'Woad' - The Bleu of Toulouse - Dying Day at Chateau Dumas

The ladies of Chateau Dumas encircled a vat of woad to dye white and natural colored antique linens, t-shirts, bloomers, bits of antique lace, hats and a myriad of silk scarves, yarns, wools and other fibers a magical shade of blue. No one knew just what color blue they would obtain until the piece came out of the ammonia scented vat of greenish dye. Denise, our mentor (and the only woad dyer in the world), with her hands proudly stained blue, led us in the ancient art of woad (or pastel as it is known in France) dying on the grounds of the Chateau. We looked like a coven of bleu worshippers gathered round, gently poking the wovens to the bottom of the vat with our sticks. Or perhaps we were Medevial women on a communal blue wash day soaking in the color of "blue bloods."

The flower of woad is yellow andgrows like a weed in Europe and the British Isles. The color is extracted from treating the leaves. In the 13th - 16th centuries it was used almost exclusively for dying textiles and the recipe was very secret. It fell out of fashion when indigo was brought to Europe, but prior to that it was the color of royalty and the term blueblood comes from it. This dying was primarily done in the Toulouse region of France (which is where we are at the Chateau Dumas in Auty.

The process of extracting the dye is complex and involves a chemical reaction involving oxidation. The acidic urine of men was used as a reactant historically. The ball in the photo is a "Cocagne" which is made from the extracted pulp of the woad which is left to ferment for 4 months. The "paste"that results is rolled into these balls and left to dty out an additional 4 months.

On first dip the textiles come out of the vat a yellowish green and when they hit the air they begin to turn blue. It is impossible to know exactly what shade of Bleu the item will become. We line dried the items in the sun a bit and then dipped them again. A lot of the women bought old fabrics at the flea market to dye and others brought yarn from home or new clothing. We all dressed in our "woad-wear" and took a group photo.

Denise's company is using Woad for paints and cosmetics and all sorts of 'green" applications. For more info. see www.bleu-de-lectoure.com

The 2009 "Chateau Getaway" coordinated by French General was the inaugural trip to craft, antique and luxuriate in the South of France. Contact French General for a schedule of upcoming trips.

Celebrating Abraham Lincoln's 200th Birthday

Abraham Lincoln turned 200 years old on February 12, 2009 so we took him out for his birthday to the Mission Cantina on Sunset Boulevard. I couldn't really find the correlation between Lincoln and Mexican food, but once David finds a restaurant he likes, he likes to go there repeatedly until he gets sickened by the thought of it. We went there for the first time Friday night after a screening of Baader-Meinhof. 1970s German terrorism and Mexican food have no connection either, but we wanted to try something new and it turned out that the Cantina has good soft tacos and gaucomole, although the drinks are a little strong for our taste. We had these soft, pillowy churros and chocolate sauce for dessert that were a far cry from the too-stiff, sharp edged variety you get from a stand at a street fair. Much has happened in the world in the past 200 years since Mr. Lincoln was born in his log cabin. 1809 is a little more 'vintage' than my historical area of expertise. Los Angeles wasn't much of anything that long ago. Lincoln was a big deal when I was growing up, but how big is he today? Were there Lincoln's Birthday events around town I didn't hear about? I propped Lincoln up on some menus and at one point the bus boy started to clear them off the table, but when Lincoln fell he respectfully murmered, "Sorry Mr. Lincoln." Then driving past Sonrisa on the way home we saw Lincoln's image silkscreened a la Andy Warhol arranged with some Obama art in a patriotic window display. If Lincoln had faded from memory in recent years, he seems to be making a pop culture comeback today alongside Obama (wasn't there a November Newsweek cover depicting them both?). Come to think of it, my "Abe" was given to me as a gift in 2008. Someone thought they could make a buck selling Abraham Lincoln dolls in the 21st century.