Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Last Day of Dyeing Before QBL!

Well, it was just a day of finishing up what pieces were waiting patiently to be washed out. It has rained every day during the last week and the pieces remain just as wet 24 hours after they have been batched as when they were freshly "painted". The rain has added a complication as I have been waiting until the last week I could to soak my marbled-to-be fabric for class. Now I will have to soak it and try to dry it in the house as there just has not been a day I could trust no rain. We must have had 2 inches this afternoon!

Very exciting days as today I signed an offer on a summer home down in the Carolinas which with some luck we will get (probably a lot of luck) in which case I will be arrested for Grand Theft-House. But, it is good practice as we definitely want one in the area and there seem to be several in our price range. I also found out that I will be a first time grandma during next year! Very exciting indeed!

The two last pieces I did yesterday were with leftover dyes so they were pretty random. On one piece I put some of all the different dyes I had and on the second I just put on the rest of the Basic Blue but added some folds to see what would happen.


This was all done with leftover basic blue in a pretty hefty concentration. I love the color of this dye but don't like the way it mixes with most others. Also I prefer the heavier concentration. I wrinkled this one up as it was batching and the salt trails were all over the place which made it more interesting, IMHO.

This is a shot of about a fat quarter's worth of the leftover dye piece. The next one is also the same piece. I liked the way this one turned out and there is a color for everyone in it!!

2 comments:

Candied Fabrics said...

I'm curious...it seems like you're always waiting for the fabric to dry before washout - why is that? Ooh, I think I answered my own question while writing this...is it because you want to brush off and re-use the salt? If not, I have no idea!

Funny how asking the question can (sometimes) generate AN answer!

Candy in CA
http://candiedfabrics.wordpress.com/

Beth Brandkamp said...

Well, I do like the fabrics to dry out so I can see what they look like (as the dried fabrics will give you a pretty good idea). I don't really wait for them to dry but for them to get partially dry so that I can layer up the table with multiples of fabrics without staining the next one. The fabrics will batch just as well if the fabric is only damp (Ann Johnston said that and even said that sometimes fabrics that feel dry are still damp and will continue batching -- she is my guru for direct dyeing). It is also one heck of a lot easier to get the salts recycled. I don't use these recycled salts for quite some time though as they have absorbed a lot of moisture. I do use them again and again eventually though. I have been frustrated this last week as the fabrics never got even slightly dry, the humidity has been so high.