Thursday, March 25, 2010

It's a mystery!

It's the first dyefest of the season here at the Lawrenceville Frankenstein Dyeworx and new mysteries are afoot! I've had a batch of vintage damask napkins, a length of coarse linen, and a swanky 600ct stripey bedsheet from Goodwill soaking in soda as since, umm, Sunday (I think)

 There was no kosher salt in the cupboard and I couldn't justify wasting any sugar with hummingbird season about to open. Lurking in the back of the pantry was an old box of COW complete with mealy bugs - a charming protein boost that happens when you don't seal your flour and cereals in plastic. Is it just a southern thing or did I not notice them when we lived up north? It remains to be seen how the cream of wheat and bugs will interact with the soda ash, dye and cloth.

One thing is for sure, I won't be rinsing these in my washing machine. I'm out of time this morning so all of this will get to poach on the work table until this time tomorrow. We'll see what comes of all this mess.

3 comments:

arlee said...

ooo and now if any of your bugs are in the cochineal family :}.........

Deb Lacativa said...

I wish!! They are practically invisible..I'm sure I have cooked and eaten them in the past,before I knew it was a concern!

Dee / Cloth Company said...

Trust me when I tell you we have them up North too -- I've learned to skim the husks off the surface of water and to hope the kids don't notice the worms! Glad to have alternative use for bug-ridden cereal, however.