mama Ladka

Filcani copati - Felted slippers

2012-01-21T21:00:00.000+01:00

Takole poteka delo od kupa česane volne do filcanih copatov:

- Volno sem natehtala na- Volno sem natehtala, za vsako stran modela - levo in desno, zgoraj in spodaj - štirje kupčki ...
This is how I proceeded when I made a pair of felted slippers:
- I weighed four heaps of carded wool, one for each half of the resist, for the upper and the lower side...

... razporedila po modelu, omočila, najprej na eni in nato na drugi strani ...

- I layered it onto the template, wetted, on each side ...

- filcala na eni...
- felted on one side ...

- in nato na drugi strani ...
- and then on the other side

- ko se je navzgor potegnil ves filc, ko sem ga povlekla in ni več razpadal na posamezna vlakna (pinch test), sem prerezala ...
- I made the pinch test and cut the felt...

- in izvlekla model...
- removed the resist ...

- nato sem najprej utrdila prerezani rob na obeh copatih (levi je že, desni še ne, če se slučajno ne vidi dobro)...
- I secured the cut felt on each slipper (the one on the left is done and the one on the right not yet, in case the picture doesn't show it well) ...

- vsak copat posebej filcala od zunaj in od znotraj ...
- I continued to felt each slipper on the outside and the inside ...

- tule je zraven vileda za primerjavo velikosti pred dodatnim filcanjem in skrčenjem ...
- the washing cloth (19 x 19 cm) to show the size before fulling and shrinking ...

- oprala, da sem izprala vso milnico, pa tudi rese, ki so v naši domači volni...
- I washed several times to rinse out all detergent ...

- copate sem tokrat strojno pobarvala s sintetično barvo Marabu Fashion Colour, temno zelena, za bombaž (na volno je prijela zelo malo).
- and dyed the slippers in the machine this time, using the synthetic dark green Marabu Fashion Colour for cotton (it dyed wool poorly).

V pralnem stroju so se copati zelo skrčili: računala sem na številko 41, dobila pa sem komaj 38. Tole pranje v stroju je problem, ki ga moram še rešiti :-(

In the washing machine the slippers shrank to number 38 when I was after 41 - machine washing is a problem yet to be solved :-(

Ampak copati so luštni, nosijo se prijetno - čisto pravi lepi filcani copati!
Nevertheless, the slipers are cute, cosy to wear - a good pair of beautiful felted slippers!

Topla volnena kapa - A warm wool hat

2012-01-09T22:07:00.001+01:00

Tole kapo sem spletla za sina, po njegovih željah: kite različnih širin, neraztegnjene - močno reliefne, kapa tako dolga, da se zadaj pobesi, iz debele volnene preje iz treh niti. Barvana je (verjetno) z rabarbarinimi listi v eni štreni v več stopnjah, tako da je v dveh niansah, vmes pa še prevezana, da je ostala skoraj bela oziroma zelo svetla. Dodala sem še enobarvno svetlo in še tretjo volno v malo bolj zelenkastih niansah. Pa vse je moralo biti namešano brez določenega reda, v nepravilnih presledkih, tako da mi je tudi pri kitah "ratalo" kaj nepravilnega, he-he!

The hat was knit for my son, custom made to his desire: the plaits are of various widths, not stretched so that they remain strongly embossed, the hat is so long that it hangs down at the back, and the wool yarn is three-ply. It was dyed (probably) with rhubarb leaves in one long skein in several degrees so that the colour is in two nuances. Besides, I tied it in several places where it remained almost white. I also used a yarn of very light solid colour and a third yarn in greenish colours. All this had to be mixed without any defined pattern, at irregular lengths, so that some irregularities also moved into the plaits, he-he!

Praznično - Sweet holiday season

2011-12-26T22:56:00.004+01:00

In prišel je Božič in postavila sem jaslice, spekla potico, okrasilo božično drevesce, šla k polnočni maši ... res lep čas!
Tudi vam ga želim obilo!

So Christmas came and I set up the Nativity and baked the potica and decorated the Christmas tree, went to the Midnight Mass ... what a sweet time!
I wish you a very happy holiday season!

Volna vs. bombaž - Wool vs cotton

2011-11-27T23:22:00.005+01:00

Tole ni kakšna pajčevina, ampak štrenice bombažne preje, prevezane z volneno prejo. In kaj je tu tako zanimnivega? Zame to, da sta bili obe barvani hkrati v istem loncu. Ta razlika, kako rastlinsko barvilo prime volna (namreč odlično) in koliko rastlinske barve sprejme bombaž - bore malo.
This is not a spiderweb but small skeins of cotton yarn tied with wool yarn. And what is so interesting about it? For me it is the fact that both were dyed in the same dyepot at the same time. The difference between the amount of plant dye taken by wool (excellent) and that taken by cotton (poor).

Tele niti so bile pobarvane z zelenimi orehovimi lupinami. Volna je temno rjava, bombaž pa sivkasto bež. Na nekaj mestih je videti precej močneje rdečkasto rjavo obarvane madeže. Nastali so tako, da sem vlažno prejo obesila nad lonec in jo samo delno pomočila v barvilno raztopino. Barva je nato potovala po mokri preji navzgor: različne barve, ki jih vsebujejo zelene orehove lupine, so potovale različno visoko, kar se na zviti štrenici ne vidi tako dobro, ko je visela nad loncem, pa je bilo dobro vidno.

No, takole se igram z rastlinskimi barvili in temu rečem "rastlinska barvna kromatografija", he-he.

These yarns were dyed with green walnut hulls. The wool is dark brown and the cotton greyish-beige. Some spots are dyed fairly better - there are reddish-brown colorations. They developed when I hung the moist skein above the dyepot and dipped only a part into the dyeing solution. The colour travelled up the moist yarn: different colours contained in green walnut hulls travelled different distances upwards, which is not so well seen on the twisted skein but was very well seen on the skein hanging above the pot.

Well, this is how I play with plant dyes and call it "plant colour chromatography", he-he.

Zmanjkalo volne - Ran out of wool yarn

2011-11-03T00:39:00.000+01:00

Za tole malenkost mi je zmanjkalo volne. A ni to grozno? Morala bom levo nogavico malo sparati, pa narediti malo krajšo, potem še desno malo sparati...

I ran out of yarn for this little bit. Ain't it horible? I'll have to unravel the upper part of the left sock, make it a bit shorter, then unravel the right one a bit .... grrrrh

Sicer je pa volna barvana kontaktno s koreninami rabarbare in s skorjo nekega grma, za keterega sva s kmetom mislila, da je mogoče krhlika, pa ni. Če bi bila, naj bi dala rdečo (doslej sem dobila samo roza).

Anyway, the wool yarn was contact dyed with rhubarb roots and the bark of a bush that was believed (or hoped) to be alder buckthorn (Rhamnus frangula). If it were it was to yield red (so far I have only obtrained pink).

Mi je pa precej všeč to prelivanje sive, rjave, rumene, celo malo rdeče na nogavicah.

I must say I quite like the variegation of greys, browns, yellows, even reds in the socks.

Copatki - Tiny boots

2011-10-24T13:57:00.002+02:00

Čisto majhni copatki iz domače volne, barvane z rastlinami (v resnici so precej bolj rumeni).
A za koga? Za Darjinega (moja drugorojenka) prvega, ki ga pričakujemo jutri :-)

25. oktobra: Copatki so za Naceta!

Tiny little boots made from wool of Slovenian native sheep and natural dyed (in reality they are much more yellow)
For whom, you may ask. For Darja's (my second daughter) first baby that is due tomorrow :-)

25 Octobre: The booties are for Nace (boy)!

Poletno barvanje 2 - Summer dyeing 2

2011-09-05T22:04:00.004+02:00

Spet šentjanževka, kaj pa! Razen najsvetlejših dveh (na zgornji sliki v sredini spodaj) je vsa volna barvana s šentjanževko, pisana pa še z zelenimi orehi.

St. John's wort again, what else could it be! Except for the lightest skeins (at the bottom in the picture above) all the yarn is dyed with St. John's wort , and the variegated yarn has been dipped also in a walnut dyebath.

Barvala sem volneno in bombažno prejo. Na volni sem dobila tele lepe rjave in rumene tone, na bombažu pa komaj kaj barve (za primerjavo je na njej položena štrenica z nekaj bele niti), zato sem eno pomočila še v železovo vodo za močno sivo barvo.

