i love this forum for all kinds of reasons.
in the last post i mentioned dyeing with lichens.
at catherine and bill's the trees were shedding lichens.
usnia, what i learned before as old man's beard, and lungwort
were actually falling out of the trees, lungwort especially.
india asked me about the dyeing process (and the sustainability of) lungwort.
well, it had been long since i dyed with lichens, over 20 years, but i thought
since the yard had these gifts, i might as well try them.
the usnia did not work in a hot bath, but the lungwort did a bit.
ammonia brought out a little color.
but i didn't have my casselman or memory enough to remember the bleach test.
so we tried them anyway.
bill taught me that usnia is a medicine plant.
records from 1983.
yikes!
these two were the record for a large wool singles twill shawl i dyed
and wove in '83, and sold to a friend years later.
two pieces of lungwort, pressure printed.
lungwort pressure printed by catherine in a teaching session. i love this technique.
and a little shibori, cotton with onion skin,
dyed by bill (which did not photograph accurately).
somehow, ahem, bill, this made it home in my bag...
