Today I decided to open my 2 days old bundle and remove/cover the rusty pipe. Such rust in combination with tannins in the leaves could leave black patches, darker and bigger than I would like. Plus I had a good excuse to peek into the bundle ^_^. This is what it looks like now, I am so excited! But I am going to wait – and no more peeking, just keeping it nice and hot. I want to open it with my parents, when they are with us in 4 weeks time.
At the end, I decided to cover the rusty metal with two layers of cotton muslin, some presoaked euca leaves tucked in and rolled it up from the other end. The iron, once it gets hot, keeps the bundle warm from inside while it sits in the pot covered with a lid on the hob. Sorry, no solar dyeing here, the sun is nowhere to be seen and it’s hardly 15 C.
I have also started dyeing with the lichen with mixed results, it’s a tricky one. I will show you next time.
