Blackwork, Aniline Dye, and Knotting Cord
I started the day by starting the blackwork. I decided that because the dots on the stabilizer are so clear I decided that using those as an alternative to thread counting, previously I had decided to just wing it because thread counting on this fabric hurts, but with the dots I had no trouble.
I was surprised how quickly it went, I was expecting the super tiny squares to take forever, but it only took a couple hours.
A while ago I bought an agate ring because the lavender jade one I was gifted is a little light in color. Unfortunately, the agate ring I bought was even lighter in color. In perusing the internet I discovered that aniline dyes can be used to dye porous stones like agate as well as wood and leather. I found some relatively cheap aniline dye marketed for wood and it arrived today.
The instructions I found said to use isopropyl alcohol as the liquid, so I got a tiny bit of dye in the tiny cup and added the iso to it.
I then used a string and a bobby pin to suspend the ring in the dye. Unfortunately, it looks like the ring has been sealed, so I will have to look at ways to remove the sealant before I try this again. That said, I'm thinking I'll use the dye for leather and maybe wood later down the line, so even if I can't get it to work on the agate, I still have a use for it.
I had also ordered some nylon knot cord. As I had feared, the yellow is a little too cool toned to go with the gold/brass of the metals of the bell. That said, I think the black and purple will work, I just have to play around with them and decide what knots and such I want to use.
Tomorrow I'll probably continue with the black work. Not sure if I'll do anything else, so I may or may not post. I have been thinking that I might dye the houppelande fabric black instead of eggplant. The Jiang colors are purple and black after all and so far the only black I have is this knotting cord. It would also make it pop better if I use it as part of the wide belt. I have a bunch of ancient boxes of the powder rit black, so I could do multiple batches, making it more likely that it will come out even. Might start that tomorrow depending on the weather and how many spoons I have.
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