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Thursday 12 May 2016

Blue, always blue

One of the things about dyeing that captured me most was the surprise and thrill of a new discovery.
You walk lonely paths, some that have never felt a foot on them, and you know that no one can tell you for certain what you will find at the end. It has happened again. But this time it wasn't a new plant found on one of my strolls that caught my eye, the dyestuff was to be found at a delicatessen store nearby. We bought a handful of black rice, vrey easy on the eye, for supper one night. The salesman told us that it had to be soaked for about 20 minutes, as soon as it touched the water the magic began, the rice began to bleed, black water and paler rice, veering toward purple hues. My dyer's brain got turned on (you bet), I kept the water from soaking and cooking the rice, went on to mordent a handspun skein (spun at madrid spins) and while the yarn was in it's bath I went online to see what I should expect. Nothing could prepare me for what I got, what a colour! how saturated! And I only had 100g of rice!



It's a lead blue, with a violet undertone