I dyed wool and cotton yarn. Wool acquired these beautiful brown and yellow colours whereas cotton hardly took any colour (I placed a tiny skein with some white yarn on top), so I dipped one skein in iron water to get strong grey.

Rjava ima lep rdečkast pridih in mi je po vsem temnem orehu prav všeč.

Brown has a reddish hue to it which I quite like after all the dark walnut browns.

Tole sem barvala kontaktno, se pravi, tesno sem povila cvetove v čimžano prejo in jo po malem parila nekaj ur. Rezultat je prav zadovoljiv. Mogoče si spletem brezrokavnik, zdaj ko imam več štren.
This was contact dyed, that is I wound flowers tightly in skeins of mordanted yarn and steamed for several hours, with some breaks. I may knit a tank top now that I've got several skeins.

Poskusila sem volno aranžirati na mladem boru, pa sta nastali tidve sliki.
I tried to arrange the wool skeins on a young pine tree, so I took these two pictures.

Prodajala bom svojo rastlinsko barvano volno na šuštarski nedelji v Tržiču

2011-09-02T18:10:00.001+02:00

Domača volna, ki jo barvam z rastlinami - nekateri temu rečejo naravno barvana volna (natural dyed wool) - bo na prodaj na “šuštarski nedelji” v Tržiču. Prinesla bom prejo in česano volno za filcanje.

Uporabljam samo volno od naših ovc jezersko-solčavske pasme, ki imajo od slovenskih ovc najmehkejšo volno. Ovčke se vse poletje pasejo visoko v planinah, tudi do 2000 metrov nad morjem, pozimi pa jih krmijo s senom s planinskih travnikov, zato je njihova volna ekološka. Oprana je z vodo in barvana z rastlinami, ki rastejo pri nas. Vse to ji daje poseben čar in vrednost.

Ima tudi certifikat Obrtno-gospodarske zbornice Slovenije, da je izdelek domače obrti. Ni v prodaji v trgovinah, zato si jo pridite pogledat - in morda kupit - na “štant” na šuštarski nedelji :-)

Poletno barvanje 1 - Summer dyeing 1

2011-07-13T00:12:00.004+02:00

Poletje je krasen čas za barvanje z rastlinami. Vse bujno raste, vse cveti, da kar ne vem, s čim začeti ... pa delam vsega po malem.

Summer is the excellent season for natural dyeing. Everything grows abundantly, blooms exuberantly so I just don't know what to start with ...so I use more or less everything.

Rabarbarine korenine sem imela v velikih kosih, pa sem jih tesno povila v štrene oprane volne, dala v velik kozarec, dolila toplo vodo in dala na sonce. Ker je bilo sonca dva tedna res veliko, je dobro opravilo delo - volna je rumena in živo oranžna, drap barva je pa od orehov.
Rhubarb roots I had were in large pieces so I wrapped them tightly in skeins of washed wool, placed them in a large glass jar, poured in warm water and placed in a sunny place. As the last two weeks were really sunny the sun did its job well - the wool yarn is yellow and bright orange, the beige part had been dyed with green walnuts.

Imela sem tri štrenice različnih neizrazitih barv - izčrpana kopel šentjanževke, jelševa skorja in cvetovi kokardije - pa sem polovice namočila še v delno izrabljeno kopel zelenih orehov. Zdaj je preja mnogo zanimivejša!

I had three skeins of various plain colours - an exhausted bath of St. John's wort, another of alder bark and of cocardia flowers - so I dipped halves into a partly exhausted bath of green walnuts. The skeins look much more interesting now!

Tidve štreni, pobarvani na soncu z rabasrbaro, sem pomočila še v raztopino zelene galice.
I dipped these two skeins that had been sun dyed with rhubarb roots into a solution of ferrous sulphate.

Tele nežno zelene štrene mi je v kozarcu z lučnikom in bakrovim acetatom prijazno pobarvalo sonce.
It was the sun that kindly dyed these lovely light green skeins in a glass jar with mullein flowers and copper acetate.

Zeleni orehi, ki so junija odpadli po vetru in dežju, so dali tole čudovito temno čokoladno rjavo na volni.
Green walnuts that had fallen from branches after rain and wind in June gave this miraculous deep dark chocolate brown on wool yarn.

(Spet) šentjanževka in zeleni orehi (spet) - (Again) St. John's wort and green walnuts (again)

2011-06-09T00:19:00.002+02:00

... tokrat pa skupaj. Zaželela sem si teh dveh mojih priljubljenih materialov na isti štreni volne. Barvanja sem se lotila s posušenimi cvetovi šentjanževke in svežimi zelenimi orehovimi lupinami. Ker je bilo materiala veliko, so barve močne, presenetila pa me je zamolklost šentjanževkine barve: no, čisto sem spregledala, da posušene dajo te zamolkle barve, računala pa sem na sveže barve šentjanževke in temne orehove. Saj ne rečem, da mi ne bi bile všeč...

... together this time. I wished to produce the colours of my two favourite dyeing materials on the same skein of wool. I set to dyeing with dried St. John's wort flowers and fresh green walnut hulls. I had plenty of material so the colours are intense but the dullness of St. John's wort colours surprised me. Well, I quite forgot that the dried flowers give these dull colours, I had fresh, more pastel St. John's wort colours in mind, combined with intense dark walnut . I can't say I don't like them though...

Vesele velikonočne praznike - Happy Easter

2011-04-23T22:02:00.003+02:00

Vsem obiskovalcem bloga želim blagoslovljene praznike. Kristus je vstal, aleluja!

I wish a blessed Easter to all visitors of my blog. Christ is risen, alleluia!

Velikonočne voščilnice - Easter cards

2011-03-16T23:30:00.001+01:00

Bliža se Velika noč. V mislih na voščilnice sem šla malo pogledat, kakšne "volnene" voščilnice sem že delala, tako malo za navdih. Rdeči in modri pirhi so iz sintetično barvane volne, ostalo je barvano z rastlinami.

Easter is coming in a few weeks. Thinking about cards to make I had a look at the pictures of those I have made in previous years, to get some inspiration so to say. The red and the blue eggs are made of synthetically dyed wool, all others are natural dyed.

Ni bil brasilwood, ampak logwood - Not Brasilwood but Logwood

2011-01-23T21:00:00.012+01:00

Ni bil Brasilwood (Rotholz), ampak logwood (Blauholz). Uf, kako ta nemška imena zavajajo :-( Ves čas sem bila negotova, saj sem material dobila v dar, končno pa mi je dvome razpršila Jenny Dean, za kar sem ji hvaležna. No, ne glede na ime je tisto rdečkasto žaganje dalo krasne, močne barve. Pobarvala sem kar nekaj česane volne pa tudi preje. Ko mi jih zmanjka, bom uporabila še preostalo količino žaganja. --- No, it was not Brasilwood but Logwood. I had been given the material as a present and was told its name. Ugh, the German names can be so misleading :-( I was somehow uncertain as to the real nature of the material all the time, and then it was Jenny Dean to clear my doubts - thank you Jenny! Anyhow, regardless of its name the reddish sawdust gave gorgeous intense colours. I dyed both carded wool and yarn. When I run short of it I'll use the remaining amount of the sawdust.

Brazilwood (Rotholz)

2010-07-25T22:41:00.005+02:00

Pred časom sem dobila rdečkast lesni drobir v vrečki z napisom Rotholz (Wollknoll). Nekaj dni sem ga namakala v vodi, nato odlila tekočino in pobarvala prvo štreno (na levi). Ni mi bila všeč. Nato sem se lotila bombažnega blaga. Posula sem drobir (skupaj z rabljenimi koreninami barvilnega brošča), za nekaj dni prepustila soncu, da opravi nalogo barvanja in si dala delat bluzo (na spodnjih slikah). Ni mi bilo všeč.Končno sem za nasvet povprašala na Yahoojevi skupini NaturalDyes in drobir skuhala z malo kisa. Krasni vijolični odtenki, zelo močne barve - zelo lepo! Pobarvala sem tudi nekaj bombažne prejice (obešeni sta na ovratniku bluze na spodnjih slikah), pa še nekaj česane volne. Barva menda ni preveč obstojna na svetlobi, zato je bolje, da material, barvan s tem lesom, ni na direktnem močnem soncu in tudi ne dalj časa na sončni svetlobi. Some time ago I was given some reddish wood chips saying it was Rotholz (from Wollknoll). I soaked them in tap water for a few days, poured the liquid off and dyed the first skein (from left). Didn't like it. Passed on to cotton fabric, placed the chips all over (together with used madder roots), sundyed it for a few days and had a blouse made (the pictures below). Didn't like it. Finally I asked for advice in Yahoo group NaturalDyes and boiled the chips together with some vinegar. The lovely purples, very intense, quite dark - beautiful! I also dyed some cotton yarn (placed two skeins on the collar of the blouse to show) and some carded wool. The colour is said to have only medium to poor lightfastness so direct sunlight or prolonged exposure to sun is best avoided.

