Snow Dyeing Results

A couple of weeks ago, I ventured into the world of snow dyeing. I've had some interesting results. 

 Some observations - good color...of course I would have assumed that as I used lots of dye powder and great mercerized pfd cotton broadcloth. Another very obvious difference between this and ice dyeing was the crispness of the design (see farther down the post). This piece used wet fabric which had been soaked in soda ash. It measures @ 24" square. I like the design but very soft edges.

 In the same tray, I also tried a smaller piece measuring @ 15" square.

 This piece is also around 24" square and started with wet fabric also soaked in soda ash.

 And a close-up of the center.

 This is the smaller 15"square which was soaked in soda ash, let dry and manipulated. The dye powders were applied to dry fabric.

 And the bigger 24" piece of fabric also dry. I didn't see much difference between starting wet or dry.

 But here is where the difference was really obvious...the above is ice dyed (from several months ago) and the one above that is snow dyed...same technique except for the use of snow or ice. The ice dyeing created much sharper edges and a more crystalline effect. I really liked the ice dyed one better but am happy for the chance to try working with snow...We don't get much snow here so this is probably it for this season.

And here is the underneath piece of fabric...fabric placed in the pan underneath the racks of fabric to catch the drippings.

PTA - Pt 2

To continue our wonderful day with PTA...after going to the Curbside market, we ventured over to Georgia's home for lunch and show and tell.

 Georgia has a beautiful studio space with a great wall for displaying quilts. This particular quilt was made by a friend of hers...long ago and features so many wonderful "calicos" as I used to call them. It was a walk down memory lane for all of us as we pointed out the fabrics we had used also.

 This piece Georgia started at our retreat last year....went together beautifully.

 Mary is always finding new ways to use her love of felting.....she has been making votive candle holders using the battery operated votive candles inside.

 At our Fiber Junkies group Christmas party this year, we decided to do a nice white elephant...Mary picked this gift which turned out to be perfect for her...This beautiful piece of felt was made by Val and Mary turned it into a lovely small wall hanging.

 Mary B has been busy finishing up projects...this very whimsical piece is almost finished.

 Once a week, Mary goes to her church for a creativity day. They have been working on creating collages based on a Bible verse...This is the cover of the book...The collage pics didn't turn out, but the whole idea was very clever.

 Kate has also been working on finishing up projects...

 This one is almost done. It's such a good feeling to clean out and be able to use our old UFOs...

 Kate made this adorable I Spy quilt for a friends baby...Her friend got to choose the centers for each block....how fun is that!

 The quilt was backed with that ultra soft, stretchy fabric...think it's called minky...Kate quilted this on a long arm...said it was a bear to quilt because it was so stretchy but it looked perfect and ohhhh so soft!

 Marene Parsons, our newest member wowed us with the quilt she made as a hostess gift. Her colors were yummy and my favorite colors...

with beautiful quilting. A lucky lady who gets this. Well, this wonderful group I'm a part of has once again put me to shame....They are so prolific..I have to have a dose of whatever they are taking.
Til next time.

PTA - Pt 1

We had our first meeting of the new year at Georgia Bonesteel's home...but first a trip to the Curb Market in Hendersonville. I had never been and now that Georgia has a booth there, a good reason to go. The market is open on Thursdays and Saturdays in winter and additonally tuesdays from March on through summer and fall. It has a wonderful country feel and I felt like I was back at my aunts house in upstate NY.

This market offers space for a yearly fee....you can share the space or not but it has to be manned on the days that it is open. 

Georgia has her beautiful quilts and other fiber items along with her books. She is also sharing space with Gen Grundy - another wonderfully talented quilter. Georgia keeps her BERNINA in the little space between booths that back up onto one another. This way she can sew when traffic is slow.

Her booth looked amazing and full of beautiful fiber goodies.

A lot of Gen's very colorful work was hanging across the top.

The market accommodates many vendors with a wide variety of things to offer...most are hand made. I love dried flowers and had so many, many years ago ...but for a while they went out of style but now they seem to be back.

Cathy, a very sweet and talented lady makes these wonderful embroidered towels, potholders etc and will do custom orders.

