Eco printing silk

how to print silk with natural articles in a very humble non scientific amateur way, which may lead to some

lovely discoveries of colour and experience…

learnt from my lovely creative mother in law (illegal) in the style of India Flint

i gathered  these simple materials for my bush camp dyeing experience…

some silk, leaves, flowers, onion skin, a rusty bottle top, string and a rusty old camp oven (the iron reacts with the ingredients to enhance darker colors and give you a bit of extra magic, saying which, any big non food pot will do) with a stick which fits inside it…20120725-195818.jpg

lay out your natural gatherings (being mindful of what and where you gather) along your silk, fold to the width of your stick20120725-195831.jpg

roll it all up and wrap as tight as you can with some strong string…

fill your pot with water enough to cover your bundle… I was lucky to get pure mountain water…

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heat your goodies now. i generally go to boiling temp but not actually bubbling for about an hour, then remove from heat and let sit overnight or longer..

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when you can no longer wait the next day, open it up!20120725-195930.jpg

mm looks suspicious

enjoy the surprise of opening your bundle20120725-200003.jpg

yay something happened!!20120725-200021.jpg

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give it a quick and gentle rinse20120725-200030.jpg

hang in the shade to dry20120725-200042.jpg

where does the silk end and the tree begin20120725-200055.jpg

the colors are perfectly matched to our environment!20120725-200103.jpg

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a bush pixie got squished in20120725-200120.jpg

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i did another bundle the following night, using the same water, and yielded much darker shades20120725-200223.jpg

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and some beautiful leaf prints20120725-200238.jpg

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i also cleverly have printed leaves onto our awning!

place on leaves, make damp with night dew, roll it up tight and leave in the sun for days and days!20120725-200301.jpg

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Davies creek week

Last week
Mondayitis hit us bad
A terrible day ending with a sparking argument
Arriving late in the darkness to our camp for the week
Anticipated place of peace
How remarkable these explosions are!
How normally articulate beings can be reduced to one syllable expletives!
Pent up frustrations, the intensity of living all the time with each other in a tiny space. Little privacy or time in solitude. Literally bumping into one another. Every emotional change in the weather can influence us all. Moving frequently ( imagine moving house every week), being in public alot, Trying to move as a unit constantly. Simply tired and driving late after an unfulfilling day.
Morning came again and i felt some release and forgiveness creep in
Remarkable how we can repair and reconnect and re open to one another again and again over the years.

We had found mould in the bus since our wet daintree week so a cleaning out task was set.
out came everything!

Umm what exactly is all that stuff?

all essential i’m sure!

Mould in our relationship also needed a clean out!
It was therapeutic to have the physical task of washing and repacking the bus and also sharing, listening, exploring,challenging and bantering.
I love these moments of vulnerable communication even as it scares the pants off me, it brings a needed authenticity to our time together.

Our Setting was Dinden national park which Is quite open dry woodland range.
Winter gold of wattle flowers have subtle perfume for dawn walkers. Rustling dry grass and balga trees present the spiky blanket of hills.
Spacious blue glimpsed through eaucalypt lace.

Camping beside the chilly ever flowing Davies creek is a joy of refreshment and constant humming flow of sound.
We collect our cooking and washing water from this pure waterway and dunk ourselves every day.

our week witnessed so much…
Watching lily start to disappear into chapter books in quiet moments
Cedar happily trucking, shoveling, swinging and digging
Watching little birds visit camp and large flicks squawk overhead
Stars and stars and stars
Toasting haloumi instead of marshmallows on sticks in the coals
Cinnamon damper on the coals
Dozing off by the fire
We drank a lot of coconuts
We became perfumed with woodsmoke
We slowly unwound
Watched birds
Lily made a fairy village in tree roots and harvested blood wood sap
Cedar trucked sand and delivered sticks for the fire
We stayed in one place
We didn’t drive anywhere for four nights
We mapped a lot of the bus( found permanent homes for things and repacked)

We where joined for a night by the lovely Paul and Merivale and 4 boys
The shorter kids Slippery dipped down watery rocks and the bigger ones flipped off the high rocks


There was a little music
A little weaving
A little silk dyeing
A little solitude
A whole lot of fun

Whats happening at your place this week?
Are you inside or outside more?

what helps you and your partner reconnect?

Peace
Roselinde

 

a glimpse of our week…

Lily loves to wander the bush finding bush food and medicines which she bundles up in these paperbark pouches for her dilly bag, each one with special knots to identify the contents at a glance

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You all know I’m a basket case don’t you!!

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This beauty from our dear friend Mike at wind willow basketry in NZ found a valid purpose!
How did they all sneak in? i was sure I limited myself to three this trip!
And here I go weaving more from coconut fronds…

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Casting on fit the first time this trip. A bit of nude knitting is the way to relax!!

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This is how the others relaxed…

There’s my new billy.. and authentic hand lathed scottish style porridge shpongle thingy!

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We also baked make n bake food for Lilys hungry sylvanian family..

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mm yummy haloumi, looks kinda like a marshmallow doesn’t it?20120725-161507.jpg

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currently seen devouring Mr Galliano’s circus by Enid Blyton20120725-161610.jpg

Mm what’s cooking there Rosirose…

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A tease for my next post!!
Phew lots of photos to upload! Have fun lookin’

Ayla’s rainbow connection

In the Shalom market tucked amongst the produce, plants and bric a brac

I was delighted to find

a stall of gorgeous and whimsical knit, crotchet and sewn goodies!

Ayla’s grandparents run this stall and use the proceeds to fund her support

for details go to Ayla’s Rainbow Connection

I enjoyed talking Ravelry patterns, pure wool supplies

(I recommend Weave, Bilby Yarns and Bendigo Mill)

children, baby signing and life with these lovely folk

who where for me a beacon of creative inspiration and good intent

and supply of gorgeous wool soakers!

Blessings

R

if you have any favorite wool or craft suppliers leave me a note in the comments and lets support these

 valued businesses and each other in our creativity!