Quilt Camp Day 6

We were saying to each other today that it doesn't seem like we get as much done these days as we once did!  What's up with that?

If our math is right, this is the tenth time we have had quilt camp.  The number of years is higher  because we had a few years when we couldn't get together.  Probably somewhere around 14 years we have come to the garage here at Merrymount on the shores of Lake Winnipesaukee to stir our creative juices and work on our business selling Thermofax screens through Etsy and promoting them on social media.

Today Elizabeth rinsed out the excess dye from this lovely vine flower Thermofax screen done with Color Magnet and Coral MX dye.

And her pole dyed piece.  Not sure why this year the white lines from the string isn't as prominent.  Perhaps oversoaked, not wound and scrunched tightly enough or too few layers on the pole.  It is still ok, just a faint glimpse of texture.

You saw a sneak peek at Molly's new shirt the other day on the blog but not the vine flower around the hemline.  The t-shirt was first screened with the design using Color Magnet, left to dry and then ice dyed.

Elizabeth also screened this hand drawn ginkgo leaf, onto a long piece of previously dyed fabric, using a blue acrylic fabric paint which sparkles just the slightest amount.

And this green piece was screened with a new screen made from a photo of birch bark.

Sue has some pieces that didn't get included in yesterday's post.  One is this piece of rusted fabric that was folded and dipped in the indigo pot.

In an effort to make some ugly fabrics more palatable, they were also dipped in the indigo pot.  The left photo is "before", the right photo is "after".  A small step in the right direction.  Looks like another dip in the indigo pot is called for!

We didn't have much sun today, but there was enough to put out a quick sun print with some stencils.

The best ending to the day was that Bob drove us to Wolfeboro and treated us to an ice cream at Bailey's Bubble.

Quilt Camp Day 5

Sunday was cloudy and cool; the high temp was about 64.  Consequently we got off to a slow start.  

Sue did her morning walk, but by the time we were ready to get to work, Bob was ready to do his online volunteer greeter duty for the Smithsonian Udvar-Hazy center, so we decided to go to the grocery store instead so as not to disturb him.  So after a late lunch we finally got going.  Mostly it was more washing out of dyed pieces and Sue dipped a few more in the indigo pot.

The lighting isn't great in the above picture.  Left to right, the fabrics are red, dragon fruit, turquoise, and black.  The doilies were batched in the leftover parakeet and turquoise dyes.  Not very exciting, mostly solids but they will be useful for an upcoming class and also working on using up some old dyes.

Elizabeth rinsed out her cyanotype print from yesterday before starting a 2 hour Zentangle online workshop, so her time in the "studio" was limited today.  The cyanotype was made from a carrot top and parsley from Bob's garden plot.

Last week our Zentangle teacher, Marisela Rumberg had us make a Bijou tile to use as a library of 24 different tangles we have studied.  This week we used it to play several rounds of BINGO/BIJOU to help us remember the names of each tangle.  Afterwards, Marisela picked from her Bijou library 4 more tangle designs for us to use in today's practice tile.  

If you live near Occoquan VA, Marisela's LOVE Zentangle art installation will be revealed this Friday, Sept. 3 at River Hill Park, 11 AM.  Be sure to stop by and see it as it joins the many other iconic "Virginia is for Lovers" LOVE art around the Commonwealth.  Hopefully it will remain there for a long time.

Quilt Camp Day 4

Day 4 of quilt camp - it was a cool, cloudy day so not the best for sun printing.  We did some more shibori/indigo dye of the pieces prepared yesterday, and washed out some other dyed pieces.  Below are: left, Sue's pieces after one dip in the indigo pot; top right, Elizabeth dipping one of her pieces; bottom right, pieces awaiting a second dip in the pot.

Below, Sue's pieces after rinsing.  Top left is a rust dyed piece (not from the indigo pot); the other 3 photos show the pieces she dyed today.  The 2 stripey ones were wrapped around poles.  The one with the light background was a triangle fold with plexiglass circles clamped over the corners.  The one with the light blue circles were made with buttons that were rubber banded into the cloth - the rubber bands served as a resist to create the circles.