Creative gourds...

and food products like these multi colored eggs, honey, jams and apples. After the market, it was back to Georgia's home which she calls - Quilt Built...for lunch and show and tell...to be continued.

Let it Snow....Dyeing

We had our first snowfall of the season ....we usually don't get too many so for me it's a treat. Also the fact that I don't have to commute or go anywhere, I can stay inside and just enjoy how pretty it is. 

This is a view from my back deck at around 5:00 ...very COLD..but magical none the less.

Our raised beds...

Our birdfeeder with icicles...

And footprints of critters..

who visited us during the night.

This might be pretty in a quilt...

So while reading comments from my blog the other day, one of my gals mentioned how she might do some snow dyeing because of the storm coming in...Wow...what a good idea...So thank you Norma for suggesting that...Yes...there was plenty of snow and although I've done a lot of ice dyeing..never tried snow dyeing...It was mighty cold getting the snow...I packed it into a bucket and set up in my husbands woodworking space.

Using cat litter pans and screens...I was all set.

I had already soaked my PFD fabric in soda ash..it was dry and folded for some Shibori dyeing. After placing it on top of the screen, I covered the fabric with tightly packed snow.

I picked 3 different color ways, donned my mask and gloves and dove in. I used 3 different colors of mx powder for each piece of fabric.

I covered it with plastic to help contain the dye powder and also from making contact with the rug on top.

I hold onto old bathroom rugs with the great rubber backing. I've always used them in ice dyeing as I do that in the summer and want to keep the ice solid for as long as I can. Covering the fabric with plastic and a rug seems to insulate it. I let it batch overnight.

It was a lot of fun...great thing...as opposed to ice dyeing, when you run out of ice and have to run out and get more....when you run out of snow in your bucket....Not a Problem...just open the door..
Results to follow.

Back in the Saddle Again

Taking down the decorations is almost as time consuming as putting them up..but "what goes up...must come down'... ( - :   so this week was spent in putting away and moving on...back into my studio.

Actually the bannister still has holly draped on it....the last thing to go and I'll get to it...

but in the meantime, I'm getting excited for our first Fiber Junkies meeting of the new year. It's always so much fun to get back with girlfriends whom have been out of touch for a while...always such renewed creative energy. For our first meeting, we decided to bring all of our UFOs, fabric we don't know what to do with etc...for some major brainstorming. At a meeting last year when it was just Kate, Mary and myself...we tried this...with great results.

Is there anything better than 1 creative mind X 5 more to get the ball rolling...What one doesn't think of...somewhat else does. This group is so amazing and each with such different directions...so I look forward to this coming week with great anticipation. So here are some of the fabrics I'm bringing for input and will probably find lots more...I made this a while back...not very crisp in areas where it should be crisp...like the center which is a bit of a mish-mosh...I might just have to keep it as a reference to my mistakes....will see what the gals say.

I love this piece of dyed olive green and then rusted..

and also this ice dyed piece BUT they are both so busy and powerful....not sure how to handle them.

I really hope I can find ways to use my ice dyed pieces as I love the process and the results...just hard to use.

This is a piece of Stonehenge which was accidently silk-screened and then I changed my mind but I'm determined to use it...make it more interesting...perhaps an overlay on this will work.

I love doing Shibori using textile paint on fabric wrapped on PVC....This does look like a forest...but would love more input.

This is one of my favorite pieces but have never known quite what to do with it...it's silk chiffon which is very flimsy in and of itself..but has been rusted and dyed...I will have more I'm sure...and all the wonderful ideas I hope to get will jump start me into the New Year.

Happy 2017 !!

Wishing all my readers a wonderful 2017 - a happy, healthy year with lots of time for doing what you love to do...The holidays are over and with that comes lots of taking down and packing up....cleaning up Christmas tree needles that I'll still be finding in July.

 My birthday falls between Christmas and New Years....not that I love birthdays that much anymore..but am happy to be celebrating them "above the ground" as the saying goes. I was yearning for one of Publix's yummy buttercream frosting cakes but only wanted a piece....one piece !....So I did get a very small cake which was perfect.

The candles do no signify 5 years...not even 5 decades......but a yummy treat! Now back to reality...eating healthy and getting back into my studio...a reality I look forward to. Happy New Year everyone !