latest obsession

shikon, murasaki dyeing coming up next.

have a good weekend .

neki desu

 

future promise

tending the lichen fermentation, it is showing some hint of purple, but still much yellow. this is a remnant from the knitting ;revisited the concept of waste and wasted yarn.

it's mercerised cotton, but unmordanted and unwashed. just checking the progress of the fermentation.

in theory in 9 months it will have turned purple..9 months of daily stirring folks.

neki desu

 

the operative word

is forage..never pick lichens  from trees use windfalls abundant in winter.

have a good weekend

neki desu

 

michel garcia on lichens.

omg he's making soup! have a good weekend.

neki desu

 

maybe on a roll

already 400 threads wound.300 to go.

 

waiting for this baby to dry for 200 threads then 100 more of the tan silk.

this was sized with gelatin and some glycerin as per ai instructions to avoid the dreaded piiing snapping. interesting noting that this silk was dyed last summer or perhaps 2 summers ago.the color has developed gaining richness.

another collapse scarf on the way when they collapse nicely they are so satisfying.

more silk samples: top scoured and boiled until  it became a matted mess due to carelessness.

bottom  sericin not removed. both dyed,actually left to their own devices until i found the dried pot. no heat though.the difference in value is remarkable. 

things learned: at least this silk can be dyed without scouring ＼（＾▽＾）／   one less step streamlines the process.

after so many years of extra care when handling silk and inevitably ending with a mess each time 

the secret was two dowels. hang the skein from one and lay it across the pot; move it up and down inserting another dowel. yarns hang vertically with the weight of the liquid.no tangled mess.

neki desu

 

playing neutral

 food grade water soluble tannins used in the wine industry. the melange is tara,quebracho and chestnut.

the color is a pleasant brown-beige.

treated with an acid modifier turns it into a warm golden brown. planning next warp.

same bath.dumped this linen scrap and left it unattended for a couple of weeks.came out beige brown. added some iron to a pot with water and heated it slightly. turned into a fawn grey.

looks like this will be a season of browns, beiges and neutrals.

neki desu

 

complex tannins

the making of cheap wines, and the not so cheap but hasty wines. the ones that give headaches.instead of aging them properly the industry adds  water soluble tannins to give the wine color and that woody smell. a concoction really which has never seen a cask yet it smells of wood. those tannins are food grade they're not poison .however, tannins in wine are products developed naturally by aging and maturing.

water based tannins are a blend of tara, quebracho and chestnut. and this is where dyeing makes the entrance at the center of the stage. trying my luck using this water soluble tannin.

being a blend which includes quebracho one can shift the color towards red by adding an acidic modifier.

after a few hours

 i am also trying to avoid the feared tangles by inserting a rod hanging the skeins and moving them up and down. it functions for the japanese dyers. let's see if i can do it.  (o･ω･o)

it's a slow dyeing process which will take me practically the whole week.

neki desu

 

try outs

the original weave blanket  white silk warp, golden beige nubby silk.

 

quick dip in walnut no heat. an interesting beige-brown with greenish undertones. it would qualify as bronze color.the above strip was modified in  an iron dip. guess less iron and more time would develop a more complex color. still pondering wich route to go.

neki desu 

 

on pigment lakes

using resources to the outmost.

have a good weekend.

neki desu

 

from the people

who know almost everything in the western world.

have a good weekend

neki desu

 

the sleep of the righteous

8 thread satin from way back and i mean way back. it was my satin weave period when i dedicated some time to undersatnding the structure. the silk was an amazing quality, bought in a warehouse in new jersey, a quality not to be found now. not even willing to pay lots of money for it.

something about the whiteness of it and the colors was a put off ,to me it looked  too much like a prayer shawl. went into the drawer and resurfaced some days ago.

in the midst of my present dyeing frenzy i opted for a walnut taninn dye post treated with ferrous acetate.

pleasant outcome. colors toned down and blended with the background.indeed a wearable.

neki desu

 

making things work

this sorry project transformed.i once was told that all weavers are in love with purple.i always stayed away bcse it gave me a sallowish look. but now between the i don't give a F** attitude that comes with the years and 1 kg of logwood that has been idly lying arond for ages we're in the purple  rain period.

purple is not only for weaves, it's also valid for knits  ( ¨¨ ω¨¨ )   this one came out in a nice worn out color. however, i am treating it with ferrous acetate to make it somewhat fade / light resistant. it will eventually fade to lavender,but hey, mono no aware .

 now on with the piecing.

neki desu

 

not in this lifetime

i'll be able to get lavenders or purples from alkanet. i always get browns or tans no matter how i process the dyestuff.had high hopes bcse i left the  raw material soaking in alcohol for over a week and the liquid was red, yet the outcome was camel color. ⋋__⋌

contemplsting ferrous acetate to darken it.

on the other hand i'm binge-knitting with silk bourette, as i have enough to last two lifetimes.

i can make all the mistakes,which i do, without panicking bcse i'll run out of yarn.

about the knitting program i love to hate, it's unbelievable that you pay a good price for it  and then you end up ignoring the program's directions and  figuring out the decreases yourself. HELLO? ಠ ಠ    ಠ ಠ    ಠ ಠ   

neki desu

 

this one in the we shall see dept.

because it is rather shapeless and i won't know until it's finally blocked. another exercise in we shall see.this one is silk bourette a rather pleasant wear. i bought  three 3 kg cones and it's not self  extinguishable. tried a mock rib on this one bcse i didn't want to transfer the knitting to the ribber, nor starting there and then tranferring to this machine.this machine was already set up not the other hence the act of reckless laziness.

however it still has to be dyed using alkanet  from which i have never obtained the promised lavenders and purples. alkanet according to maiwa gives beautiful colors provided the roots are previously soaked in alcohol.

we shall see the outcome. if blah i'm thinking of overdyeing with logwood with a ferrous acetate post modifyer.

neki desu

 

color sequencing

after two days moving changing and back again.this is the color sequence for the next warp. all these gorgeous silks were dyed using natural dyes,mostly madder,cochineal and alkanet.the yarn on the extremes were alkanet dyed, have not had the luck to get lilac/ violet.the beige yarns escape mebut think they were dyed in pomegranate skins.planning to finish the warp chains over the weekend.

look at that electronic brother beauty shot in the background.（  ☆__☆ ）

neki desu 

 

knowledge transfer

 

ps.i see one more vid or tutorial of "eco printing" i'll scream. there's a lot of life beyond that.

have a good weekend.

neki desu

 

from shishou

a new vid about dyeing from the master.

have a good weekend.

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

 

future possible

two hanks of already scoured organzine silk. if this weather continues and the warping goes so slow  i am considering running a mini ai vat and dyeing these babies.

if i don't frizzle before.

neki desu

 

maybe

 after serious mishaps with alkanet, just getting cat doodoo color, i sent an sos in one of the dyeing groups.the suggestion was alcohol extraction.yes, it worked.

now the choice is whether to dye this silk floss,gorgeous btw.

or overdye the cat doodoo silk skein. i want to shift the above towards the purple, this one would be left redish. these are the  wefts for the weaving .

after this think i'm done with alkanet.

neki desu