Springtime in Tasmania!

 
This is what greets me at the gate when I come home from the gallery.

This morning!

 
Dyeing silk a second time with dye extracted from red rhododendron flowers.

Opening the bundles today …

 
After successfully eco printing with rhododendron flowers on rice paper last week, let’s see what happens on silk!

Eco dyeing on a sunny day in winter

Thank you to friends Bob and Mary for letting me raid their garden!

Bundles ready for steaming; pre-dyed with purple carrot (cooking water), native cherry or banksia. Various leaves between the layers.

I must try to grow some purple carrots …

 
This is the colour you get on silk with the cooking water from purple carrots! Alum added; simmered for one hour and left to cool overnight before removal.