inspired to bundle

As soon as I'd finished writing my review of Second Skin last week I was itching to do some dyeing. I had a couple of bags of eucalyptus leaves that I'd had sitting waiting for quite a while. One was from a tree in my parents' garden, that I'd brought back from a visit ages ago and hadn't got round to doing anything with. The other were a little bundle from South Africa.


When I visited there 18 months ago I'd painted these leaves and had a little stash waiting for something. When I painted them they were fairly freshly fallen and the colours were more varied and vivid. Now they're older and brittle and much more dull but still with variation in their pinks and browns.


I took a piece of wool felt, some silk habotai, silk gauze chiffon and a piece of silk/viscose velvet I found left over from various college projects. I made up a series of bundles, bound with wool and made a last little wrapping of more of the wool round a few leaves.


These all got the steaming and sitting treatment and as they sat the colours really developed. I undid them yesterday as I noticed there were patches of mold forming on the surface of the damp parcels. I unwrapped them, rinsed and hung them to dry in the sunshine.

The African leaves have made beautiful impressions on the felt and the silk pieces have taken on a generally uniform orange with patches of more intense colour.


It felt so good to be doing this again.