Clare’s Kitchen – or dyeing fabric with pomegranates.

How many seeds can you count in one pomegranate?

I have no idea.

But it must be nearly as many as there are ideas sprouting around Clare’s kitchen table.

Since one week we sit around that table, harvesting as many ideas as we can catch. Some times we pick ripe ones, others need to be left on the tree for a little while longer. Surely there are too many to be carried on with in one day nor one week.

And what do you do if you have too many ideas, too much inspiration and too much to talk about?

You just start somewhere.

For example with the idea to dye fabric with pomegranates.

Harvested a few days back by Clare, the fruits where sitting in a pot on one corner of the kitchen.

Meant to be pressed into juice.

While I sit on the kitchen table and peel one fruit after the other…

...Clare is pressing the juice.

How is it that every detail bares so much beauty in this process?

The peels of the fruit.

The seeds and their flesh.

The red juice dyeing the Tablecloth red and purple.

The squished grains.

The mix of leftovers.

A successful bottle of pomegranate juice later...

...the leftovers wander from a bowl on the table into a pot on the fire.

The whole night they sit there, covered in water, simmering along while we are already brewing the next project in our minds and conversations.

Next day is about separating the pieces from the liquid.

Figuring out what garment or which type of fabric we should dye.

Linen? Cashmere? Cotton?

Cotton wins and has to brew on the fire for another night.

Until we pull out a bright coloured yellow dress the next morning.

Looking at it from each side, holding it into the sunlight we discuss over the many shades of yellow.

“Next time we have to try without the skin!” we agree, as we get into the sewing room. Where in the meantime we were working on another project.

Each of us stitching over our pieces of fabric. Breaking the silence from time to time.
“You know what we could try tomorrow….?”

How many ideas are there around Clare’s kitchen table?

I have no idea.

But it must be as many as there are seeds in a pomegranate.

Thank you for passing by again! Have a lovely Monday!

All words and photos are my own, written and taken by me, and inspired by @clareartista and her beautiful house and kitchen.