Avocado Ink Part 1

  I started early in the morning to make my first batch of avocado ink. I had saved a weeks worth of the stones from very small to large around 6 so I used them all. 

  Peeled the brown skin off and chopped small. I don't have a small pan in my dye-craft stash, so with a little regret I grabbed one of my usa copper bottom revere ware pans that has been missing the wooded handle for years. I do have another the same size-so this is now my ink making pan with the lid too.  My set of copper bottom usa made revere pans come from my Mom and my Grandma, some I bought for myself in the early '70's and I have picked up a couple large dutch oven size pans over the years too. So thinking that I have loved and used these pans over many years now, some with history before me-it's ok to add one for making inks etc. Smiles  I do feel better about it afterwards.

  I covered the chopped stones with distilled water (so as not to alter ph with the water from faucet) and kept it on low heat for about 30 minutes. After lots of reading in books and online and many sites-better to Not let inks boil or cook-we are coaxing color instead.

  Most of what I read about this ink, added in soda ash. I thought I had some in my natural dye stash but I didn't  Then I remembered I still had a little bit left of the arm and hammer washing soda which had the same name as soda ash-sodium carbonate so I took a chance and used it.

  Almost immediately I got a lovely dark maroon color. I let it heat for another 15 minutes or so-below a simmer. I made test strips from watercolor papers-and tested every 15 minutes. I have learned from natural dyeing that sometimes if you heat too long-that is a fine line sometimes-you will lose the color and will go brown or not what you wanted.  I don't think I would have gotten any color at all without adding in the sodium carbonate (soda ash or washing soda)

So after the 4th test I pulled it off the heat with the lid to cool down.

Several of the different sites I read online suggested to let sit overnite before straining and adding the gum arabic (binder for the ink)  Others just strained it off right away. One site, the one I shared that gave herself a 30 day challenge for making inks let sit overnite and then reheated for two hours the next day-I personally don't like the idea of heating for that long the next day. I think I will bring it up to just below simmer tomorrow and then strain and add the gum arabic which I have now. For the preservative I will add in one whole clove and a few drops of wintergreen essential oil to the ink bottle.

When I was in my craft room looking through my dye supplies I found a journal I had started about the eco prints I did on papers I totally do not remember that at all. So I grabbed the book and started with taking notes about my avocado ink and taped in these test strips-I never take notes on dye projects because it has always been an adventure in color, but I think I will expand and take notes with these inks-as I think I am going to enjoy making and using these-and perhaps repeat the recipes.

Stay tuned for the reveal tomorrow of the finished ink-I am excited as it is a gorgeous dark maroon right now in the pan with the chopped avocado stones