With the long holiday weekend ahead of me, I knew I wanted to dye fabric, partly inspired by the mountain panel quilt I am working on. After our last meeting, I felt like I needed more purple brown colors for mountains and greens for valley. This was the first time I tried to dye the fabric to match a color in mind. Usually I am just surprised and pleased by whatever results I get. This time, I was trying to dye colors similar to ones our group had picked as good tones for the mountains.
For the greens, I was trying for more of the light grey green color our valley often gets. You know, that unique color of the sagebrush and rabbitbrush.
Using previous notes of dye sessions helped me to pick starting colors to mix from. All the fabrics dyed were made with some mixture of maroon brown, Parisian blue, and marigold.
I do enjoy the randomness of dyeing, and often it is the most pleasing aspect of the process. The surprise I feel of what the results are when I pull the fabrics from the dryer and iron them flat. Their sumptuousness never ceases to please me. But I do take notes, so that if I were to want to replicate a color I could, or in this case, I could direct my efforts somewhat in a direction of a color I am striving for.
On each fabric before dyeing, I write a number, and keep notes as I go of what amounts I mixed for that color. Then I cut a little square from each, glue to paper, and write next to it how much I mixed for that color. I have a binder of these notes with little color squares! They are fun to look through not only for inspiration but to remember all the colors I’ve dyed and used in different quilts.
I also dyed a couple of pieces of fabric using the ice dyeing method. I was hoping to get some colors I could fussy-cut to be particular mountain pieces. We’ll have to see if what I dyed turns out to be something that works with the quilt!
The ice dye fabric is stunning on its own, and even if I don’t use it in the mountain quilt, it will be good for something! Time to go cut fabric and play. More updates later!
Anyone have pictures of Mount Humphrey in the spring I could use as inspiration? Or a cottonwood in the valley, fully leafed out in the spring? I want to put a big cottonwood tree in my foreground, and it would be great to have a photo to use to prompt my colors and sketching.
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I was unfamiliar with the method of ice dyeing, and have to say that this fabric is my favorite! It is a work of art all in itself. Stunning!
Jennifer – check out my post on ice dyeing: https://sewserena.wordpress.com/2012/07/10/iced-parfait-fabric-dyeing/.
It’s pretty fun, I love the completely random patterns that come out.