Šentjanževka je carica - (2) - St. John's wort rules

2010-07-18T22:10:00.015+02:00

Kot sem omenila v zadnji objavi, še ni bilo konec mojega ekperimentiranja s šentjanževko. Še naprej sem uporabljala isto barvilno kopel, delno do zelo izrabljeno. Barvala sem bombažno, volneno in laneno prejo. Enobarvno prejo sem dobila z barvanjem cele štrenice v kopeli, melirane pa sem dobila tako, da sem vlažno štrenico obesila nad lonec in v takočino potopila samo tretjino. Različna barvila, ki jih vsebujejo cvetki šentjanževke, so potovala novzgor po preji 24 do 48 ur in se ustavila različno visoko. Najbolj je bilo to opazno na volneni preji, kjer so nekatera mesta vijolična in zelenkasta (samo kaj ko se na sliki to ne vidi). Idejo sem dobila pri ascendentni kromatografiji - uf, kako znanstveno to zveni, mar ne! Žal pa vsi ti poskusi niso ponovljivi - preprosto povedano, iste barve lahko ponovno dobim zgolj slučajno - adijo znanstvenost :-( As I said in my last post that was not yet an end to my experimentation. Using the same, partly to very exhausted dyeing bath from St. John's wort flowers I dyed some cotton, wool and flax yarns. The solid colours were obtained by immersion dyeing while the variegated colours were obtained by suspending moist yarn over the pot, with the lower third of the skein immersed. I let the different colours climb up the moist yarn over 24 to 48 hours: they fixed at differing spots, which may be seen on the wool yarn with purplish and greenish spots (but the photo fails to show it). I was inspired by ascending chromatography - wow, this does sound scientific, doesn't it! Alas these experiments are failing in repeatability - saying in plain words, I can't obtain the same colours except by chance - very unscientific:-( Nadaljevala sem z isto delno izrabljeno barvilno kopeljo iz cvetov šentjanževke. Od leve desne si sledijo: bež bombažna prejica za vezenje, bela bombažna prejica za vezenje, bel lanen sukanec za klekljanje, bela bombažna prejica za vezenje, bela bombažna prejica za vezenje, +železova kopel, Vse so bile čimžane z galunom+pralno sodo (skupaj). bež bombažna prejica za vezenje, čimžana s taninom, bež bombažna prejica za vezenje, čimžana z galunom+pralno sodo, +železova kopel. Eksperimentiranje mi je bilo v užitek prav toliko kot sem vesela rezultatov. Vedno mi je hudo, da ne morem pokazati pravih barv: imam dobro kamero, a kaj ko so barve varljive, naravne pa še toliko bolj. Kar ne morem nehati ekperimentirati s šentjanževko. Verjetno bom septembra eksperimentirala z zrelimi rastlinami, z bunkicami s semeni in s posušenimi rožami. I went on with the same partly exhausted dyeing bath from St. John's wort flowers. From left to right they are: beige cotton yarn for stitching, white cotton yarn for stitching, white flax yarn for bobbin lace, white cotton yarn for stitching, white cotton yarn for stitching with iron afterbath, All were mordanted in alum and washing soda (together). beige cotton yarn for stitching mordanted with tanin, beige cotton yarn for stitching, mordanted in alum and washing soda, with an iron afterbath. I enjoyed the experimentation as much as I love the results. It always hurts me I can't show the real colours - the camera is a good one but the colours are tricky, and the natural colours even more so. I can hardly make myself stop experimenting with St. John's wort. I believe in September I'm going to experiment with mature plants, with seed balls and with dried material.

Šentjanževka je carica - St. John's wort rules

2010-07-08T23:27:00.027+02:00

Spet sem nabirala cvetje šentjanževke - na maminem vrtu, ob poljskih poteh, na travnikih, v hribih, na zapuščenih zaraslih zemljiščih... Letos sem jih dobila izredno veliko in sem tudi barvala z njimi izredno veliko. Na volni sem dobila standardne barvne serije zeleno-vijolično-rjavo-zlato rumeno-limonino rumeno, z vršički s popki tik pred začetkom cvetenja pa tudi izjemno oranžne odtenke. I collected St. John's wort flowers again - in Mum's garden, along field paths, in meadows, in the mountains, in waste areas... This year I got extreme quantities and also did extremely much dyeing with it. On wool it gave the standard colour series green - violet-brown - golden yellow - lemon yellow, but also extraordinary orange hues with tops with buds just prior to blooming. Ker sem imela tako veliko materiala, sem se odločila za eksperimentiranje. Posebej sem barvala s cvetki (in popki), posebej z zeljo-listki in posebej z oskubljenimi stebli. Presenečena sem ugotovila, da barvilo vsebujejo prav vsi deli (samo korenina ne, kar sem ugotovila lani), seveda pa ga je zdaleč največ v cvetkih, skoraj nič manj v popkih, tudi zel ima precej barvila, pa celo oskubljena stebla. Kdo bi si mislil! Pa sem mislila, da so samo cvetki kaj vredni za barvanje. Na spodnji sliki je volna, barvana samo z zeljo. Realna barva je bolj v zgornjem delu slike oziroma, bolje rečeno - volna sploh ni lisasta, ampak lepo enakomerno obarvana. Since I had so much material at hand I decided to experiment. I used separately flowers (with buds), separately the green parts without stems, and separately stems without flowers or leaves. I was surprised to find out that all the parts of the plant contain the dyeing substance (with the exception of roots, hich I found out last year), flowers being the richest in it, of course. The buds are almost as rich in dye, the leaves also contain much dye, and even the bare stems have some. Who would have thought it! And I was led to believe only the flowers are worth using for dyeing. The picture below shows wool yarn dyed with green leaves only. The colour is more realistic in the upper section of the picture - or, to be more precise, the yarn is not variegated, the colour is solid. Nato sem se pogumno lotila barvanja bombažne preje za pletenje in vezenje ter bombažne in lanene prejice za klekljanje. Za to nisem nikjer dobila nobenih navodil, pa imam kar nekaj knjig o barvanju z rastlinami. Nekaj prejice za klekljanje sem barvala s šentjanževko že prejšnja leta, pa sem dobila tako različne rezultate, da nisem vedela, pri čem sem. In me je res hudo presenetila. Medtem ko na volni po navadi daje standardne barvne serije, je na bombažu in lanu povsem nepredvidljiva. Najbolj me je zanimala barva prve kopeli, ki na volni daje tako lepo zeleno. Na bombažu in lanu daje vse od zlato zelene, močne rumene, modrikasto zelene (prva slika levo), sive (druga slika desno). I was encouraged and tackled dyeing cotton yarn for knitting and stitching and cotton/linen yarn for bobbin lace. I 'd found no instructions or description although I do possess a few books on natural dyeing. I had dyed some yarn for bobbin lace in previous years only to get results that were so inconsistent that left me perplexed. I was perplexed again. While it yields standard colour sets on wool St. John's wort is quite unpredictable on cotton and linen. I was mostly interested in the first dyeing in fresh dyeing bath that gives such a lovely green on wool. And what does it give - or at least gabe me - on cotton and linen: everything from golden green, intense yellow, bluish green (first pisture left corner) and grey (secong picture right corner). Tudi barva kopeli se je letos obnašala čudno - pri eni seriji je po prvem barvanju z galunom čimžane preje kopel postala zelene barve in je taka ostala ves čas, pa sem pomakala in namakala kar precej prejic. Druga kopel, tudi prvo kuhanje samo cvetkov, pa ne !?! The colour of the dyeing bath itself also behaved in a strange way this year: in one batch it turned green after the first dyeing of alum mordanted yarn and remained green throughout the dyeing session, and believe I did dip and soak and cook many a little skein of yarn. The other byth, also obtained by the first cooking of flowers only did not shift to green !?! No, roke sem imela pa takele - ampak to nič ne boli in nič ne škodi in se v enem dnevu izmije. And my hands looked like this - I didn't mind, it doesn't hurt nor damage the skin and is washed off within one day. To še ni konec dosedanjega eksperimentiranja, ampak blog je že tako predolg, se bojim, da mi jo bo blogger kaj zagodel, zato raje objavim... This is not yet an end to my experimentation - only my writing is too long already and I'm afraid the Blogger may play a nasty trick on me so I'm posting it...

