Dyeing, Dyeing, Done for Now!

The beach is beckoning me! Kure, here I come with two kitties as traveling companions! Manic dyeing always seems to occur right before I am heading for a long vacation which is the case this time. I finally finished all the tans and browns my stash can handle and am very pleased for the most part. I even got some light lights (had to check with the original cloth to see if they got any dye and they did!).

This is the last batch of tan fabrics made with the mix of black and brown in mostly very light values. The tans were done with a 1:1 mix of the Deep Black and Basic Brown. This is a combination I have used for years to get a really dark brown. I wasn't trying for that really dark color, just wanted some tans that tended toward grey. Neutrals are just fascinating me these days, both in dyeing and in piecing quilts.

This is my entire pile for the past few days of dyeing -- the right side all ironed and the left side still awaiting!

Today was my fun day. I had a bunch of dyes left over and some of the never ending supply of white t-shirts that called for color. I used some popsicle sticks to squash a couple of accordion folded t-shirts and then just threw all the color I had left plus some blues that I had made up . Those blues were really for overdyeing the tangerine that was just too dark the other day. I like the effect you get when you overdye with a mix of blues instead of just one. You can't go wrong as long as you stay away from Basic Blue and Turquoise. You have to be a little more careful with those two! So hopefully you will be able to spot me at the quilt show with t-shirts that have every color in the rainbow in them (or are just plain mud -- you can never tell!). Well, they aren't mud so I guess they are wearable. These, by the way, are the cheap Basic Editions tshirts that I can get on sale at KMart for $4 sometimes even in the plus sizes! I swear they are mercerized from the way they take color. My tshirts from Dharma don't do as well!

The trip to NC will end with a visit to Charlotte, seeing Wicked for the second time with my oldest daughter and attending the NC Quilt Symposium Show(http://www.charlottequiltsymposium.org/). When I saw that the show was about the time I was planning on being in NC, I thought I would check the local quilt "scene" there in anticipation of our full move there in another couple of years. I will have two quilts there - the Lilies and the Depression Sampler. I am also taking a class with Cynthia Corbin who is one of my all time favorite teachers. It is the same class basically I took at QBL three years ago so I know what to expect. Instead of bringing every fabric I own, I will limit myself (I think) to some neutrals in different values with maybe one other color. Since I am flying home, there is a limit to how much I can bring back on the plane without spending an amount equal to the plane ticket on luggage!

It was nice to get comments on my last post as I truly thought I would put everyone to sleep! I do love the science of dyeing almost as much as the art and view it as a truly "whole-brained" experience! Color could just never get boring to me!