What Was I Thinking???

Wish I could go back in time and eliminate the turmeric, but since that's not possible, I will be doing a lot of overdyeing. I just sprinkled some of the turmeric but it does take over. In fact, when I unrolled the bundles, some of the turmeric was still in powder form and had to be brushed off of the fabric. I love the lines formed from the twill tape I used to bind the bundles. Colors in the photos are a little off but close.
All the beet slivers used washed away. The leaf prints are chinese tallow. Caramel coloring is from the oak leaves.

This and That

I pulled out some leaves and flowers that were pressed into several books last fall (2009). They still had color so I soaked them in some water with a drop of vinegar. I rolled them into a bundle, steamed them and let them sit for a couple of days. I was amazed at the results.

leaves from the Chinese Tallow tree

flowers from Desert Willow tree

I also made a bundle of fresh beet leaves but only got a beigey stained result. I will probably re-use this piece for another bundle.

fresh beet leaves

I now remember why I don't like using a sketchbook. I change my mind too many times and the center of my moon quilt is now something different from the sketch. However, brainstorming and writing things down did give me some ideas.

beginnings of moon quilt

Dyeing bundle of Plumbago flowers and leaves

I gathered some blue Plumbago flowers and leaves this morning and bundled them in some wet dupioni silk. I did some pounding while bundling with, of all things, a 5 lb. hand weight. I couldn't find my rubber mallet. I tied the bundle tightly and steamed it over boiling rain water for about 90 minutes. I then put it in a plastic bag, sunk it in a jar and put it out in the sun. We'll see how long I can hold out before unwrapping it. This is my first bundle attempt.

 bundle suspended over boiling water