for papers of all kinds. I still have lots to experiment with.
So far anyway....
:-)