dyeing in the cold

I’ve been promising myself that i would try snow dyeing again since winter started here in cold cold Canadian weathered Calgary, and have kept putting it off. I was worried i would “run out” of the Procion dyes. Well, duh, but why do i have them then if i’m not going to use them???????

My experiments 2 winters ago were not done properly or  successful This time i have PFD cotton ready, proper trays and enough snow! Pics tomorrow hopefully of (dare i hope) good results this time.

I’m renewing my interest in natural dyes and ecoprints as well. Wendy has been instrumental here: her blog posts on using local vegetation even in the dead of winter have made me realize i have been whining about what i don’t have, instead of what i do have access to. It might not be as stupendous bright wise, but there’s plenty i can say with sleeping colours. Since i love the more yawny (yes, Yawny and Tawny) hues and work with a lot of neutrals, i’m going to fire up the dye-pots and see what i get. Nothing gets wasted anyways! And at the very least, i will have some pre-mordanted fabrics on hand for when the vegetation does sprout again.

I also have frozen marigolds (still in the garden), very dry eucalyptus and i’m eyeballing some of my houseplants I dried tansy buds and hollyhock blooms for winter use (duh), have onion skins (of course!) and a handful of hibiscus blooms—-guess i have more than i thought!

Another advantage to gathering in the winter, or using previously dried plant materials, is no bugs! I always feel horrible when i find a curled up spider or squashed leaf hopper floating in the pot…… So i have manitoba maple keys and leaves, which might give me only a beige or medium brown if i’m lucky, but like i said, maybe a tannin addition as well for another layering up with something else. And pine needles. And a teeeny jar of lichen soaking in ammonia…..

Get ON with it!

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