the source

a gift from a dear friend some years ago.had been leafed through but was waiting for the ideal time to be read. it's not a book about dyeing, just a historical recipe,but a book about the history of the dye.

fascinating how the conquistadores brought it to spain from the americas and it became the richess of  the crown in the 16 hundreds.cochineal and merino ,the golden fleece,were the biggest sources of income before gold and silver started pouring in from the americas.

interesting how both industries are going through a revival with a younger generation in charge.

i think people have beome aware especially post poandemic.that revitalising traditional projects is more rewarding than slaving in an office in a crowded city. going back to the roots.

neki desu 

 

a red like no other

been dyeing with cochineal for the past, say, 2 months.this is on silk at 8%WOF and mordanted withpotassium aluminum sulfate(KAlSO4)2. at 10%. it is the alum most used in japan and it seems to me to yield brighter clearer colors.the skein is wet but when dried it was still bright pink.

afterwards it was modified with soda ash after bath in hopes to get purple.just dulled the pink and made yarn less lustrous. ⋋__⋌  

seems  luck with purples is not with me, even alkanet lavender eludes me.

anyhow having discovered the people in canary islands who grow and sell cochineal (beautiful project btw) i can keep on trying

without fear of running out.all out for circular economy.

i am trying to devote my energy understanding cochineal and benibana.then i'll move on to other dyes. maybe in depth madder? 

neki desu

 

a red like no other

cochineal on silk 2%wof. never had had  such bright results and the cochineal i have can be qualified as vintage.the silk was mordanted with aluminum sulfate and i believe there lies the reason for the results.

a lovely cool red.

playing with modifiers this excellent

bishop purple was achieved.

cant be more chuffed.

thinking about combining a warp of blue and this. but firts i need to run an ai vat for the blue.

coincidentally found out about a beautiful project here. some youngish folks contacted farmers whose land was fallow and convinced them to plant indigo,persicaria tinctoria, while at the same time contacting people from the textile industry luring them into indigo and sustainable dyeing.

the project is based on circular economy and suatainability and they have gathered their first crop this year.

the good news is that small folks like me will be able to source the dye from them as well.news can't be better.

neki desu

 

living dangerously-again

from this to the above. cochineal with cream of tartar aka tartaric acid + tin. the combination develops the reds, it's very tomato red unlike the photo which has a bluish overcast.
on a very happy note i gathered courage and turned on the k machine.it did turn on!
YO! i am the queen of soldering .





neki desu

grateful for cochineal

no fuss dyeing,no temperature issues, always nice results.you can even add the mordant to the dye bath  thus cutting steps and time.i wonder why japanese wrinkle their noses at the sole mention of cochineal. perhaps because it's so far removed from their dyeing culture?

first dip, sakura pink rich.a way of 

reminiscing last year's sakura fever.

the piece will be overdyed in logwood 

so i need to keep that in mind. 

to whet sakura saudade here's this year's forecast

neki desu

all that pink

i saw this spring had to come out one way or another.
cochineal on cotton gauze. first step for shibori scarf. more later.









neki desu
 

and now cochineal

bright,bright cochineal. remembered to buy bottled water because our water is vile .the skein on the left after an acid modifier-plain ol' lemon juice.

some ai. think it is this ai, 

cannot get darker than this. perhaps it is too old?

will dip them more today

but i think i already know the answer. 

this is not the first time.

neki desu