Indigo modri metuljček - Indigo blue butterfly

2010-06-24T00:53:00.006+02:00

Končno sem se odločila, da uporabim nekaj prelepe modre volne za filcanje. Tomažu sem za 40-letnico naredila metuljčka iz dveh modrih, ki sem ju pobarvala januarja letos, pa še malo svilenih vlaken, nepobarvanih. Za metulja sem si naredila model, ker nisem želela sterilnih geometrijskih oblik. Naredila sem mu celo tipalke, da se ne izgubi... I eventually decided to use some of the beautiful blue carded wool for felting. I felted a butterfly for Tomaž's 40th birthday. I used two blues I had dyed in January this year, and some silk fibers, undyed. To make the butterfly I had drawn a template because I didn't want any sterile geometric shapes. I even provided it with tentacles so it wouldn't get lost ...

Bombažna preja, barvana z rastlinami - Cotton thread, natural dyed

2010-05-12T17:23:00.012+02:00

Za spremembo sem barvala bombažno prejo za vezenje in za klekljanje, v barvilni kopeli in kot vrvico za prevezovanje zavitkov pri rastlinskem tiskanju. Nekaj barve je od čebulnih listov, pa od bakrene žice v kisu, svežih rabarbarinih listov, izrabljene košeniljke ... Navitje prejice se mi zdi pa tako lepo, da sem ga kar morala slikati :-) For a change, I set to dyeing cotton yarn for stitching and bobbin lace, both in dyeing baths and yarn used for tying rolls in plant printing. Some are dyed with onion skins, others with vinegar in which copper wire had been soaking, then fresh rhubarb leaves, cochineal exhaust, ... I find the coiled up yarn so beautiful that I just couldn't help taking some photos :-)

Barvanje s čebulnimi lupinami - Onion skins dyeing

2010-04-11T00:23:00.067+02:00

Po Veliki noči, ko sem pirhe pobarvala s čebulnimi lupinami, sem v isti vodi začela barvati še volno. Posebej sem skuhala lupine rdeče in rumene čebule in preskusila, kako se čebulna barva prime na podlago z galunom, z rabarbarinimi listi in brez čimže. Dobro je samo na galun, zato sem tisto brez čimže dala v galun po barvanju (samo pri rdeči čebuli). Nato sem iste lupine skuhala še enkrat, jih pustila v vodi in barvala volno, z galunom. To je tisto ta pravo! Barve so različne in v začetku zelo močne. Pri rumeni čebuli precej manj, nekaj tudi zato, ker sem teh lupin imela precej manj. Mi je žal, da jih nisem shranila več :-( After Easter, when I had dyed my Easter eggs with onion skins, I used the dyebaths for wool dyeing. I cooked separately skins from red and yellow onions and tested onion dye for attaching on wool mordanted with alum, rhubarb leaves and unmordanted. It only attaches well on alum, so I postmordanted the yarn that hadn't been premordanted. I then cooked the same onion skins once more, left them sitting in the pot and dyed alum mordanted wool. This is it! The colours vary greatly and are pretty intense in the first dyeings. They are rather less intense with yellow onions, probably also because I only had little. It's a pity I hadn't saved more yellow onion skins:-( Na spodnjih slikah so posamezne stopnje obarvanosti. The pictures below show individual steps of colour-intake. Rdeča čebula, prvo kuhanje, prvo barvanje; čimža - galun, rabarbarini listi, galun po barvanju (od leve proti desni)

Red onions, first dye bath, first simmering; mordants: alum, rhubarb leaves, post-mordanted with alum (left to right)

Rdeča čebula, prvo kuhanje, drugo in tretje barvanje; čimža - galun

Red onions, first dye bath, second and third simmerings; mordant: alum

Rdeča čebula, drugo kuhanje, liste sem pustila v vodi; prvo, drugo in tretje barvanje, čimža - galun

Red onions,second dye bath, with skins left in the pot: first, second and third simmering: red onions, mordant: alum

Vsa volna, pobarvana z rdečo čebulo in čimžana z galunom All yarns dyed with red onion skins, mordanted with alum Rumena čebula, prvo kuhanje, prvo barvanje; čimža: brez, galun, rabarbarini listi (od leve proti desni) Yellow onions, first dye bath, first simmering; mordants: none, alum, rhubarb leaves (left to right) Rumena čebula, prvo kuhanje, drugo in tretje barvanje, čimža - galun

Yellow onions, first dye bath, second and third simmerings; mordant: alum

P.S. Opravičujem se za neurejen videz - Blogger mi ni pustil urejati črk in prilepiti fotografije. Slike so naložene tudi na http://www.flickr.com/photos/mamaladka/ I apologize for the disorderly appearance of this post - Blogger wouldn't let me format the font and paste the picture. Pictures are loaded at http://www.flickr.com/photos/mamaladka/

Veselo veliko noč! - Happy Easter!

2010-04-03T23:21:00.009+02:00

Vstal je Kristus, upanje moje, aleluja! Vesele velikonočne praznike želim vsem obiskovalcem! Christ my hope has risen! Alleluia! Wishing a happy Easter holiday to all visitors of my blog!

Indigo

2010-03-28T19:59:00.021+02:00

Končno sem se lotila tudi naravnega barvanja z indigom. Dobila sem ga od Alje, ki je nekoč mislila, da bo tudi barvala z rastlinami, potem se je pa usmerila bolj v filcanje in me prosila, če kaj pobarvam še zanjo. Delala sem po receptu iz knjige J. N. Liles: The Art and Craft of Natural Dyeing. Celo leto sem prebirala Lilesove recepte, pa objave na blogih Leene Riihelä, Jenny Dean in Helen Melvin, uživala v njihovih fotografijah in opisih, januarja sem se pa le lotila tega smrdljivega opravila. Rezultat je vreden napora, prav gotovo se bom barvanja z naravnim indigom še lotila. Zdaj pa na rdeče barve - barvilni brošč (Rubia tinctorum) že vabi! I finally set myself to dyeing with natural indigo I had been given by Alja - she'd intended to do some natural dyeing but then turned mostly to felting and asked me to do some indigo dyeing also for her. I proceeded according to Liles "Good Old Sig Vat" recipe no. 1. I was re-reading Liles' recipes, posts on the blogs of Leena Riihelä, Jenny Dean and Helen Melvin for one entire year, enjoying in their descriptions and pictures. In January I finally set an indigo vat (smelly, sigh). The result is well worth the effort (and nasal suffering), I'll sure make another indigo vat some day. And now for the reds - madder is calling!

Borovnice in šentjanževka - Blueberries and St. John's wort

2010-02-28T19:22:00.015+01:00

Le kje se mudi pomlad??!! V moji vazi je takorekoč že poletje, saj borovnice ne samo zelenijo, ampak tudi že cvetijo - tile mali snežnobeli cvetki so borovnice, ki so vzcvetele v cvetličarskem šopku od začetka februarja. But where is spring lingering??!! There is summer in my vase, so to say, since the bluberries are not only leafy but already in flowers - the small snowwhite flowers are blueberries that started to bloom in a florist bouquet since beginning of February. Da laže čakam na bolj svetle, tople, sončne in barvite dni, si pomagam z lepimi volnami, pobarvanimi s cvetjem šentjanževke (sliki zgoraj in spodaj). Te barve me res razveselijo vsakič, ko jih pogledam! To make my waiting for brighter, warmer, sunnier and more colourful days easier I have recourse to my lovely wool yarns dyed with St. John's wort flowers (see the picture above and below). These colours make me happy every time I watch them!

