RRCB

I've been working on Bonnie Hunter's latest mystery quilt - Roll, Roll Cotton Boll for several weeks.  All in all, I've kept up with the quilt.  That is, until January hit and I spent most all of my extrs time working.  During January, I tried to work just a little on it most nights, even if that was only 10 minutes.  I've had the quilt top put together for a while.

Tonight, I added the small green border and two of the four pieced borders.

I love how the dark border contains the scrap quilt.  Maybe tomorrow I'll get the last two borders sewn onto the quilt, and then the corners!

Snow Dyeing Results

Snow dyeing was fun!  Time consuming, but any fabric dyeing is.  This is the first dyeing I've done in the Studio.  Everything worked out very well.  For this kind of dyeing, setting up an additional table would be helpful.  It takes up a lot of room.

I mixed up 8 different dyes for snow dyeing.  I've been storing some mixed dyes from a class quiet a while ago.  I used some of them, not knowing if they would work.  Not to worry, they worked just fine!  Now I have a good twenty colors mixed.  Perhaps I'll have to do some more snow dyeing!  After all, I have about six more buckets of snow just outside the door!

I dyed seven yards of fabric.  Six pieces were snow-dyed.  Two were dyed in a plastic cup.  Two sets of four were layered.  The last two were dyed in a tub.  Today, I rinsed, wash and pressed them.  Enjoy the results!

Snow dyed - a one-yard piece.  Tangerine, yellow, red

Same colors, but more brown added.  And I used a burgundy.  It's probably in here too.

This one is one of my favories.  Reds, with a bit of brown to neutralize the red. 

Another area 

This is the brightest one.  A bright yellow with tangerine and light brown to tone it down.

These three were dyed together in the same container.  First in was orange.  Then another piece of fabric with blue dye.  There was a lot of orange, so not much blue is showing.  Then the third fabric.  I think I added gray.  It looks kind of brownish-gray.  Which would make sense with the orange. 

The last layer.  I don't remember which color I added to the mix.  Perhaps a yellow?  I ended up with a great peach.

These were the last two.  I put them in a bin and squirted dye over them like the snow dyed pieces.  Just no snow. 

Here are the red/brown/yellow fabrics

Now for the blue/green/yellow:

These are the four layers.  They go from a teal blue to a purple.

I usually use Kona PFD.  I tried Quilter's Cotton which I can find locally.  I cut a piece of each.  I did not prewash the Quilter's Cotton.  One of the fabrics below is Kona, the other is Quilter's Cotton.  I'd say that the Quilter's Cotton dyed very nicely!

Back to the snow dyed pieces.  This is a mixture of greens and yellows.  The picture looks it little brown.  It is a great lime-green!

 The subtle coloring of this yard piece is fantastic.  Bright yellows, to browns with green highlights.  It looks like a sponged wall!

The Yellow/Green/Blue/Purple batch.

Aren't they lovely!

January 29th - Snow Dyeing

Finally - The long hours of January are over.  The dye studio is not unpacked, but certainly useable.  And there is still snow outside.  I can try a new technique.  The technique is not new, but is new to me.  Snow Dyeing!  Like making giant snowcones!  I snow dyed 4 yards of fabric today, plus another 3 yards using other techniques.  I can't wait to see them tomorrow! 

Under this mound of snow is a yard of Kona PFD (prepared for dyeing).  I presoaked it in a soda ash solution.  Then, I mounded snow on it.  I mixed several colors of dye.  I found 8 squirt bottles, so I figured that 8 colors of dye would be about right.  First layer - red.

Then some yellow

and a bit of brown

Just before I got started, Brad came down.  I aked him to do one.  Doesn't this look yummy!

 Two one yard pieces on the left, four half-yard pieces on the right.

The dye studio is in the basement.  After working there this afternoon, it got very cold down there.  I blamed it on the snow!  Several hours later, there is still snow on the fabrics.  Tomorrow, I will move them to somewhere warmer for a couple of hours.  I'm not sure if this is necessary or not.  I can't wait to rinse them, an then wash them!  My favorite part is taking them out of the dryer and pressing them.