Different ways of wearing a scarf

Creative way of showing different ways of wearing a scarf

Natural versus synthetic dyes

I just read an article on the ecotextiles blog : Can it be an organic fabric if it uses synthetic dyes.

This is a great point. I like to keep it as natural and organic as possible, I think we all need to decide where we put our boundaries.

If we use natural dyes and go on using toxic mordants, I think we are not doing much good to the environment. However, there are other ways of using natural dyes that are harmless for the maker, the environment and for the wearer.

Another critique towards plant dyes is that if the use of natural dyes increases, more land is needed to cultivate the plants needed for our dyebaths, this land could otherwise be used for growing food. What if we:
-explore local dye plants that are weeds and need to be cleared anyway
-use tree prunings
-grow flowers as a companion plant in between food plants
-use veggie scraps and fruit peelings
-use the dye plants more than once, so that less plants are needed, this will give different shades
-use waste from the florist
-use techniques that need less plant material to give colour

windfalls after the cyclone

How to use less plants for dyeing:
-when the plants come out of the dye bath, dry them and you can reuse them later, you can extract more colour that way
-by eco printing: using the plant material directly on top of the fabric, roll it and steam or boil. There is only very little plant material needed for this technique
-by using fermentation dyeing, especially the technique re-invented by Anne Rieger, using an acid and an alkaline bath. With this technique, a bit of plant material goes a long way and it keeps releasing more dyes over time.

mandarine skins in fermentation vat

I can understand that all this is of not much use for big industries, but if we start to make a change in our own small world, that is a good beginning.

Grow your own food, grow and collect your own dye plants!

"Autumn leaves" on its way to Canada

My nuno felt scarf "Autumn Leaves" is on its way to Canada. It had so many views on etsy and was in many treasuries. That is probably where the views came from.


Five pieces are on its way to the timeless textile gallery in Newcastle, the eco dyed nuno poncho "Yellow anemone" being one of them.

Some eco-prints

Left: red cabbage, middle: red cabbage and red onion skins, right: yellow cosmos and rusted nails

Left: casuarina and iron, middle: one day lily and rust, right: rose leaves and rust

Left: mangosteen skins and rust, middle: gum leaves in bath with nails, right: casuarina and rust, steamed.

detail of the steamed casuarina and rust.

Feltmaking Tutorials

I have now uploaded all my feltmaking tutorials on my own site and they can be purchased from there. The advantages over purchasing them here rather than in my etsy shop is, that it is an instant download after payment. You will not have to wait anymore until I find out that I have made a sale on etsy. This is a big improvement for both me and my customers.
Check it out on http://lizetfrijters.com/tutorials.html

Help for Julie-Ann Twigg and her family

Julie-Ann and her 15 year old daughter Jacinda were involved in a horrific plane crash...
Julie-Ann is in intensive care and so sadly Jacinda and the pilot did not survive.

Julie-Ann is the team leader of DUST (Etsy Down Under Street Team)
Dusters across Australia are devastated by this awful news, and are actively donating and raising funds for Julie-Ann and her family.

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/more-news/girl-pilot-die-in-mercy-flight-tragedy/story-fn7x8me2-1226115479475

Colourful dirt

Here is a link to an article on John Marshall's blog with a beautiful garment, dyed with colours from the earth. Colour is all around us, we just need to use it....

johnmarshall.to/blog/2011/05/19/john's-art-pick-of-the-week-focus-on-dirt/

In the text, he also explains how to make your own pigments from the earth that you can find near you.

Introducing Isabel

I know I have been absent for a while. However, I was working and got side tracked by enjoying work in the garden more than feltmaking.
I found this great woman at the "waste transfer station". I decided to give her a nice white coat of paint and here she is, working for me. Isabel is great, always willing to model and in a good mood, she leans a bit over to the right, but that's okay for me. She wants to be carried though. Well, I am happy with her and in between modeling she shares my bedroom. And so, I have done my regular task of recycling.

Sandra's Loom Blog: Wood Dye

Sandra's Loom Blog: Wood Dye

I found this a very interesting article about natural dyeing, so decided to post it here.

Lavender Curls

As promised, here is the finished felted poncho that I made with the eco printed silk from previous post.
On etsy: http://www.etsy.com/listing/67591584/silk-eco-dyed-fairy-nuno-felted-poncho

The day after Yasi

Yasi came, brought wind and rain, more elsewhere than here. All together, we were enough to the north of the cyclone, to be spared from a lot of damage. The areas more south are seriously affected with a lot of structural damage and loss of houses. Only one death so far.
It was a long night and we were all very tired. I needed the whole day yesterday to relax.

For dyers like me, there are lots of leaves and twigs to collect. Above are some casuarina and eucalyptus leaves. I have still to find eucalyptus leaves here, that give another colour than yellow or tan.

I felted a poncho today, using a silk piece that I dyed more than a month ago with the eco print. I don't know the name of the flowers. Here is a close image of the flower:


Here is the silk with the flowers and some rusted iron on top of it, ready to being rolled into a bundle. The middle row has fresh flowers, the other rows frozen with bits of iron:

The fabric after steaming

The fabric lays in the other direction here than with the flowers still on.

The flowers turned a more beige colour with iron. I have now frozen the flowers and am dyeing another piece of silk with them in the freezer. I might take that out soon. It has been in there for a few weeks now. I just don't know yet how long to leave it in there, but I am getting curious.

I will post a photo of the poncho in a few days, when I have one.

Cyclone Yasi

It looks big and will be big. I better go to bed and have a rest, as this will be hitting tomorrow night. It is a monster cyclone.
http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/environment/weather/yasi-could-become-category-five-monster-20110201-1abmx.html

And if I don't answer emails, approve your comments or answer the phone, this is why.
I hope to be back online soon.

Feature on Maddabling

I am so pleased to be featured on the maddabling blog today:
http://maddabling.blogspot.com/2011/01/friday-friends-dusty-divas-lizet.html

Check out every Friday, as there will be another Dusty Diva featured every week.
http://maddabling.blogspot.com/

Australian Flood Disaster Relief

I just donated an item for the Australian Flood Disaster Relief. Take a look at this etsy shop to all the items people have donated.

Freeform Lace Shawls

First I wish everyone a very creative and abundant new year.

I made some new freeform lace shawls this week. Together with my daughter we have been assembling, stitching until we couldn't anymore.
Here are some pictures already, more to come:

This is what happens when my daughter doesn't feel like modelling.


You can find them all and many more in the shawls section in my etsy shop