Thursday, July 23, 2009

The Dye Bath

Last week was pretty hot - pretty busy - very colorful! I had half a bolt of fabric (50yds) and tons of vintage lace (thanks to Ebay) ready to go. The lace will go into kits for "Photos on Fabric" that I'll be teaching in Houston at the International Quilt Festival in October.


In one way I really love the dye process - but it's a lot of work. Not a whole lot more to mix up dye concentrates and dye a huge amount of yardage than to dye just a few yards so why not do the whole thing at once? Kind of like making spaghetti sauce. I only make it in my gargantuan humongo pot. I usually freeze enough for five or six large meals. This will be most of my palette for the next year or so - or at least until I need some different colors.


The instigation of this particular dye batch is an article for "International Quilt Festival: Quilt Scene"  - a new magazine being put together by the indefatigable editor of Quilting Arts and Cloth Paper Scissors. Fun stuff.