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Archive for the ‘Dyeing’ Category

In a Blue Mood

Monday, October 31st, 2011

 

 

…but in a good way! I finally got a batch of indigo mixed up today. I have been meaning to do it for ages. My new motto is “just do it.” I dyed a couple of items of clothing that were stained and looking drab.

I also dyed the cotton scarves that I worked on the other day. Some of my experiments came out quite well. I think some of them will go back in the pot tomorrow for a boost of color.

This morning, I had my final eye doctor check up. I have a prescription for reading glasses. I get two free pairs with the cataract surgeries. I ordered one pair today and will wait to see whether I want another pair of bifocals or just glasses for close up work.

I also went shopping for a few things for the trip to Houston — some comfy shoes and a new purse. I am getting so excited. I keep getting reports from friends who are there for Market and they say our exhibit is “freaking awesome.” Just 3 more sleeps!!

 

Power Surge

Monday, April 25th, 2011

I don’t know if it is spring, the longer days of light or Vitamin B12, but I seem to have more energy for getting work done. Of course, now my studio is a mess.

I am playing with this hand-dyed fabric and some hand-dyed cheesecloth. I am thinking that I would do some beading and hand stitching on the puckered cheesecloth.

I spent quite a bit of time today getting work together for The Gathering of the Guilds this week-end. The Columbia Fiberarts Guild is participating for the first time. We are renting space from the Weaver’s Guild. I have Shibori dyed silk scarves and some small pieces of wall art. I had to print and fill out special tags for the work.

We had a great time yesterday, celebrating Easter. I made a delicious dinner and Steph brought rhubarb crisp which was delish. Here are Mia and Miles in their Easter Bonnets!! They are glued to the TV.

Saturday was a glorious day. It was in the low 70s and sunny. I planted some peas, arugula and some herbs. Now it is chilly and rainy again. I can’t really complain as it seems bad weather is a problem all over the country.

Today on our walk with Scooter, I noticed that we had lots of  chartreuse snow.

It really is pretty here in Portland this spring. This is our cherry tree that hangs down off the back of our property.

The colors are really glorious.

Tomorrow morning, I have to go down to Trinity to help take down the Back to Nature show. I also have to get organized to go to the beach on Wednesday with my STASH group. We will take some hand work and games and have lots of fun. I am ready for some R & R!

A Good Day

Saturday, January 22nd, 2011

It was a great day. First and foremost, the sun was shining and it felt good on our bodies as we walked Scooter around the neighborhood. And then, Steph came over for some dyeing fun. And to top it all off, the whole family went out for dinner to celebrate Mr C’s birthday. We ate like Tuscans at his favorite restaurant, Nostrana.

Steph and her 3191 partner, Maria, put out a Quarterly magazine of recipes and how tos. Steph wanted to do scarf dyeing that would be approachable for the average person. I suggested using the instant setting Colorhue dyes that I use in my workshops. They are now available at Dharma Trading. She ordered gorgeous large square blanks that are a silk/wool blend from Dharma.

We played around with mixing the colors to get some neutral shades for the overall dyeing. We did a pale blue, a pale mauve and sort of “griege”. I decided that a fold and dip shibori would be easier for beginners to do than pole wrapped shibori.

This is the blueish scarf. this was accordion folded and dipped in true blue. You can see it in the top photo.

This is the purple scarf. This was folded in triangles and dipped in purple. I didn’t get a photo of it.

This was the grayish scarf which was for me. I started folding it and was having trouble so instead I squished it into a bundle and just squirted it with red, yellow and orange dyes. We loved the water color effect of it. It is in the top photo. Mr C said it looked like camouflage!

To warm up, I did this chiffon scarf with citron and turquoise. It looked much better before it dried. As I told Steph, this can be very serendipitous.

Here is a photo of one of my experiments from earlier in the week, after the paint dried. It is looking much more interesting.


I just discovered that one of the women going on the Japan trip is from Portland. She lives on a floating houseboat on the Columbia River. We are going to go meet her tomorrow. We are due to have several days of sunny weather and warm temps. The daffodils are 6 inches high and the aromatic Daphne and hellebores are starting to bloom. I think I might have spring fever.

Shibori Scarf Workshop

Saturday, November 6th, 2010

I really revel in leading a workshop — watching students create and experiment and produce lovely pieces of fiber art. These are the two pieces I did to demonstrate resist dyeing on silk. On the left is a pole wrapped silk and on the right is a fold and dip piece.

Trinity Cathedral is blessed with a large building for classrooms and offices. In the basement is an art studio complete with a kiln.

It is not a huge space so 6 – 8 students is all that I can handle. Here you see them at work with the poles and the dyes. We use Colorhue dyes which need no heat setting. It is instant gratification.

Here are some photos of their beautiful results. I had two repeat participants and they did the best work.

I love that piece on the right – she used eggplant, brown and black.

The woman who made this was not happy with it, but I love it.

So, after this enjoyable morning, Mr C and I headed out to the upscale shopping center – Bridgeport Village. I picked up 3 new things from the Eileen Fisher store. I love her clothes. I have been wearing them for about 15 years. They last forever and are always in style. And they look pretty good on short fat ladies.

Tonight we had a luscious meal at a fairly new seafood restaurant in SE Portland – Fin. It has been a good day.

I do not have any thing positive regarding my BIL or my friend’s husband. Ray is failing rather quickly. And, Roger, now has an infection which has complicated his recovery. Continue to keep them all in your good thoughts and prayers.

I am looking forward to getting back that hour of sleep I lost last spring.

An Exercise in Futility

Friday, October 22nd, 2010

The fiber sketch for today is Leaf Shadows.

Today, I started work on preparing some fabric for the rusty Twelve X Twelve challenge. I have this piece of rust colored silk/cotton blend.

I notice the back of the fabric has a greenish patina so I thought perhaps it would discharge to a green color.

I used a new discharging product called deColourant. It is non-toxic and non-smelly. You print, paint or stamp with it. Let it dry and then iron it to discharge the dye. The more heat and steam, the more the color is removed.

I stamped with corrugated cardboard, netting and a random dotted stamp. I dried it with a hair dryer and then ironed it. I first used my old Black & Decker and then I used the steam iron. And them, I blew a fuse!!

Anyway, this is the result.

Since I didn’t get any green color, I threw it in a bath with turquoise Colorhue dye. Well, I love this!!

Unfortunately, this is a cotton/silk blend and the Colorhue dye only works on silk and wool. So when I washed it, all of the color was gone — except on my hands!

Tomorrow, I will mix up thiox with turquoise dye and try that.

By the way, the deColourant comes with added color which is deposited when the dye is discharged. I was sent a couple of samples – plain and mustard yellow. I have other colors on order. Here is a link to the supplier, Kandicorp.