I went to a wedding in the hills recently… a very pleasantly relaxed and extremely celebratory occasion. On the way home, I stopped in a small town because… many European trees grow in the Adelaide Hills and it’s wonderful to see.
And of course, I had hopes and plans. If you don;t want to look at pictures, stop now. This is a post of MANY pictures.
I collected leaves…
I made bundles…
I made experiments…
I tooled around the neighbourhood on my bike collecting tried and true leaves.
I unwisely tied my bundles with coloured string for the first time ever. I sorta kinda knew this was stupid but did it anyway and was rewarded with blue lines, most of which happily washed out!
I applied heat as the sun set…
And the next day! These images are of fabrics still damp and freshly unwrapped. Even the flannel rag I had used to create a bit of ‘padding’ on one bundle took dye.
Oak leaves on silk
Maple leaves on silk. So green! they are still green after washing and ironing. This silk is from a pantsuit a friend scored for me at an op shop. It is well washed and work raw silk.
The ever faithful E Cinerea on linen. A friend gifted me linen offcuts and these are the first that have made their way into the dye pot. Am I ever blessed with generous friends!
Maple leaves on linen.
E Scoparia is awesome yet again on cotton.
Sheoak from the neighbourhood on linen. This has so much potential…
A happy day all round!
Local & Bespoke 
That is hysterical…NO leaf is safe from you haha LOVE the maple leaves and of course the E Scoparia. Apart from wrapping, what is in the dye pot besides water and heat……..and for how long? It WILL be summer here one day 🙂
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Thanks! The cotton and linen are mordanted in soy, and I have been using iron pipe inside the bundles….
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Thank you!
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What a great variety! I love the layers and layers in the E Scoparia.
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Thanks! It adds a little complexity…
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Wow! The E Scoparia is a glorious as ever but I also really like the dark Maple leaf prints on linen, thank you for sharing these photos.
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You’re welcome! I like those ones a lot too 🙂
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The sheoak does look very interesting. I’ve never tried it as a leaf print. I find the colour is pretty ordinary as a dyebath. This is something worth looking into.
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I am having success with it using iron. It has veen a bit hit and miss previously. I can see it might not work in a dye bath.
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Too funny…I second the “no leaf is safe” comment…in the very best way, of course. Are the maple leaves on linen really black (that’s how they look on my monitor)? I’m eyeing the neighbors’ trees in a whole different light now – not just as leafy shade and future compost material!
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Yes, they are black… I got green prints on silk. The black ones show the influence of iron.
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These are positively inspirational … look out plants, here I come!
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Enjoy!
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ahhhh, the she oak. everything about that tree. from its ability to hold together unstable ground, to its whispering song when stroked by the breeze, to these wonderful lines. the more abstracted leaf prints such as these are my favourites. I have some she oaks down in my gully doing their work but have never actually collected windfall from them myself here. thanks for this reminder …some lovely prints from them at TCB too. xo
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Thanks for your lovely comment–surely this is a small poem in honour of the wonderful oak? Thanks for coming by, Roz–and especially, thanks for TCB.
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