Heather

The coastline of Anglesey is abundant with heather and gorse. Wild angelica is starting to line every country lane and wayside, the brambles a creeping forth and wild vervain (not to be confused with the medicinal vervain) is starting to sprout. Anglesey is a joy to behold in Springtime.

Right now, the heather tops are a glorious green, ideal for dyeing wool. I've been doing a lot of research into the uses of heather and stumbled across the below wool dyeing recipe whilst looking into methods for heather thatching. Click on the link below to see wealth of knowledge and lore collated by Electric Scotland.

A Traditional Recipe for the Dying of Wool

Gather the tops of the (Barr An Fhraoich) Heather. Gather when they are young and green, and growing in a shady place. Place a layer of wool and heather alternately on the bottom of the pot until the pot is filled. Then add as much water as the pot will hold. Put on the fire to boil, but do not allow to boil dry. The wool will dye a lovely yellow colour which is a good basis for green when indigo is added. If a moss green is require, add gall apples and iron mordant towards the end of dying. Purple and brown tints can be obtained by using old heather tops.

If wanted for winter use, the tips of the heather plant should be picked just before they come into flower. If it is to be used fresh, it can be gathered as long as the flower is in bloom.

The resultant dye is a mordant dye which means the fibre requires special preparation before it can absorb the colour. The treatment is 4oz alum and 2oz cream of tartar to every 1 lb of wool.

I've been out collecting heather for thatching my aunt's gazebo with. I have a feeling I am going to be collecting heather for quite some time. I don't mind though, collecting heather or gorse or other free food and dyepot materials is always an enjoyable task.

Its too early to collect heather for wine or tea but I think I'll have a go at making a besom :)

My uncle made this gazebo himself. Its beautiful isn't it. Can't wait to see it with its heather thatch. I'll post more pictures as the project progresses.

Here is a picture of Welsh Angelica. I have some of the garden variety North American Angelica growing in my garden. Its a lot bigger than the Welsh Angelica and has not yet come into flower. I have plans to harvest it later in the year and make some into Angelica Liqueur. I'm trying to find out if this wild Welsh Angelica is edible too. Maybe it can be used in a dyepot? I'm going to look into it as it grows so freely around here I'd love to think of it having a culinary or dyepot use. I recently found an article on the Wild Colour website explaining how rhubarb leaves can be used as a mordant. I'm not very scientific so don't know the botanic make up of rhubarb, maybe angelica will work on the same principles?

I've been noticing lots of these round balls growing all over the oaks. My granddad calls these 'oak apples'. Can anyone tell me if these 'oak apples' are also 'oak galls'. I've been reading about dyeing with oak galls so am keen to give it a try.

The past week or so I have been noticing dandelions springing up all over the place. I read somewhere that St Georges day is the traditional date for collecting dandelions. There are so many culinary, healing and dyepot uses for the dandelion. I think I'm going to have a go at making dandelion wine and using some roots for the dyepot. I have read that dandelion roots can give a red/purple colour in the dyepot but also that this is a debatable fact. There's no harm in giving it a try to see what happens.

I tried solar dyeing with the beautiful wild vervain last year. I didn't get a very vivid colour, but I will try again this year. There are so many techniques for dyeing I'm not going to be put off by one failure. Above you can see the vervain just beginning to surface. In a few weeks these plants will be waist height and displaying the most magnificent red and cerise flowers.

I hope to have more to show you soon xJ

Tunnel

The dome has begun to green up a little and I have been planting out lots of bulbs seeds and seedlings around the entrance to the dome. I' ve even divided and taken cuttings from some of my herbs and flowers so when my little girl is playing in her dome she will be surrounded by colour and fragrance. A lot of the plants are good companion plants for a vegetable plot and some are culinary, sources of natural dye and healing too. There is sweet pea, sunflower ,enula, borage, cornflower, marigold, iris, sweet cicely, nasturgeons, daffodil, fennel, oxeye daisy and chocolate mint. Next I will have to hang the pirate bunting on the inside of the dome and the Jolly Roger flag to the wall behind the swing.

I managed to squeeze in a little time to finish off the tunnel yesterday. I wanted to create a sensation like climbing down the rabbit hole when entering the tunnel for the willow dome. The tunnel is curved and taller at the entrance and considerably smaller at the point which it meets the dome.

Going for Green

With this piece, I was aiming for texture. I am happy with the Nowegian curls and how they have bonded with the silk. I tried to dye this felt green using red onion skins and alum. I'm not sure about the shade. Maybe a little too mustardy? I am finding green a tricky shade to achieve, it seems that there is a need to over dye blue with yellow, or yellow with blue. I have some indigo seedlings on my window sill. We shall see what the summer has in store.

I hope that your summer is bringing you joy xJ

Onions

Just a quick note to say thank you all for your well wishes with my house hunting. Sorry I have not time to reply to you all individually.

