MOUNTAIN ART QUILTERS - DYEING PART 2

In all, 16 trays of ice-dyed material was processed, yielding a lot of beautiful fabric.  Here are some closeups for you to enjoy.  I used mainly white PDF cottons, and a few previously dyed solids and prints. All were soaked in soda ash before dyeing.

 But....just so you don't think every piece was wonderful....here's evidence of some that weren't.   My over-dyed solid (right) that had been dyed at least once before was still ugly.  The mercerized cotton piece on the left had some lovely patterning, but the colors were simply blah.....

Not so with this one......great combo of colors and patterns.

We had time to do some acid dyeing.  Our equipment was fairly limited so for the most part my felted wool results weren't special, however, this small piece of was!  Others dyed silk scarves which came out great.

Sometimes achieving really bright red color can be difficult, less so though when using acid dyes.  Here I used 100% felted wool which was left to boil in the acid bath for about 8 mins., turned and processed for about another 8 minutes.

Lower right is my pile of ice-dyed cottons and above, on the right, are two pieces of cheesecloth that we dyed and shared equally.

We were so very lucky to have had picture perfect weather and such a great place to get wet and messy!  

THE MARSH - new work

After spending more time than I wish to admit trying various embellishment details to complete this wall quilt.....it finally became obvious that it was already finished. Sometimes, less is more.....

THE MARSH - 24" X 23" © 2017 

 AVAILABLE HERE

Shibori hand-dyed silk noil, machine appliquéd batik motifs, machine quilted.

READY, SET, GO

A new week and the beginning of another new project.  I don't keep track of the time spent on each piece.....it takes whatever the design/construction requires.  Period!  I can say however that a good 6-8 hours each day is average....till it's finished.

Much of my work incorporates my hand-dyed fabrics.  Time spent dyeing would be impossible to factor for each individual piece, nor honestly do I want to know!  For instance, this piece began life as a piece of white silk noil.  It was accordion pleated, secured with clips, dyed and then over-dyed in acid dye baths.  

The dyed fabric reminded me of a murky marsh, so my thoughts were directed toward marsh plant materials. Naturally, out came piles of green fabrics.

                                     
The design is being born. A number of years ago, I designed a line of trapunto stencils for Quilting Creations which I revisited for these cattail motifs.  I'm simply playing with cut fabric on my design wall......lots of adding and subtracting, a normal process for me.

The fused appliqué motifs will be finished with machine stitching.  I'm very picky  in regard to construction and had always preferred hand appliqué since it was tidier. My pal Linda Cantrell, known for her fabulous hand appliqué has now turned to fusing due to hand pain.  She introduced me on to 'Fray Block' to tame those cut fabric edges. It can almost totally eliminate those unsightly threads that poke out after machine stitching.  It doesn't stain the fabric as long as one follows the manufacturer's directions.....basically the tube is warmed in hot water for 10 mins.  I like to apply it using a very thin paint brush. 

Because of all the layering of the grasses, the machine stitching was done in stages....here's a look after all the motifs have been secured. More soon when the piece is complete.

Let's see what other artists have been working on this week, visit:  Nina-Marie's Off The Wall Friday, Sarah's Whoop Whoop Friday, and Crazy Mom Sews.

ACID DYEING TO THE RESCUE

After the failed attempt to eco-print this piece of silk, described in my previous post, I turned to acid dyeing. The Pro-Chem website is a great source to learn more about this method.

The fabric was gathered into a ball, contained with rubber bands.......

.......then lowered into the dye bath, simmered for about 10 mins., turned over to simmer for another 8-10 mins. 

The results looked so positive when the bundle was removed.....

.......but when opened....ahhhh....more disappointment.  The blue dye didn't  penetrate all the way.

 Well....darn if I'm going to give up.  So we mixed up another color....green....and look what happened when I dipped the length of fabric into the dye bath for about 30 seconds.  I'm in love.

Okay.....you all know this ditty....'if at first you don't succeed.....try, try again!!'