j u n i p e r u s * o x y c e d r u s

about three weeks ago, hubby, ous sons & I went to a day trip (well, kind of) in a wild part not very far from here. There, grow a lot (really, A LOT) of Juniperus oxycedrus. The cones (fruits) were more than mature so we picked a handful. No threatening of the local ecosystem, they are really prolific & we picked really only a handful. (OK, two hands full)

the cones, once rinced, before going in the dye bath

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the results (the lighter fabric was white linen, then clockwise, pure silk, silk bourette, and 8 meters of silk yarn)

this is the silk, with traces

All fibers were mordanted with alum. As you can see, the color is not very obvious, not very pronounced. I am getting used to it, and as I wrote on Flickr, I think it helps me appreciating the neutral tones, natural colors that natures provides. Of course some natural plants, trees or flowers can give colorful hues (like indigo for instance) but the majority of plants or leaves will give faded yellows, greens, kakhis or beiges/browns.
On the last photo, you can see that there were traces of a darker tone. These traces have given me great signs of hope for another dye with that plant, in the future, and this time, I think I'll pick fresher, greener cones, and I'll report the results, of course.
I have another dye in the making, it had been way too long since I had been able to dye, it is always thrilling & always teaching me something new. About dyeing, or not. (I talk about wisdom, girls)