food & poke salad tie-dying

"Pokeweed berries yield a red ink or dye, which was once used by Native Americans to decorate their horses. The United States Declaration of Independence was written in fermented pokeberry juice (hence the common name 'inkberry'). Many letters written home during the American Civil War were written in pokeberry ink; the writing in these surviving letters appears brown. The red juice has also been used to symbolize blood, as in the anti-slavery protest of Benjamin Lay. A rich brown dye can be made by soaking fabrics in fermenting berries in a hollowed-out pumpkin."

source: Wikipedia


Unfortunately, the tie-dye experiment did not work; Dad says the poke berries need an oil base to stick to the fabric. Needless to say, I'm not giving up on attempts at making awesome poke-tie-dyed collared shirts.

The room in Germany is beautiful. I cannot wait to wake up in another country's sunshine wrapped in arms that will keep me from jumping out of bed too early...