I am very surprised about how clean it is, not much vegetation in it at all.
I bought it from "The Natural Coloured Fibre Company". They stock merino in black , white , brown and every shade of grey . Corriedale , Romney , Perendale , Comeback , English and Border leister , Finnsheep and Alpaca in just about every colour under the sun.
Send me an email at lizet(at)lizetfrijters(dot)com if you want their details.
Tomorrow, I will show you some images of how I have dyed the skeins.
After some serious struggling with internet access, I finally could add some pieces to my etsy shop.
I have been making some shawls that I'm really proud of.
OCEAN SHAWL.
I liked to picture the foaming waves in the ocean near the beach. I used silk chiffon and also some knitted white cotton to achieve that. I wanted the silk to ruffle so that there would me more life into it. This happened naturally during the felting process.
COLOURS OF THE REEF.
This shawl was really playing at good luck and see what the outcome would be. I used silk for this nuno felted piece and 2 thin layers of wool, one on each side. I played with colours and added some fabrics and lace. This is the outcome.
This shawl has been sold.
This time I took my leftovers from other projects and felted them all together in this one shawl. It was very experiental and totally unpredictable, as every part reacted differently to the felting process.
The flowers of yellow cosmos are not only a beauty in the garden, they also yield a variety of vibrant colours.
I'll give a short overview of a few colours you can achieve with this wonderful flowers.
The yellow and orange flowers both give the same results. I haven't tried other cosmos.
The wool is first mordanted with alum. A mordant is needed to fix the dye to the fibers. I use the natural rock alum, I am lucky to have a supplier in this area.
After boiling the flowers in water, I put the wool in the dyebath and let it boil until desired colour intensity. This will give a yellow colour.
Now the fun starts. We can modify the yellow colour in many different ways:
-soak in water with vinegar: the colour will turn more into a lemon yellow.
-soak in water with soda: this yields a bright orange.
-soak in rusted nail water (this is obtained by putting rusted nails in water and vinegar for at least a few days): you'll get an olive green.
-soak in rested nail water, rinse and soak in soda water: the wool becomes rust brown to dark warm brown.
I only use natural and non toxic ingredients in my natural dye techniques. This keeps it safe for me and for the planet.
One of my result with yellow cosmos dyes:
This work is a sunset at the sea with a few coconut palms in the foreground.
I felted this wall panel to depict the silence and peace on a quiet evening on the beach with the only sound the waves and the wind in the palm leaves.
The wool has been dyed with onion skins and yellow cosmos flowers, both mordanted with alum and some have been treated afterwards with soda or iron water (rusted nails in water) or a combination of the 2 methods to give a range of different yellows, oranges and browns. The finishing touch was done with stitching.
silence detail
Here are some of the pieces that are in my etsy shop:
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=8432857Featuring EnchantedGypsy
Wet Felted Boots -- Plant Dyed (Photo below)
These wet felted, were made using organic, locally purchased sheeps wool, dyed with natural plant dyes. They are extremely durable and amazingly warm. They can be worn outdoors in dry or even damp woodland areas much like leather mocasins.
The outer edge of the design is trimed in handspun and dyed purple yarn.
Wet felting is a traditional and ancient artform, used by nomadic people to make tents (gers or yurts), rugs, carpets, shoes and clothes.
Featuring Drew from FAIRYTALEFIBERS
Aren’t they lovely and cuddly, these hoods? They are made in 100% upcycled wool, protecting you and the environment.
Sustainable Fairy Hood in patchy Black and Light Green:
This hood acts as both a Hat and Scarf!
If you get too warm, it flips down like a Hood.
You can even tie the scarflette behind your back so you can dance all night and still have your hat in the morning!
An added bonus is that you won’t get saturated no matter how torrential the downpour!
You can even tie the tails to make a Satchel to forage for treasure while romping through the urban forest...
More about this item: http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=9165650
