I have just been harvesting the last of the dye plants from the garden.
Persicaria Tinctoria which had been slightly hit by the recent frost had a lot of dark blue leaves . I harvested these and put them into a kilner jar and into a hot bath where it was heated for about 24 hours . The water in the jar is a deep sherry colour and I will hopefully dye with the result today.
Dyers chamomile and Coreopis tinctoria gave double handfuls which went into little pots ready for a spot of rust dyeing on silk. Frost had killed the marigolds. Much to my surprise my Genisita tinctoria was in flower so I cut those and put them into a convenient tub that had been collecting rainwater for me. Enys ( pictured above) dug up the vipers bugloss -Echium vulgare. Reports form the Natural Dye Online said that you could get blue from the roots- so at last I get to try it. I normally extract the blue from alkenet Alkanna tinctoria roots with acetone so I may have to wait a few days to get some.
love the details, the names now mean something to me.
ReplyDeleteI reach for your blog when I want a touchstone into normal things in life...
huggles
Shani
Hi Shani
ReplyDeleteI am not sure natural dyeing is normal but it certainly grounds me! Thanks for your comment.Helen
Hapy Christmas, Helen, and thank you for such an interesting blog. I hope all is well with you and yours.
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