fiberhart

A Summer Dyefest

I don't completely stop dyeing fabric during the winter, but I'd forgotten how much fun it is when you can set your pots and containers out in the sun, and watch them bake!! I started off dyeing a length of pima cotton to make a shirt for me, and then I had leftover dye concentrates- I couldn't let them go to waste, now, could I??

I posted a few weeks ago on the dyer's list, asking about the difference in results when you soda soak the fabric, versus adding the soda ash during the process. I got some good answers, the best being from Cynthia St. Charles. I decided to do all this fabric by adding the soda ash during the process, and used "recipes" from Ann Johnston's Color by Accident book. I did two value parfaits, and one color parfait. I love the results. You still get the crystalline mottling, but it is softer, more subtle. Almost every piece had some luminous sparkles in places. It was also a lesson in how fast the fuschia dye strikes, when compared to other colors.

Here is a violet value parfait--

In fact, only the dark piece, the one that goes into the dyepot first, is violet- the lighter values are blue. Just waiting 15-20 minutes to add the second fabric piece, and then another 15-20 minutes before adding the third, makes the difference. All the fuschia dye has bonded with the first fabric, but there is still blue left to dye the other pieces.

The same thing happened with this orange value parfait--


And here's a closer look at some of the pieces--




Some days I think I like the fabric dyeing more than the sewing and quilting part- it is just magical.

Shannon now has her Swiss visa, and is packed and ready to leave Monday morning. She will arrive in Zurich Tuesday morning their time, but ready for bed I am sure her time! She will be spending part of the summer in Barcelona and on the Costa Brava, and biking along the Danube in Germany. Everyone in the family is both happy for her and jealous!!