Volnena koprena (filcana) - Wooly cobweb (felted)

2010-01-28T01:51:00.012+01:00

Sestri sem za rojstni dan hotela narediti nekaj posebnega, pa sem se - prvič - lotila filcanja čisto tankega kosa - koprene. Naredila sem dvobarvno in še rožico s tretjo barvo, ki sem jo nato izvezla z volneno prejo v isti barvi. Darilo sem zapakirala v to kopreno kot v celofan, samo da se je koprena lepo ulegla navzdol, ker je zelo mehka. Sestri je bilo všeč darilo in embalaža, meni je koprena zelo všeč in jih bom naredila še nekaj v podobnih pastelnih barvah. I wanted to make something special for my sister's birthday so I decided on a cobweb - my first cobweb. I made it in two colours, using a third colour for the small flower that I then stitched with a wool yarn in the same colour. I packed the gift in the cobweb as if it were a sheet of cellophane only it bended downwards as it is very soft. My sister liked both the gift and the wrap, I like the cobweb very much so I'm going to make some more in similar pastel colours. Rožica - da se vidi, da je res filcana z drugo (pravzaprav s tretjo) barvo volne. Detail - the flower - to show it is really made with wool in a different colour.

Voščilo, voščilnice - greetings, greeting cards

2009-12-29T23:12:00.019+01:00

Vesele božične praznike in vse dobro v letu 2010 želim vsem, ki se ustavite na mojem blogu! Merry Christmas season and all the best in 2010 to everybody that stops by my blog! Letos sem božične in novoletne voščilnice izdelala na svojem ročno izdelanem papirju, na katerega sem prilepila sličice jaslic ali svete družine (in jih zaprla v kuverte, preden sem pomislila, da bi jih bilo dobro fotografirati, ojoj). Na druge sem prilepila kartončke z zvezdo repatico, večje in manjše pozlačene zvezdice, narisala zlatega angelčka skozi šablono - kot vidite na zgornjih fotografijah.Zraven sem poslušala in si prepevala božične pesmi in preživela res lepe urice v mislih na vse tiste, ki sem jim voščilnice poslala. This year I made my Christmas and New Year Cards with my handmade paper. I glued pictures of Nativity or the Holy Family on them - and closed the envelopes before it occurred to me it would be wise to take some photos :-( I made others by gluing smaller pieces of carton with a Christmas Star, small and large stars painted gold, draw a golden angel using a template - as may be seen in the above pictures. While doing this I listened to and sang Christmas carols. I spent really pleasant hours thinking of those I was going to send the cards.

Malo filcanja - Some felting done

2009-12-29T22:49:00.009+01:00

Pred božičnimi prazniki sem sfilcala en ducat kapic (ali klobučkov, če hočete) za steklene kozarčke. Sedaj vanje dajem domači čaj, doma narejeno marmelado, bučne peške - pa je darilce bolj ljubko. Uporabila sem svojo rastlinsko barvano volno, večinoma naše jezersko-solčavske ovce, nekaj pa je volne creške pramenke. Before the Christmas holiday I wetfelted a dozen of caps (or hats if you like) for small glass jars. Now I've been filling them with home tea mixture, homemade marmalade, courgette seeds - and the gift is nicely packaged. I used my own natural dyed wool, mostly from Slovenian breed Jezersko-solčavska ovca, some is of sheep native on the island Cres. o

Filcano darilo - Felted gift

2009-12-08T11:42:00.007+01:00

Starejši hčerki sem za rojstni dan naredila darilce iz naravno - rastlinsko barvane volne (le zelena je sintetična). Tokrat sem poleg mokrega filcanja uporabila tudi suho filcanje z iglo za številko, cvetko, listke in bunkice. I made a birthday gift for my elder daughter. I used natural dyed wool except for the green which is synthetic. Beside wet felting I also used needle felting technique to make the digits, the flower, leaves and beads.

Jesenski šibori z želodom - Autumn shibori with acorns

2009-10-31T21:53:00.007+01:00

V internetni skupini Working with felt (Working withfelt) je bil jesenski izziv v šibori tehniki, z navodili za začetnike. Nisem si mogla kaj, da ne bi poskusila, čeprav mi sicer šibori na filcu ni pretirano všeč. Tale izdelek mi je kar simpatičen, le zelena ne paše zraven (seveda, saj ni naravna, ampak sintetična, pa še čisto presvetla je). The Working with felt community (Working withfelt) offered an autumn challenge in shibori technique, with instructions for beginners. I just couldn't refrain from trying it although I'm not very fond on shibori in felt. I quite like this product, only the green doesn't go with the other colours (of course, since it is not natural but synthetic).Še slikca iz profila. A pic in the side view. Takole sem v napol izdelan filc zavezala en želod s kapico in eno kapico. This is how I tied an acorn with a cap and a separate cap into felt before fulling. abcčdef

Svilen šal za Manyo - Silk scarf for Manya

2009-10-19T20:13:00.017+02:00

V gozdnih požarih avgusta letos v Grčiji je nastala ogromna škoda. Zgorelo je tudi veliko gozda, ki ga je treba znova zasaditi. Manya Maratou z lokalno skupnostjo organizira prodajno razstavo izdelkov umetnostne obrti, da bi zbrali denar za pogozdovanje. Vsi, ki vam je mar okolje, še predobro veste, kako je ponovno pogozdovanje pomembno, tudi zato, da preprečimo širjenje sušnih območij, ki grozi Grčiji.

Na njihovem blogu ( http://attikasos.blogspot.com/) lahko sledite akciji “Umetnost za drevesa” ('Art for Trees'), lahko pa tudi sami prispevate svoje umetniške in /ali ročno narejene izdelke. Zbirajo se na naslovu:

PO Box 66 Marathon, 19007 Attiki Grčija c/o Manya Maratou

in sicer do konca oktobra. Za vse donacije prisrčna hvala v imenu Manye in njenih sodelavcev.

Mainland in Greece was ravaged by wildfires in August this year. Forests were burned and the area needs reforestation. Manya Maratou, together with local people, organises an exhibition of arts and crafts to raise funds for the reforestation of the area. The environmentalists amongst you will be all too aware of the importance of reforestation, also to prevent desertificaton which is a real threat in Greece.

You may follow the progress of the 'Art for Trees' campaign on the blog http://attikasos.blogspot.com/ and donate your products. Send them to the following address:

PO Box 66 Marathon, 19007 Attiki Greece c/o Manya Maratou

to be received by the end of Octobre. Thank you in advance for any donations on behalf of Manya and her teammates.

Bori umirajo pokončno - Pine trees die standing

Več svilenih šalov, potiskanih z rastlinami - More plant printed silk scarves

2009-08-30T23:49:00.011+02:00

Spomladi sem potiskala precej svilenih šalov, a jih kar nisem in nisem poslikala. Zdaj vem, zakaj: ker je barve na svili tako težko dobiti - ali pa jih jaz ne znam :-( Očitno šale lažje potiskam z rastlinami kot pa fotografiram. Tehle nekaj mi je le uspelo posneti, pri drugih pa sem obupala. Mogoče se jih spet lotim kdaj kasneje ...

This spring I plant printed many silk scarves but didn't manage to take their photos. Now I know why: because it's so difficult to catch the colours on silk - or at least I can't do it properly :-( Obviously it's easier for me to plant print scarves than to take their photos. Finally I managed to take photos of these up here but then I despaired. Perhaps I'll try later ...

Macesnova skorja -- pobarvano - Larch bark dyeing -- dyed

2009-08-18T13:06:00.011+02:00

Takale je zdaj zadnja volna po vseh celoletnih poskusih - tale je iz "šnopsa". Pa take lepe barve so na skorji (na spodnji sliki), samo kaj, ko jih ne dobim na volno :-( No, če že barva ni kaj posebnega, je bilo pa vsaj barvanje v alkoholnih hlapih nadvse veselo he-he-hik... The latest of an entire year's attempts looks like this – the yarn comes out of "spirits". And to think how beautiful the colours look on the bark (in the picture below), but they won't be transferred permanently onto the wool :-( Well, if the colour is nothing special, at least the dyeing in alcohol vapours was a merry one he-he-hiccup... Na balkonu sem našla še eno vedro, kjer se v vodi namaka macesnova skorja. Barvilna kopel je bila lepo temno rjavo-rdeča, pa sem volno nekaj ur pogrevala do okrog 50 stopinj. Barva se ni prijela, pa sem vedro postavila nazaj na balkon. Od časa do časa premešam in čakam, če se bo volna slučajno pomotoma tokrat pa le obarvala. To hladno barvanje (če je res hladno, ker ga ne segrevam, ampak na tem zaprtem balkonu je vsako popoldne krepko čez 30) bom pustila nekaj tednov. I found another pail in the balcony with larch bark soaking in water. The dyebath was nice dark brownish-red, so I put some yarn in it and warmed up to about 50 degrees centigrade for a few hours. The colour didn't cling to the yarn so the pail went back to the balcony. I stir now and then and wait in case the wool takes the colour by some mistake. I intend to maintain this cold dyeing bath (if it may be called cold because I don't heat it, but the temperature climbs fairly above 30 deg in this closed balcony in the afternoons) for some weeks.

