More adventures in Dyeing

Finally I have the time to post pictures of more of the fabric I have dyed.  Dialup is so slow.  Some day we will have a faster connection.  I am pleased with the colors and textures that I am achieving.  I have been dyeing fat quarters mostly, and even with that small amount, I have dyed more than 40 yards of fabric. These fabrics were done with rubber bands. Some are overdyed.  The long piec used aquarium stones and rubber bands.

The three pieces on the left in this picture were wrapped on a piece of rope.  The ladies in the marine supply store, at first thoought it was strange that I asked for 2' of various thicknesses of rope, but were very interested when i told them how I was using it-fellow quiltmakers. The piece on the right was wraped on a pole, held in place with rubber bands.  I have used string and rubberbands. String gets a finer effect, but rubber band are so much easier.

The two blue pieces in this picture were selvage to selvage quarter yards, wrapped on poles diagonally with rubber bands.  I wanted the same texture in two colors.  the middle piece is greener than it appears.  I am happy.  I think the brown piece will make awesome leaves-the vein lines are already there.

Gradations

I have done several gradations.  One thing I learned that if you want to make a similar set of fabrics, you must use the same size of containers. When I did a 12 step rainbow gradation, I didn't have 12 large containers that were the same so I used different ones.  The fabric in the larger containers is pretty solid while the containers where the fabric was more compact, produced a mottled effect.  Both are good, but I wanted them to all be the same.  Of course I made this discovery when I was dyeing full yards.

I have been dying with Pimatex by Kaufman.  I like the finish, and it takes the dye well, but it is a very dense fabric and multiple layers can be difficult to sew through.  I dug out my mothers box of thimbles and put one to use when sewing a binding made from this fabric.  I have a full bolt of Pimatex and 5 yards of Hoffmans PFD , and I ordered some chiffon scarves so next time I want to spend some dyeing time I am ready.  I borrowed a Pullens Pleater from a friend which I plan to use to pleat some fabric and have it ready to go.  If it works well, I will get a pleater of my own, but I am thinking that the pleats will be too regular and that hand sewn pleats might be more interesting.  We shall see.

I have dyed about 60 scarves as well as the cotton fabric.  I figure that if I sell the scarves, it finances my study with dyes.

Sunprints with the Grandkids

Here are Truxton and Olivia visiting the Art Show put on by the Art Council.  The three quilts on top in the case are quilts that Olivia, Callista, Truxton and I made together last summer.  The kids did the sun prints and Callista and Truxton, aged 6 at the time, actually sewed on the borders using a Singer featherlight sewing machine that I inherited.  Olivia was only 5 at the time, so she sat on my lap and pretended that she was sewing.  I quilted the pieces, then the kids sewed on the beads.  Unfortunately, I didn't take pictures of the quilts before I gave them to the kids.  Perhaps later.

Fireweed for Ingrid- Best Small Quilt in the Bearpaw Quilters Annual Show

My quilt, Fireweed For Ingrid, won Best Small Quilt in the Kodiak Bearpaw Quilters Annual Quilt Show!  The show was held last weekend at the Gerald Wilson Auditorium, in Kodiak, AK.  There were many beautiful traditional bed quilts to see.

Success At Last!

I am a novice dyer.  I had never touched dyes before this summer.  I have dyed lots of fabric. I have gotten some great gradations, but the patterned pieces I have done so far were not anything I could imagine using in a quilt. In fact there have been some pretty ugly pieces. These four pieces started out as boring pieces that bound and overdyed turned into something that I really like.  I think the definate lines of color across the fabric are very interesting.  I dipped half of the previously dyed peice in dye, added soda ash after 10 minutes, the set the other half down and added the other color of dye, followed by soda ash.  I can't wait to do some more!  I have several silk scarves twisted and tied, ready for the next dye day which I think is coming soon, since Nick is headed for Anchorage on Friday, and I can do whatever i want in the house for a few days.  Too bad I have to work!

First Gallery Sale!!

Sea Otters
22" x 42"

Although I have sold many quilts, this is my first sale through a gallery.  My quilts have languished on the walls in a gallery in Anchorage(they sent them back) and at the Artist's Eye, in Kodiak.  I went to see Kerry the other day to show her the silk scarves that I have been dyeing  and she greeted me with the news that my Sea Otter quilt had sold! 

Fireweed for Ingrid completed

Fireweed for Ingrid
I started this quilt last winter at the request of my youngest daughter, Ingrid.  She admired a similar quilt that I had made and asked that I make one for her.  I got stuck on the buds at the top of the stem and the quilt languished for several months.  Then the fireweed started blooming and I figured out how to do the tops with beads.  Today is her 23rd birthday, so I spent the afternoon doing the final stitching.  Happy Birthday, Ingrid!

A closeup of the blooms and the beaded buds at the top of the stalk.

More Evon Zerbetz

These quilts are what I have recently been working on.  I have several prints that are a result of a workshop in may with Alaskan printmaker Evon Zerbetz.  I am using them as a means of experimentation with different techniques.I don't know what I think about this black and red piece.  It was an experiment printing over the fused silk strips.  From a distance, the fish was kindof lost so i made a freezer paper stencil and overpainted with Lumiere bronze paint.  I haven't decided if I saved or ruined the quilt.  I had plans for some button sea creatures and beads on the borders around the foiled star fish.

I really like the quilting on this piece.  The border fabric is one of my first pieces of hand dyed fabric.  The organza shells will be filled with fibers and beads before this quilt is complete.

I am really pleased with the texture I achieved with the quilting on this piece.  Decisions, decisions...The original plan was to couch sea grass like fibers over the top.  I often go over the top with embellishments so am trying to hold back.  Sometimes simple is better.  Of course, all of these need binding or facing, whatever I decide to do.  i generally use binding, but on some of these pieces, I want to try facings, or perhaps a fused and turned false back  on those that I decide to bead or otherwise embelish.

I got Lyric Kinard's DVD in the mail yesterday.  I knew that I needed it!  i have been gathering together various surface design supplies over the last couple of months so it is great to have the visuals for ideas of what I want to make.  My brain is moving in so many different directions that it is difficult to know just where to begin.   While I am thinking and planning, it is great to have this pile of prints to work with.