Monday, December 8, 2008

Fall Projects

We have enjoyed our simple crafts this fall and the results have been quite beautiful. Since starting in September, we have sewn simple wool-stuffed gnomes using recycled felted sweaters, created leaf banners found in Carol Petrash's book Earthways), and made Martinmas lanterns.
In November, to preserve the last of the sun's rays while the days grow shorter, we dyed silk a golden shade. The silks can be worn as a scarf, used on the nature table or as a runner on a dining table.
We dyted the silk with onion skins which are best found at a grocery store where they happily give them away since they are usually discarded when the produce area is cleaned. It takes a lot of onion skins to make a pot of dye and so it's hard to save up enough on your own, but everyone's contribution of onion skins went into our dying pot.
Before dying the silks, we "mordanted" them by putting them in a large pot of water with 4 oz. of alum (available at the grocery story in the spice section) and an ounce of cream of tartar (also available in the grocery store spices). We brought the water to a boil and then simmered the silks in the pot for about an hour. Then the silks were hung to dry so they would be ready for the next step. (Some directions say to rinse the silks before drying (and before dying) but I didn't although I am curious to try it again and with rinsing after mordanting).
We wrapped onion skins in a cheescloth about the size of a volleyball and then put the ball of skins in a pot of plain water (having discarded the mordanting water)and let them simmer for as long as it took to achieve the golden shade we were looking for (between 20 minutes about 50 minutes). When you stir the dye, the color will be more even, but if you want a variegated effect, you can tie the silk before dying or let it fold onto itself in the pot.
After you remove your silk from the pot, rinse it in cool water, let it dry and then iron it to set the color and reveal its beauty.
It's amazing to see the golden sunshine color that emerges from onions grown that grew underground. I imagine that the earth has been inhaling the sunshine all summer long and is storing it now during these dark days. As we celebrate the winter festivals, it's interesting to ponder that the greatest light is born at the time of the deepest darkness.
Now we are making pomanders in class and they are clove-covered oranges, so easy to see as spicy sunglobes that we use to decorate our house during the darkest month of the year. This craft can also be found in the Earthways book by Carol Petrash.
Enjoy these beautiful days and the anticipation of the return of the light!