Pomegranate & Tea dyed Silk

Exactly what it says on the tin!
Silk bundle with tea bags wrapped in it; dyed in pomegranate dye-pot.
I'm using some of the silk on a small piece of stitched collage. Slow stitching.

'Birch Bark Rolls' from Starr Carr

In the museum at Whitby are these rolls of birch bark, that come from Star Carr. How I'd love to know what is inside them; what they were used for!

My friend Jackie has finally re-homed the 3 ducklings that hatched from her Mrs Duck; and the 6 kittens she caught have all gone to homes...it's been a busy summer for her! I've tried to offer some help, though she's done most of the work.
I've insulated the studio ceiling and have to get the floor sorted now. Then I can move the furniture in, and begin work again. I keep going in there, at different times of the day, to see how the light is, how comfortable it feels. I think it will suit me beautifully.

More fabric pieces have gone through my alchemical kitchen! And I'm awaiting the tea-bag dye-ing results.
And I start a City & Guilds Creative Textile course in a couple of weeks. Looking forward to that. And on Saturday is a Heritage Open Day at Westgate Chapel, which I've volunteered to help with. 

Rust & Tea, Rust Dye-ing #3

Working with a group, we did some rust-dyeing. I added a used tea-bag, just in one place; the orange/rust patterns.
I like the grey/black colour, and the striations on the fabric.

Currently there is a scrap of fabric soaking in tea-bag dye. Every time I make a cuppa, I add the tea-bag to the pot! What will it come out like???? More alchemical kitchen!

Rust & Tea; Rust Dye-ing #2

Th fabric I'd wrapped round the tin can, with tea-bags underneath, has now been unravelled, and opened out flat! It's much darker than the first rust print...the effect of the tannin from the tea, I suppose.
Since it dried, the fabric is paler than the photo below. And slightly less pleated and 3D. What a difference an iron makes! 

But I'm pleased with how these first experiments in rust dyeing have turned out. As my friend asked 'what are you going to do with them?' and at this moments, I have no idea!
Maybe use larger pieces of fabric? Find a way of working on a larger scale? Mmmmm, that sounds interesting! 

Rust Dye-ing # 2

More experiments from the Alchemical Kitchen!
Experiments with rust dye-ing.
This time I'm using tea bags to see what difference that makes.