Monday 20 April 2009

strange happenings




I have a query........
hmmm seems like interesting things happen at my house! though i am sure there is a logical solution to it.

I had previously dyed some cotton with a local plant known as colour tree (pictured above), coeleospermum reticulatum, which turned the fabric a lush yellow colour (see above). Somehow one piece of this fabric ended up being chucked irreverently into my shower sopping up all the soap and shampoo bits.

Anyway the end result was i noticed it looked slightly different, took it outside (my shower is dark) and low and behold.....it had turned red!

I love colour tree; it is amazing...I know when I lived out bush that to get red you add coconut ash (there I guess I answered me own questions) however, I guess I wonder if soap can be used instead of ash to create the same effects?? Not sure, it would seem a lot less painful to chuck in some lux flakes in a dye bath than make a fire and collect the ashes. I love making fires, but my neighbours probably hate the smoke and it's hard to get motivated to get out of town....
Also the name for this tree out bush is milwakwak, which literally translated means mil = eye, wakwak = crow, eye of the crow. Which I didn't understand until one day I looked at the berries...when they get old they turn dark black with a white dot in the middle, looking just like the eye of the crow.
Anyway musings musings....


3 comments:

  1. the yellow of Morinda citrifolia becomes red when influenced by alkali as well...
    and the sodium carbonate that's present in most detergents/shampoos has a similar effect [yellow to pink] on coreopsis dyed cloth

    also stuff that's been dyed gold with mistletoe gradually deepens to pilbara red over a couple of years of handwashing

    so yeah, i htink it's the washing soda [sodium carbonate] also known as soda ash...

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  2. knew it was something probably like that...thaNkyou thanKyoU

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  3. It's the same family as Morinda citrifolia (Rubiaceae) and a lot of plants in that family yield yellows or reds, I'm guessing soda ash will work on a lot of them to turn them red. :)

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