Maaliskuun on ollut niin kylmä, että vieläkin on ihan talvista. Kunhan lumet sulavat ja maa alkaa sulaa, niin sitten pystyy kaivamaan juuria värjäykseen. Viime viikolla katselin rannassa, josko tervalepällä käpyjä olisi pudonnut hangelle, mutta ne olivat vielä kiinni puissa. Sain kuitenkin kerättyä pienen määrän koevärjäystä varten. En ole koskaan aiemmin värjännytkään niiden kävyillä, ainoastaan lepänkuorella, mutta kävyistä pitäisi tulla samantapaista väriä kuin kuorestakin. Ohjeiden mukaan lepänkäpyjä olisi hyvä liottaa useampi viikko ennen värjäystä että väristä tulisi mahdollisimman voimakas, sama juttuhan on kuorillakin. Näillä värjäys tulee sitten huhtikuun lopulle:).
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March has been so cold that it is still winter here, and snow everywhere. When the snow melts in April and ground starts to thaw, I can dig some roots to dye with, but last week I went to look for alder cones by the lake behind our house. There are some tall alder (Alnus glutinosa) trees and their small cones were still mostly attached to the branches and not fallen down. Most of the branches were too high for me to reach, but I got a small amount of alder cones to experiment with. I haven't dyed with them before this, so it will be interesting to see if the colour is the same or similar as from alder bark.
What I have read about dyeing with alder cones say that the cones should be soaked for a few weeks before dyeing to get the strongest colour so that is what I'm going to do and let them soak until end of April.
Vaikka muuten onkin vielä talvista niin muuttolintuja on jo tullut ja järvellä onkin pienessä sulassa joutsenia ja hanhia. Kevät on tulossa!
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Though it still feels like winter, there are some migrating swans and geese already here. Spring is coming!
Where did you read about letting the alder cones soak for weeks. I just experimented with cones and catkins from alder, and I just boiled them one day and dyed the next. I'm quite happy with the colours. https://krydderuglen.blogspot.dk/2018/03/smating-this-and-that.html
ReplyDeleteAre you goint to try the catkins later? I'd like to do two separate dyebaths, male and female catkins separately. But, let's see if I'll get to do it.
Happy Easter.
Thank you! Your yarns look really great colour, and alder cones gave you quite dark colour, the same colour as I have seen when soaked for a long time. Was your yarn superwash yarn? Most times superwash yarns take colour much better than my untreated yarn. The advise to soak alder cones came from Finnish dyers who have experience that it gives better colour that way. If I had more alder cones I would try to dye now and then later again, but I have only a handful of cones and don't want to waste it in case it dyes my yarn better when soaked for a longer time. It would be also interesting to try catkins, but I don't know if I can reach them (later when they appear), the branches of the trees are so high:( I will have to see if I can manage to collect any of them!
ReplyDeleteNo, this is not superwash, at least as far as I know. The thin yarns are homespun (not by me) and the thick ones a surplus from somewhere. I normally don't want to use superwashm as I find the process behind it "dirty". I would like to be able to read finnish, sp many good dye books and blogs ... I can find many catkins near my place. Today it is snowing, but maybe tomprrow I'll get some more cones and catkins and try with the thin yarns.
ReplyDeleteIt is interesting that your yarn took the colour so well, I wish you luck with catkins also. The bath were my cones are now soaking has turned quite dark brown only in few days, and I don't know how much longer soaking will benefit, but I try it:) I agree with you about superwash.
DeleteSoaking? Do you just place the cones in water and leave them, or do you boil it now and the to avoid mold?
DeleteI'm experimenting now, as it seems your suspicion was rigth. My trial yarn seems to be treated in some way. As it was left over warp from carpets, superwash would not be my first choice of treatment, but maybe anti-moth or some such, also influenting colour receptability.
Yes, I soak in water:), and because our water is acidic by nature, I add a spoonful of washing soda to it. It prevents mold and many times neutral or slightly basic water gives better results than acidic water (except with cochineal which loves acidic water).
DeleteI forgot to add, that I boil the cones after soaking.
DeleteThank you.
DeleteNow I've split my alder cones in two parts. One to be never heated to more than 70 degrees, one to be boiled. I think the colour turned from reddish brown to plain brown with boiling.
DeleteThank you, alder cones seem like very interesting source of colour! Please let me know what the end result is so I can try them the best way:)
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