Macesnova skorja za barvanje - Larch bark dyeing

2009-08-07T11:09:00.030+02:00

Že celo leto poskušam izvleči kaj barve iz macesnove skorje, ki mi je zelo všeč zaradi barve in vonja. Pa se macesen ne da. Skorjo sem nabrala avgusta lani v Robanovem kotu in jo namočila v vodi.

Ko se je skorja namakala tri mesce, sem dodala belo volneno prejo in po dveh mescih dobila nekaj bledega, kar spominja na rumenkasto- roza (prva z leve).

Skorjo sem pustila namakati in februarja dodala belo prejo, čimžano z galunom. Po približno treh mescih sem dobila nekaj bledega, kar spominja na roza-rumenkasto (na desni).

Nato sem drugo belo prejo počasi kuhala oz. grela tri ure in ker barve ni bilo kaj prida, sem jo dala nazaj v barvilno kopel (brez skorje). Po šestih tednih sem volno oprala in dobila najtemnejšo doslej (v sredini). Nekaj več barve je, ampak nič posebnega.

Dodala sem 50 g česane volne, čimžane z galunom. Počasi sem jo segrevala (lahna para, kar je verjetno okrog 70 stopinj Celzija). Ker barve ni bilo kaj prida, sem volno dala nazaj do 6. avgusta, ko sem jo oprala. Barve je zelo malo – bledo roza - in nisem nič poslikala. Vodo sem zlila proč, ker očitno ne bo obarvala volne.

Na skorje, ki so bile že prekuhane, a niso dale kaj dosti barve, sem 9. maja nalila okrog liter in pol alkohola v upanju, da bo alkohol izvlekel (ekstrahiral) barvo iz te presneto škrte macesnove skorje. Ker ga je precej popila, sem 10. junija dolila še alkohol in vodo, da je bila vsa skorja pokrita (alkohola mi je pa čisto zmanjkalo). Danes sem po treh mescih namakanja macesnove skorje v alkoholu tekočino precedila, dolila nekaj vode in dala vanjo čimžano in nečimžano prejo. Segrevam jo prav počasi, v treh urah do 65 stopinj, segrela bom do okrog 70 stopinj. Celo stanovanje prijetno diši po sadjevcu, jaz pa se kuhinje izogibam kar se le da, da ne bom od hlapov okajena in postala "as mad as a hatter", kot rečejo Angleži.

Na zgornji sliki je mokra macesnova skorja potem, ko sem odlila alkohol. Na drugi sliki je bela volnena preja v barvilni tekočini. To je moj zadnji poskus izvleči spodobno barvo iz macesnove skorje. Mogoče pa mi uspe?

For a whole year I've been trying to get some colour out of larch bark which I like very much for its colour and odour, but the larch refuses it to me. I collected the bark last August in Robanov kot, a lovely mountain valley with pastures for horses, cattle and pigs, and a hut where you are served old-fashioned shepherds’ dishes, and put it to soak in water.

After three months of soaking the bark I added white wool yarn. Two months later I got something pale, a faint memory of yellowish-pink (the skein on the left).
I left the bark soaking and added white alum mordanted wool yarn. After about three months I got something pale, a faint memory of pinkish-yellow (the skein on the right).
I took another skein of white yarn and cooked it – in fact warmed it in the dyebath for three hours. Since there was not much colour the skein went back to the bath (without the bark) for six weeks. When I washed the wool I got the darkest colour up till then (in the middle). Probably because this was the warmest time of soaking in the dyebath. There is a bit more colour, but nothing special.
I then added 50 grams of alum mordanted carded wool. I warmed it slowly until light vapours were evolving (probably about 70 degrees Celsius). Since there was almost no colour on the wool it went back into the dyebath until yesterday, 6 August, when I washed it. Very little colour stayed on the wool – pale pink – and I did not take any picture of it. I poured the dyebath away since it obviously won’t colour wool.
I saved the barks that had been cooked, without giving much colour, for further use. On 9 May I poured about 1,5 litre of alcohol on it, hoping alcohol might pull some colour out (= extract) of this damn miserly larch bark. Since it absorbed much of it I added more alcohol and water on10 June to cover it completely (and I ran totally out of alcohol).
Today, after three months of soaking the larch bark in alcohol I strained the liquid, poured in some more water and added unmordanted and alum mordanted yarn. I’ve been heating it very slowly, up to 65 deg in three hours, and I intend to heat it a bit above 70 deg. My whole flat smells pleasantly of fruit brandy and I avoid the kitchen as much as I can, in order not to get tipsy from vapours, or even get as mad as a hatter.

The upper picture shows wet larch barks after I’d poured off alcohol. The second picture shows white wool yarn in the dyebath. This is my last try at getting some decent colour from larch bark. I hope for better luck than in previous trials.

Tiskanje z rastlinami - uspehi in neuspehi - Plant printing - successes and disasters

2009-07-20T20:39:00.015+02:00

Vsa navdušena po začetnih (dvajsetih) uspehih tiskanja rastlin na svilo sem veselo nadaljevala in tule je en svilen šal, kjer mi je celo uspelo natisniti obstojno modro barvo (v barvilni kopeli se žal ni obnesla). Drugih šalov mi še ni uspelo poslikati, ali ni bilo prave svetlobe ali pa volje :-(

Fascinated by the initial (twenty) successful plant prints on silk I cheerfully went on, and this isj one of the printed silk scarf where I even managed to obtain a fast blue colour (which, to my great sorrow, isn't effective in a dyebath). I haven't managed to take photos of other scarves - either the light wasn't right or I I wasn't in the mood :-(

Potem, ko sem na veliko brala svoje tri nove knjige o rastlinskem barvanju in tiskanju, sem se lotila še tiskanja na bombaž. Imela sem dve tanki bombažni plenici, zelo zelo stari in sprani, in tisk se je lepo prijel. Na kuhinjski rokavici, ki je verjetno iz mešanice bombaža in lana, odtis ni tako lep, uporabna je pa vseeno (dokler je ne bo kdo spet zažgal ...).

After having spent hours reading my three new books on natural dyeing and plant printing I proceeded to printing on cotton. I had two thin, very very old cotton diapers, much washed with use, and the print took on well. The oven mitt, probably made of a mixture of linen and cotton, didn't take the print so well, still, it can be used (until someone burns it again ...).

Kaj pa je tole? Nič tako lepega kot svileni šali, samo bombažna majica, ki je s tiskanjem nisem čisto pokvarila, nosila jo bom bolj za "športne" priložnosti.

And what is this? No such beauty as the silk scarves, only a cotton T-shirt that I didn't ruin completely by trying plant printing on it ... well, I may still wear it for "sports" occasions.

Drugi poskusi na bombažu so različni, nekaj je že uporabnega, marsikaj pa (še) ne, ali, kot pravi India Flint, to je šele podlaga za nadaljnje tiskanje.

Other trials on cotton are of various quality, some may be used, many not (yet) or, as India Flint puts it, they are a background pattern for further printing.

ZDAJ PA NA DOPUST - OFF FOR HOLIDAY!

Večbarvno barvanje volnene preje - Multicolour wool yarn dyeing

2009-07-01T23:49:00.022+02:00

Našla sem novo rastišče šentjanževke, precej blizu doma, le nekaj kilometrov stran. Volneno prejo sem pobarvala kontaktno samo s cvetki. Rezultat me je tako navdušil, da sem morala slikati še mokro volno, čeprav sem vedela, da posušena ne bo več tako živih barv. I found a new growing area of St. John's wort, quite near my home, not more than a couple of kilometers away. I contact-dyed wool yarn with flowers only. The result filled me with such enthusiasm that I just had to take a picture of wet yarn although I knew well it won't keep the vivid colours when dried.

Res barve niso več tako žive, vijolična je šla proti rjavi (pa ne toliko, kot je videti na sliki), ampak volna je še vedno čudovita.

