had a little dyeing party in the backyard last night. we had trouble getting the zinc-lime indigo vat going in the advanced dyeing class at the workroom, so i had promised the students that once i got mine going at home, i would invite them all over for some dipping.
and it was even better, because since then i have also gotten my natural fermentation vat going. the mini one that i wrote about a few weeks ago worked out so well that i started up a second, slightly bigger one. i had only ever done a natural fermentation vat once, years and years ago, and i had never really been motivated to do it again, since that vat took a really long time to be ready (six weeks!), and even then wasn't very strong. but i now realise that the problem wasn't the vat, but the time of year. last time i tried it was winter, and i struggled to even keep my vat at room temperature, just like my zinc-lime vat this past winter.
but.....now that it's warm, and i've got my vats up in my (cooking hot) attic studio, everything is coming up blue.
the natural fermentation vat is really quite easy, and last night we were getting some beautiful blue in a wonderful range of intensities. i linked to the recipe that i used a few posts ago, but i'll come back soon and do a post with more details of how i made my vat, and perhaps some discussion of the different types of vats.
but first, some photos of our dyeing fun:
it was lovely to see the backyard all covered in fabrics and yarns in various stages of dipping and oxydizing.
one of my favorite parts of shibori is the 'reveal', when you unfold the fabric and see what kind of design you've created. this is karyn's lovely window pane piece.
susan put on a pot of cochineal and added some lime juice to it. the acid from the limes brings out the red, especially on wool. i dyed the ends of a few skeins of superwash merino to create some new variegated colourways that i'll have in the shop soon.
the evening was overseen by my trusty studio assistant, who managed to escape the fate of indigo dipped paws.
it was a great night, so much fun to be dyeing in a group like that. arounna has posted some lovely photos, including one of the indigo flower on top of the zinc-lime vat (which is how you know your vat is ready to dye).
a few weeks ago i decided to treat myself to taking a class at the workroom,
the place where i teach dyeing. cathedral windows patchwork had long been on my list of things to try, so i was thrilled when it was added to the fantastic roster of classes at the workroom. i'm not much of a quilter, i've only done a few pieces in my life, but i find it very satisfying and the results can be so stunning.
whenever i do any patchwork i always gain a new appreciation for those who are so good at it (including johanna, the fabulous quilting instructor at the workroom), since it's an art that requires such precision. this kind of meticulousness is not really my strong point, but i have found that even though my patchworks always end up a bit wonky, i'm still usually pretty happy with them.
the cathedral windows technique is a bit fiddly, and requires a decent amount of handsewing, so my piece is only going to be this big - four squares by four. i think i'll make it into a cushion. it would be lovely to make a piece like this which showcased a gradation of colours made with natural dyes, wouldn't it?
kind of obsessed with the solar dyed bundles right now. i was really pleased with the results from the one i did at the workroom,
so i put a few more together last week, and just opened them up yesterday. i'm making a bunch of shibori scarves for a couple of my retailers, so i'm also going to put on some more bundles for them as well.
my favorite is this one, where i used some cochineal bugs that i had already used to make a dye extract with, some blackberries, and a little bit of osage. i love the peach and purple together, and how a design is formed where the fabric was folded over on itself.
i did another one with blackberries which got all mouldy. not exactly sell-able anymore, but the designs produced by the mould were actually quite beautiful, even if there's not really anything i can do with this one.
and finally there's with onion skins. i like the way it turned out, but feel like it needs a little something more. that's one of the things that i love about dyeing, is how you can continually add layers of colour (and texture) by overdyeing. i've had times where i was completely dissatisfied with the way something turned out, but then overdyed it to become a favorite. i think i'll bundle this one back up with some more, new dyestuffs.
karyn has posted some lovely photos of the student's work from friday's ombre and shibori class on her flickr.
it was the first time that we had used synthetic dyes for a class at the workroom - decided it would be nice to offer a quick three hour class where students could get their feet wet. it was great fun, and there was some beautiful results, like this itajime sample that jen made - i love how the yellow and purple shades blend together to make more muted colours. arounna and margie also posted these nice shots of the things they made in the class.
