This past week I acquired a neat new tool for use in my dyeing experiments/projects- an electric food warming unit. Found it on craigslist, and turned out to be right in my neighborhood.
Seemed like it might be great for holding fiber at sub-boiling temps for a variety of dyeing methods, and would not require firing up my propane burner.
I decided to give it a trial run with bringing my indigo vat (sitting dormant for the last month) back to life. I’d not done this before, so decided to work with just a small amount of the remaining dyebath.
I filled the well in the food warmer about halfway with water, and set it at high to start, to get the water temp up to 120F
It took about a teaspoon of thiox, and a half an hour or reaction time at that temp , but the blue solution finally started de-oxygenating and turning green!
Woot! I decided to use a bit of felt, yarn and fleece to test its viability (and found that the well of the warmer was a great place to let the fibers soak before dyeing, too!)
I was really pleased with the depth of shade of the results-
So I have gained some confidence in my ability to manage the indigo. I’m sure that the universe is getting ready to knock me down a peg, but for now I’m pretty chuffed 🙂
Also related to dyeing- I recently learned about a mordant that can be used without heat, on both protein and cellulose fibers: Aluminum Triformate. Am hoping to have a chance this summer to have a go at both madder and dyers chamomile, so am exited to give this a try. Just got some in the mail from Earthhues. So, more on that later.
Other blues on the radar this week- berries!
It’s a good blueberry year. Plenty for both us and the birds. Am trying to pick at least every other day, and put a bunch away in the freezer for future use. But it is hard to not just gorge on them. I think maybe I was a bear in a former life.
No ripe tomatoes quite yet, but look at these Cuor de Bue Albenga guys!!
The bunches of fruits are so big and heavy I’m probably going to have to put them in slings to keep them from detaching. Can’t wait to try them.
The Jaune Flamme will probably be the first to ripen- they are starting to show a little bit of orange
I also have an Alcott update, but will leave that for next time . Perhaps it will be all wrapped up by then!
Have a good week everyone-