I prepared 6 dye baths last Friday which consisted of materials that I found in my neighborhood. Maple, Elm, Burch and oak bark,  Willow leaves and twigs, and a number of different purple flowers that I combined into one bath.  The bark I am letting sit in cold water for a week before dyeing any fibers. The Willow leaves and twigs as well as the flowers I poured boiling water over and let steep for the weekend and then came back to it on  Monday.

Today (Monday) I pre-mordant my silk swatches in iron, copper, and aluminum before placing in the dye bath. While the swatches were in the mordant I prepared the dye bath by first straining out the leaves, twigs, and petals. I decided to make a 3rd dye bath from the extra maple and elm bark I had collected and brought that to a light simmer, the flowers dye was also brought to a light simmer, while the willow was left cold. I collected 12 samples in colors ranging from golden champagne to a smoky dark grey.