lørdag den 23. maj 2015

Svampe- og plantefarvning. --- Mushroom and Plant Dye

En blog om noget af det, der har optaget mig den sidste måneds tid: svampe- og plantefarvning. Til ære for min engelsksprogedel læser - måske e der mere end en - er billedteksterne på dansk og engelsk.

One of the things keeping MotherOwl busy for the time being is plant dyeing. This time only the photos will have captions in English. But the colours are international, so please enjoy. The text will eventually be translated.
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     Det begyndt med en svampefarver-workshop, hvor jeg bragte en madkasse fuld af svampe med hjem. De farvede rødt, og de skulle afprøves.

This time MotherOwl began the dyeing binge by visiting a workshop on mushroom dye. The mushrooms were given to whoever wanted them in the end, so MotherOwl returned with a lunch-box packed with slimy mushrooms. They were frozen because of busyness, but now the time is right to thaw them up again and have a go.

Farvning med cinnoberbladet slørhat -- Cortinarius semisanguineus --  Dyeing with Red-gilled webcap
Fra venstre: 2.+3.bad på uld (samme omgang garn i begge bade). 2 x 2. bad på alpakka - altsammen alun og tinbejdset. 1. bad på alunbejdset (det lille) og alun-tin bejdset  (det lange) uld, og på alun-tinbejdset alpakka.  Det grå er ikke farvet
l-r: 1st and 2nd afterbath wool (1 skein got both). 2 Alpaca skeins alum-tin mordant. 1st bath alum mordanted wool (the smallest skein),  Alum-tin mordanted wool (the longest) and alpaca. The grey is just along for the wash and dry part of the process.

Så måtte jeg til at plantefarve igen. Nogle af planterne har man lige ved hånden. Den her for eksempel:

Then MotherOwl was unstoppable. The plants for dyeing grow in abundance in May and MotherOwl has joined a group of plant dyers. Some of the plants are easily found - like this one
Ground elder for dye.

For ikke at tale om den øverste her på billedet. Stor svaleurt er en forsøgsplante, det kommer:
And the top one here. It grows in our garden. The bottom plant is celandine. It is rumoured to give a blue dye when fermented, but how?
Stinging nettle and greater celandine

Først gjorde jeg som vanligt 80 grader i en time. Det gav nogle fine, men lidt lyse farver. Så halvdelen af hver bundt fik en ekstra halv time ved 85-90 grader. Det blev noget mørkere.

With nettles and ground elder, I followed standard procedure. One hour at 80 degrees. It gave green colours, but a little to the yellow side. Half the yarn was given an additional half hour at 85-90 degrees. That was better. 
Ground elder to the left, nettle to the right.

Så i dag på vej hjem fra bussen kunne jeg ikke holde øjnene fra grøftekanten og fandt noget lugtløs kamille. Den lever så afgjort ikke op til sit navn, når den simrer, den stinker.
Men når man ser den smukke gyldengule farve, er man helt indstillet på at tilgive den.

On my way home I stumbled upon the first scentless mayweed of the year. It's name is fitting when you smell it in nature, It is NOT scentless when boiled.
But when you see the golden yellow, everything is forgiven.
Scentless mayweed.


Lige fra gryden --  Fresh from the pot

Og sammen med nogle af de røde svampefarver. Den lyser nærmest
And with the mushroom dyed red skeins. It's almost glowing

Lige nu er 2. bad ved at køle ned. Det ser lysegyldent ud.
Jeg fandt også regnfan. Det kommer i gryden i morgen

The afterbath is now cooling down in the pot. It looks a paler golden.
Tomorrow tansy will be in the pot.
Tansy
 
Og så den sidste plante, jeg fandt, Det skulle være vild kørvel, men jeg frygter at det er skarntyde. Se lige de røde stilkender. Men eftersom giften ikke er varmestabil, kan det vel komme an på en prøve.
Supposed to be wild chervil, I fear it's actually hemlock.
Look at those red stem bases!
But as the poison is unstable when heated, I might as well try.

Et sidste projekt er de mange padderokker fra en hyggelig plantefarver-dag, der hænger og tørrer på en snor. De skal være ordentlig tørre for at give en god farve.

One last project is dyeing with horsetails from a good day with the plant dye group. It has to be dry before it yields its colour. Patience!

9 kommentarer:

  1. Uglemor,

    I really enjoyed reading this post, and looking at the photos. The colours are beautiful. Now I'm looking forward to seeing what you make using the dyed yarns!

    Hemlock... Is it dangerous for your animals? Will they eat it?

    SvarSlet
    Svar
    1. Hemlock is indeed poisonous to animals, most don't eat it because of the smell.
      I wonder what I'll be making from this yarn as well. The white yarn looks so wonderful, but it is very ithcy. Clothing is out, but there's mayn non-clothing objects to make from wool. Time will tell ...

      Slet
  2. Smukke farver! Jeg har ikke rigtig noget garn på lager, jeg kan farve, måske senere. Drømmen er kilovis af blød uld i strømpegarnstype, som jeg kan væve slumretæpper af!

    SvarSlet
    Svar
    1. Jeg drømme om at strikke mig en varm trøje eller to, men det bliver ikke af det her garn, da det kradser. Nu har jeg farvet en masse små bundter forskellige farver, lad os se, hvad der kommer uda af det.
      Jeg forstår dine drømme om varme, vævede slumretæpper. Især da i dag.

      Slet
    2. Trøjer kan man altid bruge, men det garn jeg hidtil har farvet er også for kradst.

      Slet
  3. I enjoyed looking at your natural dyed skeins very much - how much more you must have enjoyed producing them! The cortinarius gave reds as if it were madder.

    SvarSlet
    Svar
    1. Yes, they're in fact so madder-like, that I suspect it to be the same - or almost the same - chemical compounds. As an additional fun fact the cortiarius dye is bound to the poison orellanine, and this poison is fluorescent. The dye is too. The things you knit will be glowing white or yellow in the right light.
      Nature dyeing is a never ending and absorbing story.

      Slet
  4. The yellow the wild chamomile gave is gorgeous. How much of fresh plant did you use in relation to dry yarn? And I suppose you alum mordanted it, didn't you?

    SvarSlet
    Svar
    1. Yes, I like it very much,. it's luminous, golden, and always make me smile when I see it. Alum mordant - as always 20 % alum - and 4 times as much plant as yarn, 80 degrees for one hour. This is my general recipe. Only the Cortinaria mushrooms get also tin (2%) and CoT (15%). I up the temperture to 85 - 90 for nettles and ground elders, and sometimes for other plants if I'm not satisfyed first time round. I'm a very keep ot simple-kind of dyer.

      Slet

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I am grateful for all comments, and try to reply meaningfully to all of them.