Fire Sunset Waiting

Four pieces of alpaca, felted on the FeltLOOM, wrapped around a pvc pipe and shibori painted in shades of red, orange and purple, dry in the sun.

When the Weather Changes Everything Changes

Joe Pye, the weed, is falling down, he's so heavy, and the leaves are starting to turn, and it took over a week for the remnants of Irene's rain to finally stop.  Hence, the merino wool I dyed several days ago still hasn't dried.  It's always a debate; does the sun or low humidity dry fabric faster?  Since there was no sun, I put the poles inside hoping the dehumidifiers would soak up all the moisture.  They are still damp.  Hopefully the sun will come out soon to speed up the process.  Yesterday I used the FeltLOOM to felt 1/4 pound merino and silk gauze.  Today, in preparation for Julie's wearable art coat, I began my shibori process.  I wrapped the  felted merino and silk around four more poles, tied them with string, scrunched them tight, soaked each one in 1 part vinegar, 1 part water and a dash of synthrapol so they would better absorb the dye.  Another debate; how damp can they still be to not dilute the dye.  I always know when they were too damp by how much dripping there is.  Another fine line.  Sometimes the dripping blends the colors just right.  Julie wants the fire sunset color that I used before, only no fuchsia.   Fire Sunset is a combination of red, orange and purple.  Eliminating pink is tricky since purple contains fuchsia.  I added a little violet to the formula.  We shall see.

Copper Collection

 It’s a beautiful morning, even if it will reach the upper 90s today.  I painted two 44” x 104” pieces of devore, which have been pole wrapped.  Theresa is going to use these curtains in a protected area on her patio/deck.  There is a hint of purple in the garden so I chose a shade formul of purple, yellow green and yellow orange.  The silk for the serenity scarf is dry, waiting to wrapped in newsprint and steamed.  I also painted two ties in the copper, rust, olive formula.  DJ wants to give one to his friend Kevin.

           

Back to Work

After two months of disarray due to finishing off the basement I am beginning to get my dyeing station set up again; this time on the back porch; then, eventually in the little cabin.  The walk-in basement is too nice to risk spilling and splashing dye.  Which, no matter how careful I am, always seems to happen.  I know that the porch and cabin will be weather affected.  Like today when it is 100 degrees.   However, I kind of like that.  I have been spending way too much time indoors. 

During this break I have realized how important it is and easier it is to work to finish one step at a time.  When I think about the projects I need to finish, I am overwhelmed and stay too long in the hammock.  When I just think of what silk I have to wrap, or steam, it is manageable and I get to work.

1.        Thinking, visualizing, making notes

2.        Assess supplies and place order if necessary

3.        Iron silks in preparation of wrapping

4.        Make sure poles are clean

5.        Wrap fabric

6.        Mix dyes; make notes

7.        Paint dye onto fabric, and hang tags and let dry

9.        Wrap dried fabric in newsprint

10.       Steam set dyes

11.       Rinse in laundry tub

12.       Wash on delicate cycle

13.       Dry on delicate cycle

14.       Iron and sew

15.       Take photograph      

Today I painted pole-wrapped charmeuse, crepe, devore, and charmeuse with horse images in preparation for a five  piece serenity shawl for the Lexington Art League Reverse Raffle.  I used my rust, copper, olive formulas.

While waiting for those to dry, I’m going to wrap two 44” x 104” pieces of devore that will be curtains for Theresa.

After that I will need to put some thought into what I’m going to do with the wool that I have already felted.