Japanese indigo, Polygonum tinctorium, growing in the Buddha garden.
8 ounces fresh leaves covered with water.
Turned to black.
Turned to yellow. The utensils are holding down the cloth.
Cloth is ready to be lifted out. See the parts exposed to air.
First of three batches.
Clouds.
Silks on the right, cottons on the left.
Another cloudy cloth.
This is 8 ounces of fresh leaves with cottons, silks and a felted wool using the directions in the book A Dyer's Garden by Rita Buchanan.
I love each one -- from the light cloudy blues ~ to the royals ~ to midnight. Day to night. xx
Beautiful, magical,Peggy... I look forward to seeing these pop up in your stitcheries.
ReplyDeletewow...what a grand success. loving all the blues.
ReplyDeleteWoo hoo Peggy! Wow you are tempting me to grow indigo again! The result is fantastic. Magic is the word for it - Hugs Nat
ReplyDeleteHoly indigo, Peggy! Wow. Magic, indeed!
ReplyDeleteAwesome!! Now I can go to sleep dreamin' in blues!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful results!
ReplyDeleteOh, oh, oh what magic
ReplyDelete"That old blue magic has got a spell on me. That old blue magic that you weave so well. Those icy fingers up and down my spine...." My apologies to Johnny Mercer and Ella, but I couldn't resist. :) Of all the dyeing I do, indigo is my favorite. It is so magical.
ReplyDeleteYour cloth is beautiful! I love the light cloudy cloth and then the darker versions. I need to go talk to my plants and encourage them to grow faster! Have fun!
Wow, beautiful results and from your own plants. Sort of "sheep to shaw" dyeing, my favorite kind of dyeing. Next year I'm planting indigo!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful. I should have brought you some of my mohair to play with.
ReplyDeleteok, I confess, I've gotten waaaay behind on reading your blog (but I do have a note from my Dr.!!). Did you grow the indigo yourself? If so, do you have a source for the seeds? I'm sure I can grow it here in GA, as indigo was such a cash crop in SC back in the day.
ReplyDeleteI love your results....and it seems fairly safe to do, right?
Thanks for any tips you can give me!
xxoo
Thank you, everyone, for your happy comments! This project is definitely a high point of the summer around here.
ReplyDeleteThese plants were seedlings I ordered from Companion Plants in Ohio. They carry 2 varieties of indigo and also this variety of Japanese indigo, Polygonum tinctorium -- both seeds and seedlings. I grew my woad and madder from seed this year but wanted to have a head start with the indigo. Last year I had limited success with indigofera suffruticosa but never got around to dyeing with it because we had a wedding (son) last August that pretty much consumed all my time. These plants must be used fresh, not dried. This Japanese indigo did so much better, I assume it was climate-related, so that's the one I'll plant next year again, maybe trying to start it from seeds I save this autumn. xo
great results. i used that book the first time...i didn't grow any this year.
ReplyDelete