21 December 2011

Spruce cones

Leaves have become dry and shriveled, or mushy and slimy - depending on weather and latitude - at least here in the northern hemisphere. Now we have to look for other plant materials for dyeing for a while. We don't have to look for long, though. Spruce are rather common in these parts of the world, and they are blessing us with loads of wonderful dyeing materials.



From top:
· cotton gauze
· wool yarn
· dupioni silk
· merino wool fabric

No mordants used for the peachy colour - the greys achieved by dipping in rain water made rich in iron with rusty nails. Which is also lying around on the ground, like the cones. People living in our house in former times found it convenient to dump their garbage in the garden, so now I can pick up handfuls of rusty nails (as well as broken glass et cetera) years after.

According to my books spruce cones yield browns. Well, not this time they did. But I love the colours, so generously provided by my trees and ancestors. The grey is one of the best I've achieved, so rich and dark.

Have you got any spruce cone experiences you want to share?


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8 comments:

  1. jenclair22 December 2011 at 14:52

    What beautiful colors the spruce cones have produced. That grey is wonderful!

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  2. Lynda Howells22 December 2011 at 20:09

    gorgeous colours.....you think you will get one colour..and Nature gives you another! isn't it greatx

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  3. india flint22 December 2011 at 23:09

    they're also very good at the end of winter, after the thaw, the colours tend to deepen...

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  4. Mona23 December 2011 at 11:52

    India; I'll have to try and see if the colour will intensify then :)

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  5. Betty Eilat24 December 2011 at 18:01

    Very beautiful and warm colors!

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  6. Helen7 January 2012 at 19:01

    Hi MOna I love your colours form Spruce particularly the grey. I picked up your blog rom Jenny Dean's and noticed you wanted white alpaca so here is a link to the person I bought mine from.http://www.smallholder-agriculture.co.uk/detail/chrysalis-alpacas-wales-213/

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  7. Mona11 January 2012 at 16:28

    Hi Helen, thank you for thinking of me! I might try that, but will try to find a more local supplier in Denmark first :)

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  8. Louise9 February 2012 at 19:24

    The colours are really fantastic. Love that the iron makes such a different colour than the one with out the mordant -and yet they go so well together. Think I might try this Spruce.

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