Experiments with new plants 新品種植物印染實驗

This is the new plants I found recently and impressed with the outcome. Really into it and can't help doing more and more.....

最近踩單車路經一園子，吸引我的黃花使我進園與屋主交談，很好客主人馮小姐還送我一些花、蘆薈、靑椒等。回家做了多樣品試驗外也吃到很健康的早餐與甜品。很高興我的踩單車運動在尋尋覓覓植物中認識了新朋友，也擴濶了可印染的題材。

 

With the bundle opened for table setting I'm quite pleased with the recent work.

 

This is how I came across such plants......

Last week I passed by a house with lots of flowers and chatted with the owner Ms F.  She's so nice to let me into her garden to view her organic produces and beautiful flowers. 

I spied the bright yellow flowers, family of Tagetes tenuifolia. I told her that I'm doing research with plants for natural prints. She's so nice to let me pick as much as I like and gave me some others plants as well aloe vera and lantern peppers.

 

With handful ediable and printable stuff home can't wait to do the experiments.

Here's the first.....

 Composition of plants on fabric........
I was expecting prints with yellow flowers and green leaves.

 

But.... outcome was all yellowish even the leaves. 

This is mirror prints on silk and viscose both with alum and iron mordant respectively.

Not too bad as it yells pigments of bold prints.

 For the following experiments I decided to do different mordants of alum, iron and tannin on silk, linen and viscose for the testing.

Leaves and petals prints on viscose with iron mordant are bold.

Background of grey is effect of iron and tannin.

 

Yellow leaves and flowers is effect of alum mordant silk

 

 I also used some of my home plants such as geranium on iron mordant viscose.
It's bold grey I like.

 

Ferns and bauhinia are not good prints but

no harm for the combination of shades and shapes on viscose.

 

 After the many testings I tended to keep clear background with simple alum and iron mordants - my basic motto.

 

Lots of panels made of the same plant ! 

 

I've to ask myself what to do with them. 

Just wrap with Mogi in the late spring days?

 

I love the flowers and the leaves so much. Have to dig out the proper name of the plants. Here are the images how they look like before printing.

 The tiny red flowers prints purple only with iron mordant.

 

The Artemisia vulgaris (crown daisy唐蒿) prints nice yellow.

 Layout of "before & after". Mirror prints of iron mordant viscose and alum mordant silk.

Onion skins are never wrong on natural printing.

 

Assorted ferns and flowers with iron and tannin mordant to make background grey.

  

 I love this part the most - "less is more" - clean and clear.

"Behave Mogi ! "
 He wanted to grasp a piece of the buckwheat bread I made. 

My healthy breakfast, "bird in the nest" with green pepper from Ms F, slices of avocado and brewed coffee.....what's more?

  

followed by dessert of aloe vera in honey with ginger and white fungus. 

 

Thought to do more about this prints but first to make use of the panels

 This is part of the outfit just made

Will show more after shots.  Stay tuned for the details.

Just to close it.... but the brat on my lap. 

He's so attached yet a good companion anyway.

Keep warm with fluffy and wool stuff

We're embracing cold front, feeling chilly.  Fortunately with fluffy and own made wool felt boots I'm warm enough.

近日冷鋒南下，寒流襲港，我也得要好好保暖，穿上自己製作的羊毛氈長靴，擁著毛茸大貓總有點溫暖。

 

"Are you warm enough Mogi?"

"Yup, my fur keeps me warm"

 

I know the other part of the strait in Taiwan also freezing.  The package was on the way to my lovely client - YaLing.  I know she has already received the package and keeps her warm too.

想念日前寄出臺灣客人訂購了的羊毛絨披肩、桌畫及包包，相信她也感身心溫暖吧。

 

YaLing ordered three items from my ETSY -  a wool flannel shawl, a table runner and a wool felt purse.

   

I made this soft wool flannel with own printed eucalyptus and casaurina. 

The wool felt purse made in Portugal with the raw fleece of local sheep for the textural flap. 

 

Table runner of wool flannel with cotton backing also printed with assorted leaves picked locally inc. eucalyptus leaves, barks, branches and maple.

 

It can be a table runner, a bed runner or a wall hanging.  

I have been doing on line shop ETSY for a few years but not many physical items listed as I mainly sell the instant download natural prints tutorials (English version, Russian Version, Advanced version).  Thought it's time to replenish some more items.

Lazy me I always like to do own clothing with natural prints.  Here's the one I recently sewed with prints of euc and buds.   Will show more details next for the easy piece..

My eco-printed corner 斗室一角

 

This is linen of eco prints made in Ireland while I was having holiday in Nicola Brown's farmhouse.  Back home almost a week but still can't adjust jet lag.   In the sleepless nights I was too addicted to make all those printed fabrics into home decor. One of the pieces is the wall hanging printed with cotinus, sycamore and eucalyptus.

身體時鐘仍未調適時差，夜半起來弄一杯香濃愛爾蘭咖啡，把在當地印染布料車縫成為掛畫、坐墊，為工作室添上一些旅遊的閒適回憶。

 

I was so glad to have made the eco prints with Nicola's tips on the vintage linen with her local hedgerow vegetation.  To make this a keepsake is to do something for my studio decoration.  I made the wall hanging and cushion covers with the prints.  My tiny studio corner is now enhanced with such lovely eco prints.

 

My tiny studio is away from my urban apartment.  I sometimes do small projects here or stay overnight after a hard day of work or hiking.

 

It's a small space but cozy with everything I needed.

Sofa unfolded to make it a tatami.  

Prints of "before & after" of the wall hanging.

 

I like to make something with good memories.  The day Nicola, Heather and I strolling along the long beach in Curracloe we picked some seashells.

 

 Nicola showed me the pretty little shell.

 

I got a few pieces home and embellished the small one as the wall hanging pendant.

The other linen prints are made into cushions.  Simple overlapped at the back without zipper or button.

 

Sounds Mogi likes it.

 

I also have another piece of silk prints with Japanese maple, oak, ginkgo and eucalyptus from my friend's garden in England.

Not sure if Mogi approves it but he occupied it immediately.

 

I sewed it into two chair pads.

 

The dining table with vintage cotton table cloth was my mother used to have.  I cut it into panels and printed with leaves.  Another post of the upcycled table cloth making.
 

 

The tiny studio is now decorated with my idea of eco prints with lots of good memories.

 

Be it a working studio or a space for a rest, it's my own space. 

How come I still can't adjust jet lag !  I woke up in the mid night to brew the Irish coffee.  Enjoy my coffee and the French linen printed in Ireland.