intermezzo

according to the oxford dictionary:

  a short connecting instrumental movement in an opera or other musical work

also  a light dramatic musical or other performance inserted between the acts of a play

foraged green walnuts and a silk sample dipped in it. an interesting golden brown was achieved, no mordant as walnuts are tannin rich .

summer dyeing is much looked forward and when it finally arrives it is a cartful of fun. especially here that you can forage like a wild animal  ＼（＾▽＾）／

neki desu 

 

proof of hack

still has to be perfected, but it works.the silk is so fine it's given me stress hives😩

taking it very slow ,by the end of the week it will be done,then on to threading and reeding. two more weeks?

neki desu 

 

more walnut

this time with iron as modifier. got a lovely  new york city taupe color. this will be the herringbone warp . woven with a black weft it will look very smart.

finishing the knitted skirt. sewing elastic to it was a pain.  when you stretch the elastic the knit also stretches. decided to rip it and do a regular waist casing which worked much better.

waiting for the e knitting machine to arrive. spent all day yesterday answering the buzzer.

neki desu

two out, one more in

pleased with the outcome of the walnut dye.i first  simmered the skeins in the liquor for  an hour more or less and then left them in the pot for a week.still thinking about shifting the color a bit with iron.

next skein is already in the pot, no heating though.i know the color won't match, but that's no problem .as i'll be warping with two yarns at a time they will blend nicely.

yesterday i saw some herringbones and i noticed the background color wasn't even.

neki desu

a peek in the pot

walnut coming along fine. the wool was simmered for an hour and a half and then left in the pot. i'm taking a short 4 day holiday and methinks i'm going to leave it there for  when i come back.

looking for herringbone drafts because my plan is to weave a herringbone with black weft, very classic.

the concession to modernity is going to be the skirt pattern.this time i'm weaving double width, but still not decided whether to use the 70cms dobby or the 80cm table loom.will think about that during the trip.

neki desu

processing

my dyestuff supplier, the farmer, came last week to the organic super with a bag of walnut hulls for me.

hadn't done walnut dyeing since 09 when he brought me a supply. it is slowly cooking on the stove and then when the soup's ready,i will dye some unforeseen yarns. and maybe fabric.

turning a corner. the other day i came across brain pickings . it's more than a blog.   akin to a news digest it publishes thought enriching articles about the arts, literature, music, design and almost anything interesting worth mentioning. great graphics and no animal photos. good way to keep informed and on track of new developments in those fields. worth bookmarking.

neki desu

custom dyed

i've been doing some custom dyeing for a friend  using my walnut hull soup. Interesting stuff for me because i don't have much experience dyeing wool, and wool takes very different from silk.i can dye silk with my eyes closed, with either natural or synthetic dyes and i'm able to predict and get the color i want.

Come to think of it as i write, perhaps that's my major trade in my jack-of- all- trades life.

Have fun at the weekend!

neki desu


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still waters run deep

Yes they do Do Wa. Gallery of my natural dye soups. First one is kakishibu which has been fermenting for 2 years, needs three at least.This is a once in a lifetime thing if you're interested in dyeing. Akin to making croissants. Next comes the walnut soup. i'm keeping the hulls in and just adding water as it evaporates. Like having a pot au feu and making soup. Last photo,pomegranates which have been soaking for a week in the balcony getting some weak winter sun, a stratagem so that husband -san doesn't get cardiac foreseeing all the future dyeing activity.
It seems that everybody's involved with the same dyes lately. Sort of a secret sisterhood.

neki desu


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results

Skein after two days soaking in walnut hulls liquor.No mordant.No heat. Just a daily stir. It's not what you call instant, but it could be filed under the automatic category :).The silk skein will be cured for at least three weeks and then rinsed.
Came out looking like your most gorgeous Clairol(TM) or L'Oreal(TM) or whatever present hair color fashion.
Found out that hulls can be kept for as long as a year yielding color provided they are covered with water. Sustainability anyone?


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not a beauty photoshoot

More like the horror. Yesterday the walnut hulls were tackled.They had been sitting, floating to be more precise, in water for two weeks but i have a feeling they could have stayed in water longer given the color of the water. But now or never. i'm ready to call the natural dyeing year over.
i had to improvise a filter because i had not foreseen the sludge that forms at the bottom.DUH!
My drying rack turned upside down came to rescue. Love it when one can get multiple uses from objects .

And now a beauty before closing. This silk skein was dunked in the dyeing liquor and will stay there until it gets a nice color.It was not scoured. Ana Lisa Hedstrom dyes unscoured silk fabric obtaining interesting results, so i've taken the lead. It has worked on this particular silk with both natural and synthetic dyes.
Slow dyeing again, before ending the season. Although i'm thinking about overdyeing one of the akane dyed skeins.And then wrapping up.

neki desu


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