Wednesday 13 January 2010

Not Snow Dyeing Part II

 

Today I’ve ironed the fabrics I dyed on Monday and have overdyed the pieces I wasn’t happy with.  First of all here’s the fabrics that were dyed in the ice cream tub:

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These pieces above are all cotton fabrics of various weights.  I was going to overdye them but having ironed them I quite like them!

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This piece above is very slightly darker green than you can see but it was difficult to get the right colour on the computer.  It has some beautiful marks in it almost as if it had been snow dyed.

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This piece above is calico that was dyed in a bag.  I am certain that I used jet black dye but it has a definite blue tinge.  I think I will do a graduated dye with the black dye to see what range of colours/shades I get.

Now to the 2 quilts:

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This is the larger 24”x12” quilt and it has not come out as I would have hoped.  In some areas the dye didn’t take too well and I don’t like the colour distribution so I have overdyed it today.

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This is the smaller Journal Quilt above.  I had a bit of a think about this one as the colours aren’t too bad but I have overdyed it today as well.   I’ve rinsed it through tonight so I should be able to show you tomorrow.

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I was in a bit of a quandary as to how to go about overdyeing the quilts and decided to sponge the dyes on (Gina, I think you gave me that idea, thank you).  I placed the quilt on an opened black bin bag and cut up a washing up sponge to apply the dyes with.  The colours I used were Brilliant Orange, Magenta and a mix of the 2 colours.  I had to fold the quilt over and apply dye to the backing one half at a time.  Once the dye was applied I realised I needed to add salt solution and soda solution so I pleated the quilt into the cat litter tray and poured the solutions over.  I tilted the tray slightly so that it wasn’t all lying in the dye mix.

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Also in the tray but in a bag is the Journal Quilt which had dye applied in the same manner but which I decided to bag up before I applied the salt and soda.

What I’m really excited about is some cotton velvet which I dyed at the start of the day.

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I dyed these in freezer bags and also tried a piece of silk and a piece of shirting that I had also sponged.  Finally, I prepared another tub of various fabrics on a layered system to use up the left over dyes that I hadn’t got any storage for. 

I have to own up to forgetting to add any extra water to any of the dyes, especially the bagged dyeing, so my colours are probably going to be quite strong.

Before tea this evening I’ve rinsed all the samples except for the larger quilt and they’re all drying on the airer so I should have photos tomorrow. 

You may not be surprised to hear that I am now exhausted and my dear DH has taken pity on me and cooked tea! Bless!  He’s a treasure!

9 comments:

JP said...

wow Julie you have been busy - some really interesting colours - guess you are feeling better!

Heather said...

Gorgeous colours Julie - can't wait for tomorrow's pics. It's so easy to get carried away with enthusiasm and run out of energy, isn't it?

Julie said...

Hi JP :) I had to scold myself into action this morning! lol The cough is finally (!) reducing but it took me till 11 am to get going today.

Julie said...

You're so right Heather :) I get a lot of exercise dyeing too as I am working in the conservatory and have to keep coming back indoors for water (It's ok, the conservatory is heated at the moment).

LOVE STITCHING RED said...

You have a real gift for the snow dyeing and dyeing in general. We didnt't have enough snow for me to try this ... one day maybe ...

Hope you are feeling a little better now ... keep taking the tablets!

Lots of love
:o)

Maggi said...

Looks like you are getting some really good results Julie.

Gina said...

For someone who claims to not know much about dyeing you've left me way behind! Some great results - looking forward to seeing how they all turn out.

Angela said...

Hi Julie it looks like you've been having a great time with the dyes. Your journal quilts look lovely. I saw your seaside journal quilt on some advertising literature and it looked great. Your now famous :-)

NuvoFelt said...

It seems to me that you have discovered the seductive nature of dyeing. They are lovely. Keep going. The more you do the more you will discover.