Last week I participated in a workshop led by Nicola Brown. We all had a great time and I picked up a couple of ideas to use in my own work. That is one of the reasons to go to workshops, isn’t it, beside having fun?

My friend, Diane, had brought some Sweet Gum leaves to use in her experiments and when we left for the day, I snagged some that she hadn’t used. I used them (after a quick dip in an iron solution) on a silk scarf (mordanted and then soaked in vinegar) with the addition of some annatto seeds. The bundle was boiled in a madder root bath. The leaves turned a beautiful blue and the madder a burgundy. I do like the effect.

With the late winter rains, all my plants really grew. The violet leaves on this scarf are amazing. To help with perspective, the scarf is 8 garden inches wide. Love them with the annatto seeds. There were many other botanicals on this piece but the violet leaves really stood out.

Did something to this scarf I probably won’t do again. The violet leaves were just a bit pale so I dipped the scarf, post print, into an iron solution. Thought it would give the greens an olive tone but it turned them rather brown. Still like the piece but would have preferred more green in the leaves.

Just finished 3 more pieces but they are somewhat disappointing. All spring leaves do not give off their best color. Still do have some winter leaves in my stash as well as goodies in my freezer. Think I’ll go ahead and use them up.