Wednesday 3 October 2012

Indigo experiment no. 2


Two weeks ago I intended to process the indigo leaves.    Well, how 
time flies.

Instead I brought them indoors, with the threat of really cold nights.    
I have been nurturing them over the past weeks, hoping to at last achieve
a decent blue.  Amazing plants considering the non summer, bet they 
wished they were in India.

Yesterday I stripped the best leaves, simmered them for a while then
strained the leaves.   Aireated the brew, splish, splosh;  added the 
hydrosulphite, and the vat was ready.




Thinking it might not work
I grabbed a cloth of unknown
providence and scrunched
it with elastic bands









This piece folded and clamped















and the last piece 
loosely folded













Happy day.    The recipe I followed is from Jenny Dean's Wild Colour 
ISBN 781845-1-84533-569-4.   A book I would highly recommend.

The plants are now looking quite sorry for themselves, however......


at last they are flowering.
So, with a little tender care over
the coming months I hope to
harvest the seeds for planting
next Spring.

I must remember not to set the
seeds too early but to be patient.
I've learnt lots about growth
patterns and constant harvesting.
How free plastic forks are perfect
for layering the stalks, which will
then produce further growth.

It's been a real challenge, but
I got there in the end!





3 comments:

Eva said...

Love the radiance of this blue. Sometimes indigo can be rather dusty; this kind looks very brilliant -- if the pictures are true to life.

Radka said...

I just find amazing that such beautiful shades of blue come from this plain looking plant.

Tiggy Rawling said...

It is a lovely mid blue, no doubt with further dips the colour would deepen. It was enough to find this method worked! As to the colour on the screen, it looks fine on mine!