Wrinkled Blueprint for John Clements...

[Crow Haven]

actual chlorine bleach...but I'll ask my better half when he gets home...there may be something else used to whiten oak. [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif[/img]
---As The Crow Flies---
Maya

[Ross Macintosh]

interesting use for ammonia. Gather lichens from rocks. (Don't mix varieties). Stuff a pound or so into a large mason-type jar and cover with ammonia and seal. Leave alone for a few months. What will happen is there will be a kind of fermentation that produces a concentrated dye. The liquid can be used to dye wool, fabrics, wood, etc. Colours - depending on the lichen - can be earthy browns through to blues and purples. The colour of the lichen does not correlate to the colour of dye that can be produced from it. Grey lichens might make purple dye for example. It is really a lost art to be able to anticipate the colours. Experimentation is the name of the game.

If anyone wants to try this, please be careful not to overharvest the lichens. Rock lichens are very slow growing. Here in Nova Scotia many lichens are as much as 14,000 years old.

Regards, Ross

<a href=http://www.designstop.com/>DesignStop.Com</a>

[Crow Haven]

better half says, bleach or use a paint called "pickled oak" for the whitened look.
Wow--didn't know lichens could be that old!!!!! Makes you feel respect for such tenacity! [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif[/img]

---As The Crow Flies!---
Maya