When it started to rain yesterday, then didn't stop raining,
and didn't stop,
and well, just continued to bucket for hours...
I decided it was time for another science experiment.
It might be considered odd (by some) to be inspired by 1/3 of an aging red cabbage but I am learning
that many mysteries worth exploring are hiding within such dregs. So onto the chopping block it went.
Two bundles from reclaimed clothing: 100% silk on the left, and 100% ramie,
each containing the exact same assortment of ingredients (all shall be revealed later).
I'm trying to understand how different cloths absorb the same colors.
Already different, as you can see, after simmering for twenty minutes and sitting overnight.
Love the bits of spent blue cabbage sticking out...
Then I went and did something which might have been stupid and has completely altered the color
of one.
I won't know for a few days.
They are resting now.
Hopefully time will be good to me, fingers crossed.
Outside, the rainwater is causing some explosions.
Why is it that we can water, water, water with the garden hose and yet one good rain
and the garden responds like its won the lottery?!
When I planted this honeysuckle three years ago it was a puny cutting, barely six inches tall.
Now it has passed NINE feet.
And this is one of the reasons that I shall be a gardener until I can no longer lift a trowel.
The fabrics in your post below are beautiful...love those soft natural colours and that wonderful fraying...makes my heart sing. Makes me want to stitch. I need to get my oak pot going again and get some lovely earthy colours.
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to seeing your latest bundles when they are unwrapped.
Jacky xox
...the number of times a fray has encouraged me to stitch! We humans can be so odd in our quirks (no offense intended) but whatever it takes to keep going, I say. Thanks for stopping by, Jacky. The *unveiling* should be in about 3 days or so...
DeleteWell, this is pretty fascinating and definitely nothing I've seen before. Very curious how they will turn out!
ReplyDeleteAs for your honeysuckle, you inspire me to plant some if it will grow that well. There has to be an upside to all our rain, hasn't there? Our property is very jungle-like right now!
Georgianna
Georgianna, what a treat to have you visit, thank you. The one thing about a honeysuckle that cannot be discerned from a photo is the OVERPOWERING fragrance of the thing! I know you are a devoted *flower floozie* so I am sure its scent would have you swooning. When I open the back door in the mornings to walk out with my cuppa, I am literally engulfed in its sweetness....oh yes, you MUST plant one!
Deletearen't we impatient...as for cloth for gardening too
ReplyDeleteot..thanks for your great comment on my blog. Medicin helps but not always as sufficient as promised.
My dear Yvette, the best things are worth waiting for, don't you think? Whoever coined the phrase "patience is a virtue" must have truly known what they were talking about.
Delete❤ to you.
OMGosh, We are in draught stage in Northern Indiana. Burn bans (yay) are everywhere. That's good for us since Terry has COPD. Anyway, I ALWAYS wanted a honeysuckle and tried several times from a start. Then one day last year, one miraculously appeared on our privacy fence line by our pond. I didn't even realize it was honeysuckle. Terry waters that pond area everyday for hours on a time. Its the only way we can keep Junior (dog) from digging for moles. The plants and weeds are a jungle out there. I won't weed because the bluebirds have another brood in the box. .... Life is wonderful.
ReplyDeletexx, Carol
I hope it grows like gangbusters for you, Carol! i am a huge fan of the *volunteers* that show up in our gardens...they seem to know far better than we humans do, where they want to plant their feet.
DeleteTruth be told? I'd almost trade you my honeysuckle if I could have your bluebirds in my garden!! Wow, you are so privileged to live with them so close...
water is a blessing for so many things.
ReplyDeleteI ache for the mid-west and beyond this year.
LOVELY honeysuckle. We have loads of the yellow flowering here and I love them so.
Me too, Nancy...their stories, omg.
DeleteOur native honeysuckle has no scent, bright orange in flower, and very sparse in growth habit. This hybrid came from our local Farmers Market where the gal who sells them swears there are now EIGHTY of them growing around the island...calls herself the "honeysuckle 'ho"... ;>}}
Wonderful experiment!! We had a tiny bit of rain yesterday -- just enough to make it more humid today. However, with all the dryness across the country I'm not going to complain.
ReplyDeleteNo, too right...no complaints at all.
DeleteExperiment still resting, more soon.
Counting the days!
ReplyDeleteMay be one more day or so. Seeing some interesting bleeds now...patience level under control ;>]]
DeleteAh, love these images, dyeing to see how they turn out!
ReplyDeleteMe too, Therese, thank you. Not much longer now!
DeleteI can't wait to see your bundles unwrapped... that is the wonder of natural dyes and different clothes... the surprises that come later... yes we have had a lot of rain lately.. but stuff sure grows fast.
ReplyDeleteWaiting to unwrap is a little like waiting to see a photograph develop in the darkroom *soup*...I had a LOT of patience back then so I must remember that....remember that.....remember that.....
DeleteOoooh, oooh, oooooooh! Now this is a good thing for a rainy day... EXCITING science experiment.... ahhhhh! I can't wait to see results. No, seriously, I can NOT wait! I might do a little something like this tomorrow. I be smiling! I be not sleeping, thanks to you, dear!
ReplyDeleteRain in the forecast for later this aft, dear Robin ~ GO FOR IT!
ReplyDeleteI shall be un-bundling today...stay tuned ;>]]