Easter eggs

When we went to Gerrie's yesterday we got to see her silk-dyed Easter eggs in person. They are even better in person and I was so intrigued I had to try it today. Since Ray no longer wears a tie to work every day he was happy to donate a few of his old silk ties to the cause.

I wondered if they would be too dark and somber looking for Easter-y eggs. Nope.

Isn't it interesting how differently the colors transferred? Some of Gerrie's were much brighter than mine, but I think she started with brighter silks in some cases. Or maybe it was because I had only a little bit of white vinegar to add to the water—not quite what the instructions called for. Or maybe because I boiled them in a stainless steel pan. I don't have a glass or enamel pan, either of which was specified in the instructions. BTW, I'm not repeating the instructions for doing this. If you want to know how the full instructions are on Martha Stewart's web site.

I found these two eggs especially interesting. The silk used for the top one obviously had some stitching left and the thread imprinted the unravelling lockstitch pattern very clearly. The bottom one, I think, had a stray piece of thread enclosed in the silk wrap, which also printed very clearly. It seems the threads were dyed with very potent dyes. The eggs look shiny because I rubbed a little vegetable oil on them.

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I am nearing two milestones on my blog. This is post # 295. I am also approaching 50,000 visitors to the blog, although that is an artificial number, since it started counting when I added the site meter. I had already had several thousand visits at that time, but like the odometer on the car, it will still be exciting to see all those zeroes roll by! Seems like I should celebrate the near concurrance of 50,000 visits and 300 posts somehow. I will have to think about it. Suggestions?

I'm still waiting for my new monitor. I hope these photos don't look as dark on your screens as they are on mine.