Indeed, the colours are not so vivid any more, the burgundy-purple shifted towards brown (not as much as in the picture, though), but the wool is still marvelous.

Navila sem jo še z malo napravico, da lahko nit vlečem iz sredine klobke.

I wound it using a small appliance to be able to pull the yarn from the middle of the ball.

Takole je videti spletena, gladko desne na licu.

This is how it looks when knit, stockinette stich.

Pred nekaj tedni me je premamil blog Helen Melvin, ki je dobila zanimivo barvo z zlato rozgo tik pred cvetenjem. Rezultat je bilo razočaranje - nezanimiva rumena (razen prvega barvanja, ki je dalo močno živorumeno). Odločila sem se, da bom volno prebarvala po delih. Del sem pobarvala z izrabljeno barvilno kopeljo iz rabarbarinih listov in del z izrabljeno kopeljo zelenih orehov. Barve sicer niso ravno moje najljubše, kombinacija pa mi je zelo všeč in sem zdaj prav zadovoljna z rezultatom barvanja, pa še izrabljene barvilne kopeli sem karseda porabila.

Some weeks ago I was tempted by Helen Melvin's report of an interesting colour obtained from goldenrod just prior to bloom. My result was a disappointment - an uninteresting yellow (except for the first dyeing which gave a vivid and strong yellow) so I decided to partly overdye the skeins. I used a rhubarb leaves exhaust bath and a green walnuts exhaust bath for parts of the skein. Although the colours are not just my choice I like their combination very much and am quite happy with the result now. In addition, I made utmost use of my exhaust dyebaths.

Tiskanje na svilo z rastlinami - Plant printing on silk

2009-06-19T16:44:00.026+02:00

Že nekaj časa sem po različnih blogih občudovala tiskanje z rastlinami. Končno sem se opogumila, pripravila svilene šale in začela. Kakšni lepi tiski! No, vsaj zame, za tiste, ki sem jim te šale pokazala in za tiste, ki so jih kupili.

Na prvem sem na živo rumeno osnovo, pobarvano z listi rusa (octovca) položila lepe travniške cvetice, ki sem jih našla, ko sem se z Ambrožem, tretjim vnukom, sprehajala ob gozdu.

It has been for some time now that I've been admiring blogs with plant printing. At last I took courage, prepared some silk scarves and started. What beautiful prints! Well, at least for me, for those whom I showed the scarves and for those who bought them.

On the first scarf dyed with sumac leaves (Rhus) I placed sweet little meadow flowers I found on my walk with Ambrož, my third grandson, on the verge of a forest.

Pa še posnetek od blizu.

And a closeup. Potem sem pojedla kar precej gozdnih jagod, ki mi jih je Ambrož pomagal iskati (sam pa jih ne je) in sem se spomnila, da bi to bil lep odtis na svili. In je nastal tale šal spodaj Slika ni najboljša, v resnici je šal lepši. Then I ate pretty many forest strawberries that Ambrož helped me find (he doesn't eat them) and it occurred to me they could make a nice print on silk. This is how the next scarf was made (below). The picture does not do it justice, in reality the scarf is prettier.

Pri njegovi drugi stari mami - mami Slavki - sem opazila rdečelistno lesko. Nekaj listov sem uporabila za naslednji šal.

At his other grandma's - mama Slavka - I noticed a redleaf hazelnut bush. I used a few leaves to make the next scarf.

Šentjanževka - St. John's Wort

2009-06-10T01:16:00.008+02:00

Prvi cvet šentjanževke letos - vsaj na mojem balkonu. Nisem si mogla kaj, pa sem jo malo nasadila v cvetlični lonec. Saj vem, da je ne bo dovolj za barvanje, je pa lepa in trpežna, prav primerna za vroč in vetroven balkon. The first flower of St. John's Wort this year - at least in my balcony. I just couldn't help planting it in a flower pot. Yes, I do know it won't be enough for any dyeing but it is beautiful and insensitive to the hot and windy conditions in my balcony.

Še preden je začela cveteti, sem pobarvala nekaj štren bele volne kontaktno, da sem dobila takole pisano volno. Prav privlačna sprememba od vseh prejšnjih enobarvnih nians! Before it started blooming I contact-dyed a couple of skeins of white yarn and obtained this multicolour result. An attracting variation of all previous single-colour skeins!

Filcani vazi - Two felted vases

2009-05-06T22:21:00.024+02:00

Pred prvomajskimi prazniki sem šla na delavnico filcanja pri Alji Venturini [http://www.sredina.org/] in ustvarila tidve vazi, natančneje, en ovitek za vazo in eno okroglo posodo, ki je lahko tudi vaza. Med prazniki sem ju dokončala, po praznikih pa sem čakala na svetlejše vreme, da sem ju lahko še poslikala.

Just before the May holidays I attended a felting workshop given by Alja Venturini [http://www.sredina.org/] and created these two vases, or to be more precise, a wrap for a vase and a round bowl that may also be used as a vase. I finished them during the holidays, then waited for a brighter day to take the photos.

Barvano z zelenimi orehi - Dyed with green walnuts

2009-04-30T21:23:00.010+02:00

Zelenin orehi dajo krasno žametno temnorjavo barvo (najtemnejši barvi na sliki). Potem pa je barve v orehih še toliko, da sem barvala naprej in dobila še nekaj odtenkov od rdečkaste do oranžne in rumenkaste, preden je končno ostala samo še bež (najsvetlejša na sliki), ko se mi je zdela vsa barva v barvilni kopeli porabljena in sem jo zavrgla.

Orehova barva mi je zelo všeč in bom letos junija spet skušala dobiti zelene orehe.

Green walnuts give a beautiful velvet dark brown colour (the darkest two skeins in the picture). After the first dyeing there was so much dye left in the walnuts that I continued dyeng new skeins and obtained several nuances passing from reddish to orange and yellowish to finish in a beige (the lightest colour in the picture) when the dye bath seemed exhausted and I discarded it.

I like the walnut colour very much and will try to obtain green walnuts again this June.

Amarilis

2009-04-23T23:41:00.006+02:00

Tale moj amarilis se mi zdi tako lep, da ga kar moram objaviti - čeprav ni volnen :-))

I find my amarilis so beautiful I just can't help posting it - although it is not woolen :-))

Svileni šali - Silk scarves

2009-04-14T22:16:00.016+02:00

Ves čas, ko z rastlinami barvam volno, barvam tudi svilene šale (svila pongee, 45 x 180 cm).

All the time I've been natural dyeing wool I've been also dyeing silk scarves (silk pongee, 45 x 180 cm).

Tri leta sem jih samo barvala in spravljala v košaro, jih občasno občudovala and razkazovala še drugim. Letos sem jim končno dala prišiti kratke ježke, na strop so mi montirali tirnico s trakom ježka in zdaj krasijo mojo predsobo - trije metri krasnih barv svile!

S fotografiranjem sem se zelo trudila sama, nato pa še drugi zet Tomaž, ampak v predsobi ni skoraj nič naravne svetlobe in tole je najboljše, kar sva lahko naredila.

For three years I've been only dyeing and putting them in a basket, admiring them and showing them to visitors from time to time. This year I finally had short velcro bands sewn to them, a curtain rail with a velcro band mounted on the ceiling and now they make a lovely decoration in my hall - three meters of splendid silk colours!

I made every effort to take usefull pictures myself, then my second son-in-law Tomaž helped me, but since there is practically no natural light in the hall these pictures are the best we could make.

Slika za ozadje bloga - My picture for Main background

2009-03-14T22:02:00.008+01:00

To sliko bi rada dala za ozadje bloga namesto svetlo zelene, pa ne znam. Poslala sem vprašanje na Blogger forum in dobila odgovor, pa ga ali ne razumem ali pa ne deluje. Ima kdo več praktičnih izkušenj?

I'd like to use this picture for my blog main background instead of the light green but I don't know how to do it. I popsted the question on the Blogger forum and got an answer that I either don't understand or it doesn't work. Anybody out there more experienced?

Vso pobarvano volno spravljam v red - Putting in order all my dyed wool

2009-03-11T22:12:00.018+01:00

Tole je delček moje rastlinsko barvane volnene "proizvodnje", ki sem se jo lotila urejati. Sklenila sem, da prej ne bom ne barvala ne filcala, dokler tega ne uredim. Zato tudi nisem nič objavila na blogu, pa še viroza me je položila za dva tedna. Ampak blog brez novih objav je dolgočasen, ne, pa objavljam to svoje "delo".

