The results of my efforts come rolling in

 

 

 

 

What a mixed bag of results I am getting from my experiments!  I am certainly learning a lot as I go, although in one session of dyeing, it felt like I was forgetting more than I was learning as I kept doing step 2 before step 1 as I dyed.  Thank God for Miranda and Elisabeth acting like aides for the mentally handicapped in keeping me from ruining everything.

The indigo finally stopped running, but the fabrics no longer have a nice clear distinction between navy and white.  Instead, they are a much more muted variation of blues.  Obviously, this technique has to be refined if I want to keep the navy look, but I am growing quite fond of the paler hue after looking at some silk georgette scarves in a Finder's Keepers Market and at some of my final work.  The trouble is, pale blue looks ghastly on me, and I only look okay in navy.  Guess I'll have to sell everything pale or give it away!



 I decided to print on the dyed t-shirts to add interest and rather like the little dog design I came up with. 

 

 I have also designed a fox, which I intend to use on some commercially coloured t-shirts.  I used two old tree screen prints on some of the t-shirts and on some cotton napkins I bought in the Freedom sale, and I am quite pleased with them too.  Some of these works have gone into the Brisbane Institute of Art's end of year exhibition, and they have sold, so I am chuffed other people like them. 

By the way, it is so hot and humid up here that it is impossible to print in the tin shed without expiring.  I am now using the dining table and the house is covered with drying pieces of material, screens, paints and paper.  The cat has been ordered to remain on the couch and not venture into the bathroom, where the floor is lined with drying napkins.  Not at all home beautiful.  I really neeeeeeed a proper studio - that is air-conditioned.

The henna was huge disappointment.  Instead of coming out red, the result was a boring beige and the clamps left no imprint.  More research needed here too.  I decided to over-dye with commercial dyes and left the  broth stewing away.  It looked quite nice when I took off the clamps and washed out the residue dye, but again, the colours don't suit me.  So, it is for sale too!

 Thank God I am using cheap Target shirts and t-shirts.  The failure rate is getting to be expensive.  Mind you, it could be worse.  My young friend, Riley, tried to print his fabulous designs on denim jackets he bought at vast expense.  There is something wrong with the ink he used and he got a very patchy sludge instead of a nice clear print.  The ink was so bad, it clogged the screen mesh which couldn't be cleaned properly.  He was very calm, but I would have been spitting.  Time to chuck out the dud ink, methinks.  White is a bugger of an ink as it tends to thicken and dry very quickly - especially, as I have found, if you have a fan on in hot, humid weather, but the stuff he used is particularly revolting. I bought one of his successes at the BIA exhibition and can't wait until the weather cools down to swan around in it.  He designs using a computer, rather than an old-fashioned pencil like I do, and his work is intricate and very beautiful.  He is going to move to Melbourne next year to do an art course, so you southerners may be lucky enough to see some of his work down there too.

The silk scarves have all turned out well, and next year, I am hoping to find a silk wholesaler and try dyeing shirts, scarves and maybe even dresses.  There are some lovely caftans in the shops up here, but they are so expensive, I can't afford them.  I really must improve my sewing skills and make my own.  I think I would look fabulous wafting around in an elegant silk caftan as I walk the dogs in the morning in my runners!

 

In addition, my goldfish have really come up well.  The two fabric varnishes I used were useless, so I sanded them off and used several more coats of marine varnish.  Now they have a lovely satin sheen.  I am so pleased, I am making more fish.  One of my fish had sold in the BIA exhibition when I was there, so other people like them too.  They  really take a lot of time and work, but they are fun to make, and each one has a different character. 

They are so enjoyable to make that I have decided to expand into embroidered birds using hand-dyed fabrics too.  I think they look fun as mobiles.  This one has just had the first of up to 6 layers of varnish.

I finished one set of  drink coasters using the Japanese prints I made earlier in the semester based on heraldry and they look very stylish.  The placemats I have made using the leaf prints have also turned out well, thank goodness. 

I am currently designing some new coasters based on my eco-dyed fabrics, and incorporating sashiko thread, and hope they come out as well.  Not sure when I'll actually get round to making them, but the idea is there.  I am still thinking of other ways of using earlier printed fabric.  Cushions? Bags? panels for skirts?  Not sure.  I will keep mulling.

The piece de resistance turns out to be my tree quilt which is totally eco-dyed and hand printed, pieced, quilted and machine embroidered.  I am really pleased with it even though I didn't use "my" colours.  It is much more muted than my usual fare, but still looks good. It makes me feel as if I am getting the hang of eco-dyeing, even when I still get the disasters noted above.  Even better, someone else liked it at the exhibition and bought it!

I was so pleased with it, I made another quilt for the exhibition, using some screenprinted material I printed earlier in the year, and adding some machine embroidery, then binding it with some of my darker eco-dyed material.  It is very different in style, but I still think it works well.

I am so excited, that I have decided to make a "traveller's blanket" inpired by Dijanne Cevaal's  work featured in this issue of Quilting Arts Magazine.  I might take it with me on holiday so I can keep working on it - if I get I get the material cut up, adhered and wadded in time!  I have so many plans described above, I wouldn't be surprised if they don't all end up in my UFO (unfinished objects )pile!

I have also gone back to some of my prints on paper and am embellishing them with watercolours.  This adds different moods and atmospheres to the prints which I am liking.  Unfortunately, in the mess that is my house, I have mislaid the masking tape that is necessary to keep the paper flat, and my adventures in this medium have come to an abrupt halt.  Guess it is time to clean up!

Meanwhile, in the lead up to Christmas, I have been cooking a lot too.  I have gradually assembling the ingredients to make my annual fruit cakes, prunes in port, cathedral cake and chocolate panforte in the next two weeks.  We have been having a lot of lighter meals too:  Thai fish cakes, grilled oysters, prawn salads, chicken and beef stir fries, and a rather nice recipe I got from a lady in a Vietnamese food store using pork, mustard greens and salted duck egg flavoured with oyster sauce.  Bob and I have also been eating a lot of pickled vegetables with our meals, inspired by the yummy ones we had in Japan.  I have bought a lot from the food shops in Fortitude Valley and we are working our way through them.  I have also discovered abalone sauce, some dried forest mushrooms, some chutneys and some marinades which we are going to try out.  I was assembling some gift baskets for some friends and couldn't withstand the temptation of getting some things for us too!