Indigo (the blue in blue jeans) is an ancient natural dye that is easy to use safely, dyes quickly (many natural dyes require hours to day in the dye pot to give color), produces colorfast results at home, and has built-in science lessons.
Shibori, aka Japanaese tie-dye, is a method of folding, gathering and otherwise manipulating fabric to give interesting patterns, I use the resulting textiles or fibers in my sewing and fiber crafts. When I finish and get everything taken care of I'll post some pics.

As for your plant, I don't recognize it. I'll try to remember to show the pics to my daughter - she has more recent experience with a huge variety of house plants than I - since we have been traveling, I have "thinned my herd" to just a handful of family legacy plants and a few indestructible orchids.
Sue