This is a small portion of my natural dyed "production" that I tackled. I decided I would not do any dyeing or felting before all this wool is put in order. That's why I have not posted on my blog for an entire month. An additional reason is that I lay ill with some viral infection for two weeks. But a blog with no new postings is rather dull so I decided to show show the "work" I'm doing now.

Prva slika je barvno bolj slaba, dobro pa se vidi, koliko različnih nians iz ene rastline sem dobila in jih zdaj urejam in oštevilčim na nek smiseln in pregleden način. Na mizi so nianse iz rabarbare (razen močnejše rjave volne zgoraj, ki je - verjetno - od orehovih listov). Od vsake nianse vzamem podolgovat kosem volne, ki ga bom vstavila v DNEVNIK BARVANJA in še en kosem, ki ga bom ufilcala v filcan trak iz naravne bele volne. Ampak tole je šele april 2008 :-( The first picture represents the colours only poorly but it shows very well how many shades of colour are derived from one plant which I'm now sorting and numbering in a logical and indicative way. The materials lying on the table were obtained from rhubarb roots (except the stronger brown yarn which was probably obtained from wallnut leaves). I draw out a lengthy piece of carded wool (I must apologize – the expressions may not be right) from each colour that I will fix into my DYEING LOGBOOK, and an additional piece that I will incorporate into a felted stripe from natural white wool. But I only arrived as far as April 2008 :-(

Kdo ugane, kaj je na tej sliki levo poleg svinčnika? Odgovore napišite v treh dneh, nagrad ni - he-he ...

Who can guess what is in this photo on the left of the pencil? Post your answer within three days, but be aware there are no prizes (smile) ...

Brezova skorja za čimžanje - Birch bark as a mordant

2009-02-13T21:37:00.010+01:00

Junija lani sem poskusila pobarvati volno z brezovo skorjo, ki sem jo nekaj tednov namakala v pepeliki: dobila sem umazano breskovo roza, ne prav močno barvo (slike žal nimam). Volno sem barvala v isti barvilni raztopini še dvakrat zapored. Ni se mi zdelo vredno, da bi volno take barve shranila za pletenje in sem obe štrenici (mislim, da sta bili dve) shranila, da bi ju uporabila kot volno, čimžano z brezovo skorjo.

Štiriindvajsetega januarja sem imela barvilno raztopino iz drugič prekuhanih delov šentjanževke: cela rastlina, rastlina s cvetovi in samo cvetovi (ki sem jih poleti enkrat po kuhanju premalo posušila in jih nenamerno pustila plesneti). V tej kopeli sem hkrati barvala dve štreni po 20 gramov: volna, čimžana z galunom, se je obarvala lepo svetlo rumeno, volna, čimžana z brezovo skorjo, pa je dobila drugačno barvo - nekaj med bež, bledo marelično, breskovo oranžno in rumeno.

Štrena, barvana samo z brezovo skorjo, je prva z leve, v sredini je volna, čimžana z brezovo skorjo in barvana s prekuhanimi ostanki šentjanževke, na levi je volna, barvana samo s prekuhanimi ostanki šentjanževke. Pripela sem dve sliki, ker se ne morem odločiti, na kateri so barve bolj realne.

Nisem se še odločila, za kaj bom uporabila to volno. Mogoče bom barve kombinirala z drugimi in spletla rokavice.

Last June I tried to dye wool with birch bark soaked in weak woodash lye for some weeks and got a dirtyish peach pink, not intense colour (sorry, no photo). I also dyed in two exhaust baths, decided the colours were not worth keeping and saved two little skeins (at least I think they were two) to use them as birch bark mordanted wool.

On 24 January I had an exhausted exhaust of St. John’s wort whole stems, stems with flowers, and flowers (the latter had been half dried after cooking and then moulded unintentionally). I dyed two skeins each of 20 grams: the alum mordanted wool gave a good pale yellow and the birch mordanted wool gave a different shade between tan, pale apricot, peach orange and yellow.

The birch dyed skein is on the left, the St. John’s wort exhaust dyed on birch mordant is in the middle and the St. John’s wort exhaust dyed on alum mordant is on the right. I attached two pictures since I can’t decide which one is more realistic.

I have not yet decided what use to make of all these skeins. I guess I will make a colour combination with other colours for mittens.

Manjša razstava - A small exhibition

2009-01-24T18:54:00.009+01:00

Nekaj izdelkov preteklih let - samo volneni: rastlinsko barvana česana volna, volnena preja in filcani izdelki. Večji tepih z rdečim cvetom in velika torba nista iz rastlinsko barvane volne, vse ostalo pa je.

Some of my products made in the last few years - only those made of wool: naturally died carded wool, wool yarn and felted items. The larger rug with a red flower and the large bag are not made of naturally died wool whereas all other items are.

2008-12-23T23:25:00.011+01:00

Volneni angelčki, ki "letajo" nad jaslicami. Woolen angels flying over the Nativity.

Pripenjam sliko zadnje postavitve jaslic. Slikala sem jih s fotoaparatom, ne z mobijem, in skušam doseči boljšo kvaliteto fotografije.

I am posting a photo of the latest setting of the Nativity. I took the photo with a real camera, not the one included in my mobile phone, trying to achieve a better quality.

Vesel Božič in srečno novo leto!

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Filcane drobnjarije - Small felted items

2008-11-30T20:12:00.011+01:00

Filcano milo. Kvadraten kos glicerinskega mila z medom sem ufilcala v volno, barvano z jelševimi listi. Temni kosem volne je namenoma le delno ufilcan, tako da je struktura bolj zanimiva. Felted soap bar. I felted a square bar of glycerine soap with honey into wool dyed with alder tree leaves. The darker wool is intentionally only partly felted into the yellow wool to make the structure more interesting .

Tole rožico sem sfilcala iz več nians rumene barve, ki sem jih dobila z zaporednim barvanjem z vrbovimi listi.

I felted this flower using wool of various nuances of yellow obtained with consecutive dyeing in willow tree leaves dyeing bath.

Copati model "jelša" - Slippers type "Alder tree"

2008-10-14T22:02:00.018+02:00

Še eni copati - tokrat natikači. Pripravljena česana volna - naravna siva za zunanjost in rumena, obarvana z jelševimi listi, za notranjost, naložena in odrezana po modelu za oba copata. Another pair of slippers. The carded wool - natural grey for the outer surface and yellow, dyed with alder leaves, for the inner surface, is layered and cut on the template for both slippers.

Taki so bili copati, dokončno sfilcani in oprani v pralnem stroju. This is how the slippers looked like when they were full felted and washed in the washing machine.

Spodnji dve sliki: Oblikovani in posušeni copati (dva dni) - občutek je res - volnen!

The two bottom pictures: Formed and dried (two days) slippers - they feel ... well, wooly!

Krhlji moje mame - My mum's dried apple slices

2008-09-24T21:25:00.018+02:00

Moja mama skrbno in vztrajno pobira svoja odpadla jabolka sorte jonatan, jih očisti, nareže na krhlje in počasi suši v pečici. Posuši jih tako, da ji držijo vse leto, tudi v dveh letih nič ne splesni. Takole jih shrani v kozarcih. (Žal na sliki barve niso čisto realne, v resnici so krhlji še lepši.)

My mum picks her Jonathan apples fallen on the ground, steadily and with great care. She removes any dirt, bruised and rot spots, slices them and dries them slowly in the oven. She dries them so much that they will sit throughout a whole year. There is no mould even after two years. This is how she keeps them in glass containers. (Unfortunately the picture doesn't present realistic colours - the dried slices look much lovelier in real life.)

Copati model "rabarbara" - Slippers type "Rhubarb"

2008-09-14T18:13:00.012+02:00

Copati so končani in močno občudovani.

The slippers are completed and much admired.

Barvanje (volne) z rastlinami - Natural (wool) dyeing

2008-08-31T22:15:00.013+02:00

Volna, pripravljena in natehtana za izdelavo filcanih copat Barvana s korenino rabarbare

Wool prepared and weighed for wet felting of slippers. Dyed with rhubarb roots.

Mokro filcani copati v fazi, ko sem filc na modelu prerezala in nadaljevala filcanje - oblikovanje in krčenje. Wet felted slippers in the phase when I cut the felt on the form and continued the felting process - forming and fulling.