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.

Mission Accomplished

Well, mostly. I wish I had taken more process shots during the dye days but stripping off the gloves, washing off the shoes, grabbing the camera, etc. was just too much work. I "only" got through 100 out of the 150 yards I have available to dye. I did come up with lovely pieces to include in the kits for my students at the Virginia Quilt Celebration. More on that later!

I had several successes with some fun shibori scarves! My favorite got away from me before I was able to get a picture of it. I think that it's new owner will absolutely love wearing it! I had thrown in a bunch of socks to dye and they all left with new owners too. Fun to see students running around in purple and lime green socks all weekend.

I hope to get some more dyeing done before my June adventures in Charlotte and at the Blue Ridge Quilt Festival.   Now to work! I've got a lot of writing to do by the end of the month.