Here are some pictures of my latest nuno felted scarf embroidered using some of the eastern techniques. The silk was solar dyed with onion skins with the exception of a little silk layering at the ends which was dyed in a bath of daffodils. The merino wool was dyed in onion skins. The chocolate coloured spots are the natural tones of vicuna fibre.

Have a wonderful week end and enjoy the heat wave xJ

An Eco Dyed 'Slow Cloth'

This scarf is nuno felted and embroidered on both sides of the silk. The silk nuno gauze was pre-dyed with onion skins using the solar dyeing method. At each end of the scarf, you will find additional nuno silk which has been naturally coloured in a dye bath of daffodils.

In many ways, this scarf was experimental for me. I have not tried layering nuno gauze prior to nuno felting before. It is the first time that I have laid wool and fibres both beneath the silk and on top of the silk prior to nuno felting and it is also the first time that I have tried to embroider on both sides of the felt.

I really love the variation of tones given by the onion skin dyed materials. The silk, where exposed, looks very pinkish brown like the rich fertile clay of the earth. The lilac dyed wool looks like a pale antique gold when laid out against the onion dyed wool.

I loved the scarf as it was, but have been reading a new book called 'Embroidery Techniques from East & West' by Munni Srivastava, and was desperate to try some of the ideas out. If, like for me, stitching has been limited to added an occasional bead or following a cross stitch pattern, then this book is perfect for you. It gives step by step instructions for simple, yet beautiful Indian embroidery techniques that can be used to compliment our own sewing skills. The book also gives a fascinating history of some of the origins of the techniques. I have been feeling very inspired by the shisha mirror work.

Shisha became very popular with the rise of the glass industry in the 17th century. Initially, shisha mirror work was developed by Mumtaz Begum, wife of Shah Jahan, who built the Taj Mahal in her memory. Mirrors and glass were auspicious and considered a protection against the 'evil eye'.

Today, shisha mirror work is very popular again both within and external to India. Cooperatives have formed which provide the women with the raw materials and design suggestions and buys the shisha work that the women are able to produce. This gives the women an economic freedom they have seldom had before and allows them to buy things for their kitchens and their daughters to make their lives less of a 'drudge'. Some of these cooperatives act as a support system for the women helping them with the costs of illness or debt.

It is really encouraging to know that if we buy good quality shisha mirror work, we are in some way helping improve the lives of women in India, allowing them to be the bread winners and take a little control of their own lives and destiny that they were previously unable to do.

I've thoroughly enjoyed this book and practicing the eastern embroidery techniques. Stitching onto felt is so gorgeous and gives me a great excuse to keep touching the softness of the fibres. I think I will continue further with this piece before listing it for sale.

Have a great week end xJ

Thinking Yellow

Hello. It seems like I have little to show of my own work of late. Maybe that is because my own work is slow, and takes a while to mature into fruition.

I have been busy with natural dye baths. Firstly, I dried out almost spent daffodils then boiled them into a dye pot using an alum mordant. Initially I had dyed angora, bamboo, merino, silk nuno gauze and silk tussah. The colours were very vibrant and enriching. However when I tried making nuno felt, it just did not work. After three failed attempts I started to doubt my own ability to make felt. I thought I had had time off and just lost the knack. Do you ever feel that way? It was a real crisis of confidence.

I had also tried dyeing barberry bark with the same alum mordant. Again, the colour had come out fantastically, but attempts to nuno felt were less than successful.

I had a Spring crafty swap with Nicola from Clasheen so I really had to put aside my felting doubts and create something that was spring inspired.

I created this nuno felted scarf using white nuno gauze, angora, lilac dyed merino, daffodil dyed bamboo and silk tussah.

I had recently bought some embroidery books. One, taught me how to use shisha mirrors. The mirrors seemed perfect for Spring, the dew, and the April showers.

Yellow can be such a gentle, yet inspiring colour.

And a wee while ago, I bought this limited edition print for my little girl from Joanne May. Isn't it magical! It really does radiate sunlight and cheer the soul. Thank you Jo x

Spring Dye Baths

We have been having some wonderful Spring days this past week. I have managed to tidy up my garden. I have a had a slow cooker gently simmering away on the patio for 3 whole days and have so many plans for more dye baths and dye pot experiments.


This is a picture of my St Johns Wort dye bath which was taken a couple of days ago. It looks very different now but I am going to keep it going for as long as the weather permits. I cocked it up a bit. I misread the instructions, mistaking the part that said soak the St Johns Wort (entire plant) in alcohol for soaking the wool in alcohol. When I realised I began topping the water level up with the alcohol/water solution each morning and i can now see that the red is drawing to the bark. I think had i have soaked the St John's Wort in alcohol overnight, then boiled the plant pieces to extract the colour I would have had a speedier, more successful result, however, St Johns Wort is noxious and I only have a tiny kitchen so using the slow cooker in the garden was the only sensible option available to me. There are gradual changes happening so I think it is worth persevering with.

