Ellen von Unwerth for Grey #5.

This classic Ellen von Unwerth image is from the archives of Fashion Preservation Foundation. I often scroll down the pages to find inspiration for my pieces. This is my cayenne series. Not actually cayenne pepper, but all natural madder and cutch, amped up with alum and cream of tarter. Over dyed with indigo gives the same color combination as the iron colored garment against the denim colored sky in the photograph.

A sailors forecast.

My father loved to predict the weather. One rule of thumb was if you saw a pasture where the cows were all laying down, that means it will rain soon. Another was to remember this saying:
"Red sky at night, sailor's delight.
Red sky in morning, sailors take warning."
These persimmon colored scarves remind me of those ominous red skies seen at sunrise.
Madder, Cutch and Quebracho Red were used here.

Just "peachy".

Peach tones dripping to a deeper apricot might just make you drool when you see this scarf. Pictures can only attempt to show the way this silk feels- soft and buttery, light as air.
Again, a perfect accent to what the spring collections have strolling down the catwalks, and on the Red Carpet. Dyed with all natural madder extract for the Earth Hues company.
Taylor Swift looks peachy.

Top image is from Bora Aksu's autumn/winter collection at London.
The other models shown are from Oscar de la Renta.

Brazil bound?

A purple printed pareo would be all I need to scrunch up in a rucksack with a bathing suit and flip flops and I would be Brazil bound! That and the $2000.00 roundtrip ticket to Trancoso...
Gray and purple Logwood extracts helped to color this cotton voile piece, and the black "ink" I used with the antique Indian wood block print was made from the silty residue at the bottom of my cutch, madder and iron pot. Seems quite color fast, too!

Faded Glories.

More silk scarves. This time I used madder and quebracho with alum and cream of tarter. The results were stunning!

It madders....Purple Logwood and Madder.

The natural dyes I played with yesterday were Purple Logwood and Madder

. The purples and lavenders came from the Logwood. The red, coral and any dark purple/ grays (almost black)came from the madder after we added iron and baking soda... there was no real method to the madness with that recipe... alchemy got the best of me! It's really mystery after mystery with these dyes. You don't know what color the fabric will be after you pull it out of the vat, how dark they will be after they are rinsed, and again after they are washed. I'm hooked on the uncertain outcomes and having to give up control. "Alchemists Anonymous"?