To dye for

 The other day Friend Laurie and I took a class in natural dyeing.  This wasn't completely new to me, in past years I did some dyeing and documented here when I tried to book teach myself how to dye with indigo.  That was rather intimidating, and I was a little afraid of it but kept everything and stored it in the dye pot in the garage.  This class was enough to ignite my curiosity again.  I don't need a new hobby but this process can be really simple.  One by product of taking this class.  I'll see about color fastness and maybe dye for a quilt project.  Maybe.

There were stainless steel dye pots set up with pomegranate, avocado, onion skins and black tea.

Onion skins are about the easiest thing of all.  I've dyed Easter eggs with onion skins, like my grandma used to do.  I just go to the grocery store and scoop out the skins into a bag and when the produce people ask what I'm doing and I explain it, they say, "go for it!"  They are free and the easiest way to get skins.

Each dye was natural and then another pot was set up with an iron mordant.  I learned that the iron can just be the iron pills people take.  Simple!  Adding the iron definitely changes things. Adding any mordant changes things. The avocado was the seed and the skin but the fruit carefully completely removed.  Lots of them.

Look at the difference in pomegranate! The instructor used powdered pom.

And the onion.  In the photo below you can see that adding the iron to onion makes a nice green

We were each given four cloth napkins. Everyone tied theirs for the tie dye effect but I have never liked tie dye and of course I was different by leaving my napkins flat.  The ones on the right I just dipped into the iron vat so you can see the halves with and without for the two.

It was a good class, fun, and I'll buy lots of marigolds at the nursery this summer to grow enough for a good dye pot.  

I've seen how some of you pack for retreat but this is what I'm taking. One tote with three projects, a tin with the Liberty circles and my hoop. the white bag has Elizabeth's BA quilt in for show and tell.  That's it. Hand quilters travel light!  I DO take my lamp, my chair and a small foot stool, too.