Kainga, where Roses bloom, life is lived at a gentler pace.Living Simply, doing all those good things like stitching, gardening, cooking and reading.

Monday, September 24, 2012

"Eco-Dying and a Bloggers Lunch at Kainga."

Hello,

Happy Monday.

The other weekend I decided to try my hand at Eco-dying some white Broadcloth with Eucalyptus  leaves.


I filled the pot with leaves and added rainwater to the top.I brought this to the boil then let it simmer for a hour.

I then took out the leaves. Added the cloth,heated it again then let the cloth sit in the pot for just under a day. I know you can leave it longer but I couldn't wait. I did tuck a few of the leaves in the fabric while it was in this stage.



It was a bit hard to get a good photo of the piece but it has come out as I wanted. I didn't want it too dark as I was seeing how the leaves dyed up. I plan to dye some fabric for cross stitching so this was just a test. I will probably use the cloth for a garden stitchery. You can see the original white Broadcloth beside the piece.

Now on Friday there was a special guest for lunch at Kainga.

Bev and Sue.
My Blogging friend Sue came and we enjoyed several hours of chatting and eating. I have never laughed so much when Sue told me about her exploits on a recent fabric buying holiday in Bali. They say it is a small world, well we even discovered that our Ancestors settled in the same part of West Australia at the same time. So you see we were destined to meet. You will have to excuse the windswept look of my hair  in the photo. The wind was blowing a gale. The storm we had on Friday came just as we were taking the photo's and about a minute later it was raining. Thanks so much for visiting Sue and I hope you enjoyed the rest of your weekend and got lots of stitching done on that beautiful wall hanging you showed me.

Happy Monday
Bev C
.

27 comments:

Anonymous said...

what a good experiment ,love the colour Bev and how nice to spend tine with friends.xx

Chookyblue...... said...

oh how nice you and Sue got to meet.......they always say it is a small world........

Christine M said...

It's nice to have a get together. It's also lovely to put a face to the person I 'talk' with!

Binsa said...

Hello Bev, I enjoyed seeing your eco dying project.....it is a small world...Hugs O'faigh

Narelle said...

Seems to be lots of lovely bloggy meets going on ... they're so much fun.
I've never heard of using gum leaves ... thanks for sharing.

Queen Of The Armchair aka Dzintra Stitcheries said...

Good on you for trying the dyeing...there will probably be no stopping you now ha ha! And how wonderful to meet Sue....I think it's fantastic to meet other Bloggers! I like windswept hair! Have a great week xo

Pauline said...

Love the gum leaf colour, Bev - nice and natural looking. Glad you enjoyed your time with your blogging friend!

marina said...

very interesting dyeing with the gum leaves! the fabric looks great.
Lovely to see you and Sue in the photo, putting faces to bloggy friends.

Lisa said...

wow ! what a awesome idea/experiment.and such a lovley colour too.
hugs xo

Nat Palaskas said...

Well done Bev, I'm so proud of you. The liquid colour is so nice and clean (not like mine hehe!). Now for the real test with Aida cloth. Nice to meet with blogger friends. I met a few already.

Have a nice week
Hugs
Nat

Fiona said...

you do the most fun things with fabrics.... I am always scared to ruin precious fabric but that looks such a lovely gentle colour... how fun for you and Sue to get together....
Hugz

Cheryll said...

WOW Bev... how clever are you!!!
VERY I say... :)

Simone de Klerk said...

What a fun process that must have been, to dye the fabric. Love how it turned out.
And how nice to have met Sue.

Deb said...

This is one reason I love blogs so much--I would never have thought of dying with leaves like this! You can learn so much from other people.

And how special to have lunch with a blogging friend. That is also one of my joys. I so enjoyed getting to see photos of you and Sue!

Loved the blue x-stitch in the previous post, too!

Maria said...

Pleased that you had a lovely chat and lunch with Sue....

Bobbie Lynn said...

Hello Bev,
So nice to see a photo of you and what a nice way to spend a day with a your blog buddy Sue. Neat to dye your own fabric with your very own clippings. I must of smell some what good with those eucalyptus leaves. Had a good weekend spending time reading. Purchased a new book "birdsong" and upgraded my sewing machine. No, did not buy an embroidery but one that has some new features that my old one did not have. Great deal at the Fair. Have a lovely week.
Blessings to you and your family.

Terriaw said...

Your eco-dying experiment looks fun. I've been wanting to try some fabric dyeing lately; just need to find the time. How fun to get to meet a blogging friend in real life! And then to discover how much more you really have in common. Great story!

Terry said...

How cool! I love the color the fabric came out! :0)

Stray Stitches (Linda G) said...

How fun to dye your own fabric. Did the eucalyptus leaves give your home a wonderful aroma?

Melody said...

I agree with Linda, your house must have smelt fabulous.

Jossie said...

That looks interesting and the colour turned out well.
It is always fun to meet with a blogger. Never a dull moment.

Sue said...

It was lovely meeting up with you Bev and this time I got to meet your men too.
Thanks again for the Kainga hospitality. I hope one day you'll get to Charlotte's Cottage.xxx Sue

Melissa ;-) said...

I've been wanting to do some dying. Love the eco idea! It is fun to see what colors come from what. It is sometimes a surprise!

Unknown said...

Fantastic...will have to try this

Eggs In My Pocket said...

wonderful way to dye, using natural materials to do so! How wonderful to get together with blogging friends!

Eggs In My Pocket said...

wonderful way to dye, using natural materials to do so! How wonderful to get together with blogging friends!

Jess said...

Nice color you get! And the way to dye is absolutely eco friendly. Is this a special kind of eucalyptus? o it can be any kind?
Saludos! :)