AND....
The walnut goo and remains are currently wrapped in yet another cloth, tied with string and residing in the middle of the flower bed until I can't stand it any more and HAVE to open it up. The 'plan' is for it to stay there til spring!
Thursday, September 09, 2010
Walnut dye results
This afternoon I couldn't wait any longer and unwrapped my fabrics and 'brewed' walnut shells. I rinsed them in the rain barrel and this is what they look like now....
The piece pictured above is cotton, pre-washed. You can see the 'line' of walnuts on the left that fades towards the outer part of the bundle. Below is another piece of pre-washed cotton....
The piece below is also a piece of cotton - unsure of whether it has been washed. It also 'might' have a touch of poly in it.
Finally, here is my favourite!! Again, it's cotton, but it's a piece I had rusted last year. I wasn't thrilled with the rust on it, so decided that adding some walnut goo wouldn't hurt it. It's hard for you to tell in the photo, but there are lovely variations of rust/dark brown/charcoal in it. As Arlee would say, 'yumth'!!
Next step is to wash them all and see how much fading occurs. I'm almost afraid to for fear it all washes out!
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Cool. I can't wait to see the final results!
ReplyDeleteMmmmmm, mmmmmmm.....send some of that walnut "goo" down my way!!! I'm not sure where to find it way down here in the big city. LOL! I might just need to buy walnut ink in the store. Poor, poor me..... Seriously, great results! I love the greyed down (or should I say browned down) colour. Very earthy and yumpth!!!!! BTW what will Arlee do if we keep stealing her personal language? Come up with other words, I guess. What do you say, Arlee? Giggle!
ReplyDeletedon't wash until you have ironed first to heat set.
ReplyDeletethey look lovely, i'l have to go looking for walnuts in the right season. you're really getting into this dyeing too...k.
That last piece is wonderful with all the variations in it. I like the first on too, how it is intense on the one end and fades out. I am going to have to try this and see how my green thumb works with planting fabric! Who would have ever thought we would one day be burying fabric in the back yard?
ReplyDeleteDebbie
Oh YUMTH to the 9th factor :) These are being coveted---yes, my preciouses, YUMTHY and delishstunnated
ReplyDeleteThey are gorgeous! I think ironing it before washing is a good idea. It will be a shame if they fade too much.
ReplyDeleteI'm loving your fan club MA. Be careful where you put those walnut fabrics, the stain may be hard to remove. If you want to get rid of weeds the one in your flower bed will probably do the trick. Be warned. Also (I feel like Mother) keep your Walnut Ink in the fridge, otherwise you might find it grows a nice layer of penicillin. Ask how I know.
ReplyDeleteOh, so yummy! And I've learnt a couple of things from kaite and Dogonart. Didn't know to iron before washing. Never thought of keeping the dye water in the fridge.
ReplyDeleteLove the look MA! I wonder if I could try that with pecans or acorns or mesquite beans or.....LOL
ReplyDeleteWonderful results from your walnut dying!
ReplyDeleteMany years ago I wove Appalachian style baskets and collected black walnuts for staining them. When the boys came home from school one day they almost ran right back out the door ... oh my that did have quite an "aroma" ... guess I needed a cauldron out in the garden, but a girls gotta do what a girls gotta do heehee!
Fun combo of rusted and walnut fabric too!
oxo
these look amazing, really good colours and great surfaces. they actually resemble my CLEAN laundry!!
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