Experimental mohair dyeing - using Rhubarb

I was chopping rhubarb for a couple of apple-rhubarb crumbles I was making yesterday when it occurred to me that there was a fair amount of colour staining coming from the skin on the stems. I decided to see if the colour from the rhubarb could be used to dye mohair (I've used brown and red onion skins successfully in the past, as well as beetroot and kool aid... so this was just another thing to have a play with!)

The crisp white mohair.

adding the rhubarb.

We also added a dash of vinegar to help set the dye (as it was a plant-based dye. When using berries apparently it's better to use salt)

After about 20mins bubbling away on the stove all the colour had leached out of the rhubarb .

You can see how yellow the rhubarb ended up! The liquid was a murky pinky colour.

The mohair didn't get quite as dark as the liquid, but it did soak up a pretty pastel pink tinge.

(at this point my crumble was ready to cook as well!) 

Even after rinsing it was still a really lovely pink. This is the fur still wet. We hung it to dry outside for 24hrs

This is the dry-result. Only a very pale colour, and not quite as 'clean' a pink as it looked when wet - but I still think this will work quite nicely for an antique looking bear, or even some cute little pigs? Stay tuned to see the final product! 

(and I had fully intended to take a cooked photo of the crumble... but we started eating it before I remembered to!) 

Experimental mohair dying continues

I purchased some more pieces of white mohair to play around with, took Chelsea for a walk down to the supermarket this afternoon and purchased some items I thought might yield some interesting colours. I'd read that celery gave a soft yellow-green colour. So I got some of that. Then I saw some lovely black grapes (popped them in the basket) and while I was on that train of thought, threw some plums in as well.

So, over the last few hours I have tried dying mohair with
* Boiled celery leaves - UNSUCCESSFUL
* Plum skins - UNSUCCESSFUL
* Cocoa powder - UNSUCCESSFUL
* Black grape skins rubbed into fur pile - WORKS! (you get a patchy dull lilac colour after rinsing)
* Boiled black grapes - ALSO WORKS! (you get a dusky grey colour with just a hint of lavender)
* Boiled tea (both regular and peppermint) - WORKS! (this gives a soft caramel-mustard colouring after being washed).

This is the colour of the tea-dyed mohair after it has been rinsed. Quite similar to the brown onion skins I tried earlier - maybe not quite as vibrant though.

This the the grape skins being rubbed into the backing of the mohair.

This is the colour of the mohair after the grape skins had been rubbed in and allowed to sit for 20mins, then rinsed.




This is the boiled grape-dyed piece against the original white of the mohair.

Messy afternoon of cooking

Was halfway through making another guinea pig (gorgeous three colour, long haired one), when i remembered that if i didn't cook up another batch of baby food, there would be nothing for Chels to eat tonight.





So this was the reality of my afternoon. Not quite how i wanted to spend it. But productive nonetheless.

Easter Jumping

We had a lovely picnic at the beach today with my family. The weather was amazing! I let the waves splash over Chelsea's feet and she loved it. And there was lots of jumping... as you'll see in the photos!

Keeping up with a hungry hungry baby!

We were down to the last three of Chelsea's chicken, veg and pasta meals, so i decided it was time for a new batch. This is what was whizzed up this afternoon, along with some lean beef mince. I made WAY too much (again!), and ended up with about 21 meals (cost approx $15 and took about an hour all up from chopping and boiling, to sterilising the containers to whizzing it up and packing in the freezer).



I actually ran out of my nice little clip lock containers and had to use our breakfast bowls for some of the ones i'll keep in the fridge and use over the next day or so. Not sure what we're going to eat our cereal out of now though... :P

Sunday Roast

Chelsea was a little trouper tonight. She normally has a sleep every two-three hours or so. But this afternoon she went from 2pm till 8:30pm solid - no sleeps, and no crying either! We were all very impressed. I think she was having too much fun with all her Aunties and Uncles (and the dogs!) to try and sleep. Here are some pics of her playing on the floor with her Aunty Anya and Punky the dog.

Oh, and the caramel tart went down a treat too ;)

Desert!

This evening we will be visiting my dad's place for dinner. I decided that i wanted to bring something yummy, and this is what i have made - Roasted macadamia nut and gooey caramel Tart, with a drizzle of melted dark chocolate! We need two because there are soooo many of us.

Me, Mark and Chelsea
My Dad and his wife.
My brother and his fiancée.
Three more teenage brothers.
And three teenage step-brothers and partners.
Oh, and a dog and a cat! :P

Lots and lots of homemade baby food

So today was a little more productive. I've given up on the clothing explosion in Chelsea's room for the time being. Until i can find something satisfactory to store them all in they will just have to live on the floor. And i even managed to draw up three bears this morning as well. (a little blue and yellow synthetic one, a rich brown 9" that i'm going to try sculpting eye lids for, and a BIG black and brown one with a shaggy body).

The rest of the afternoon was spent cooking Miss Chelsea some more dinners. This batch is:
chicken
pumpkin
potato
onion
zucchini
carrot
green apple
red kidney beans
pasta

It was a bit of an odd combo - but actually tastes quite good as far as baby food goes!