India Flint writes in her book that she only uses the flowers of St Johns Wort, where Pioneer Thinking website says to use the whole plant so it will be interesting to try both methods, I will have to wait to try a flower bath. India also writes that a deep red can be achieved but if alum is added to the brew then the dye will turn green. I am keen to give this a try too.


Here are two colours achieved using onion skins for the dye. I did not pre-soak the fool in any fixatives. The pale yellow to the left is dyed without a mordant. The orange shade to the right is using the same ingredients for the dye bath with the addition of a chrome plated tin added to the bottom of the pan. Its really interesting for me to see just how much difference a flattened piece of metal can make to the colour.

Here you can see some excess water from the onion skin dye pot being stored in a recycled bottle, and also in a glass jar to solar dye a piece of silk. My next plan is to save up more onion skins then solar dye a bundle. In the jug, you can see Lilac twigs soaking in a solution of alcohol and water.

I did two dye pots yesterday, Lilac twigs, and half a butternut squash.

The wool to the left is from the butternut squash seeds and husks and the wool to the right is from the Lilac twigs. For both dye pots, I prepared the wool in vinegar prior to dyeing and used chrome in dye pot. This picture does not really show how pretty these shades are. I am very pleased with them.

I am now saving up spent daffodils to use in a dye pot and am eagerly awaiting the lilac blooms which are said to give a green dye. We usually have blooms on our lilac tree by now but we are only just starting to see the leaves appear.

Until then you can read my guest blogger post at Luchair, and I am still taking submissions for the May Day edition of The Festival of The Trees.

I wish you all a wonderful week x

Eco Dyes and Egg Decorations

This week end I have really been doing the Easter thing for my little girl. We hid chocolate all around the house for her to find. We then went on an Easter Egg hunt at the Botanical Gardens, did face painting and made an Easter Bonnet.

When we returned, my little girl helped me wrap eggs in flowers, herbs and onion skins to Dye Latvian style as explained by India Flint in her book Eco Colour.

An egg about to be wrapped in skins, petals, leaves and silk

My egg bundles simmering away

Dyed hard boiled eggs rubbed with a little butter

I have also done a lot of natural dyeing this weekend. I brought a huge bag of seaweed back with me from Wales. I have been boiling and simmering wool in seaweed dye for 2 full days. The smell is not for the faint hearted :)

The first of the three pictures shows some merino after simmering for around 10 hours and then being left to rest in the excess dye solution overnight. The third picture shows the other half of the wool batch after a further 10 hours simmering. It is difficult to see in these pictures but the second batch is slightly darker by maybe 2-3 shades.

The iodine in the seaweed has produced a very nice pale amber colour.

I did not use any mordant as was unsure which one to use.

I think I will have to make some felt with this wool and experiment with starch. Traditionally, starch and iodine combined will produce a blue black colour but I don't know if this principle will still apply after the iodine has been through the dye pot process. I will have fun finding out though :)

We have had wonderful sunshine today. It has been very energising.

I hope you have all had a good week end xJ

Calling all Artists!

Merino wool dyed in turmeric powder

Needle flt painting made entirely from naturally coloured wool or wool dyed with plants and vegetables

Needle felted tree using Naturally coloured wool or wool dyed with plants and berries

Blue Faced Leicester wool needle felted into beads (no dyes used)

This post is inspired by the the Blog 'Natural Dye Inks'. When I work with wool, the pieces that give me the greatest satisfaction are those that are the most environmentally friendly. I love to see felt that has been made from natural wool tones or coloured with eco-dyes. The blogs that I get most excited about seeing newposts from on my blog roll are the ones that teach me how to make environmentally friendly dyes myself such as Mama Ladka, Growing Tyffu, Riihivilla, Dying with Natural Dyes , India Flint and others.

Now that I have started painting too, I often wish that I knew where to buy or how to make environmentally friendly paints. I was delighted to see a new post on Natural Dye Inks today, and then saddened to see that there have only been two posts this year.

Eco Art is so uplifting and rewarding that I'd love to see projects like 'Natural Dye Inks' thrive.

If you have any tips such as where to purchase, how to make or which websites to visit and books to buy on paints, inks, coloured pencils, pastels or any other environmentally friendly art material please post a comment sharing your knowledge, or better still hop over to Natural Dye Inks and lend them your support.

Thank you x

International Day of Felt

Today is International Day of Felt. It is also Year of the Natural Fibre. To celebrate felt and natural fibres I have made the above picture which is made entirely of natural fibres in their natural colour or dyed using natural plant and berry dyes. The background is Merino dyed in nettles here in Anglesey, the tree is Blended Blue Faced Leicester wool and the leaves are made from my batch of blackberry dyed wool.