Elizabeth decided to experiment in the indigo pot with some fabrics which were less than successful from other dye projects and see if they could be improved upon.  Here are some as she unwrapped them.  The pink and mottled green were clamped with wooden blocks and the lime green was folded like a flag.

Below is the bottom piece of fabric (from above-the one with the circles) on the right side after unfolding and the remainder of the "less than successful fabric" is what it looked like before the indigo pot.  

She also overdyed a piece of rusted fabric with the spiderweb pattern and is quite happy with the results.

This set of pictures shows Sue's dyed/washed fabrics.  Top left is spring green; before dyeing, the fabric was printed with a birch bark Thermofax screen using Color Magnet which is a dye attractant, creating the textured pattern.  Top right is a piece dyed with a color called parakeet.  The bottom 2 are the same piece of fabric.  This was dyed with "new black".  To give it some texture, Sue used a discharge product called deColourant to remove some color through a Thermofax screen - this was also a birch bark screen, though a different one than on the green fabric.  Click on the photo for a better view.

With some new screens for playing Elizabeth decided to see what they might look like if they were screened on white fabric with Color Magnet and then dyed.  We will reveal them later in the week.

Elizabeth set out a piece of fabric prepared for Cyanotype.  As the day was cloudy, she used the wet cyanotype method and first spritzed the fabric with a solution of vinegar and water.  The white areas you see are actually the reflection of the sky and the darker areas are the shadow from a tree.  It will be interesting to see what happens after 24 hours of exposure.

Quilt Camp Day 3

Day 3 seemed just as busy as the other days but we did a lot of fabric preparation and don't have a lot of show and tell.

Both of us tied up, clamped, or banded more fabric for our indigo pot.

Sue did a lovely magenta sun print which we posted last night on Instagram and Facebook as a reveal video.  

She also dyed up some small pieces which are still batching including a lovely green fabric textured using Jacquard's ColorMagnet with a new screen of birch bark.  She also made another cyanotype piece.  The resist was a stencil of circles and it was spritzed with water and soda ash solution - maybe a bit too much.  Trying another piece today with the same stencil. 

Elizabeth washed out a new t-shirt for Molly and a new piece of pole dyed fabric in two shades of orange.

Quilt Camp Day 2

Day 2's main event was indigo dyeing.  After preparing the pot yesterday and allowing it to sit for a day, it developed the desired "bloom" on the top and was ready for use.  We had pole wrapped pieces ready and also prepped some other pieces with various methods - folds, clamped objects, banded pieces, even a folded and rolled type called "sushi".  Below is what the waiting pot looked like.  Before immersing fabric pieces, the bloom is gently skimmed off the top and set aside; it is replaced when finished with the dye pot which can be used for several days.

The prepared pieces need to be wet before placing in the pot.  Then they are carefully lowered in so as to disturb the dye as little as possible.  Items remain in the dye for 2-3 minutes and should be gently massaged while immersed so the dye penetrates all the way through.

When the pieces are lifted out they are green, but quickly turn dark blue when exposed to the air (oxidization).  It's fun to watch the color change.

 

After sitting about 15 minutes, you can dip in the dye a second time if desired, or unwrap for the big reveal.  Below are some of our results. Traditional indigo dyeing is blue and white, but we also used some previously dyed fabrics so that's why you see other colors.

A few more things from today - Sue's cyanotype print from yesterday after rinsing, and another sun print, this one done with stencils instead of plant material.

 

 Quilt Camp 2021

Sue arrived in New Hampshire Tuesday afternoon!  So, Wednesday was day one of Quilt Camp.  Lots of things to prep and get going.

We made a fresh bucket of indigo dye, started a soda ash soak of fabrics and t-shirts, wrapped some poles with fabric for dyeing, ice dyed a t-shirt, screened some Color Magnet, started some rust dyeing as well as finished some that Elizabeth started last week.  Sue also made some sun prints and mixed up the cyanotype solution for more play tomorrow.

Looking forward to seeing what this dye called Marine will look like when it comes out from under the ice.

Several poles were wrapped in preparation for dyeing tomorrow.

It is always fun to dye with Indigo.  Our fresh bucket of dye will be ready tomorrow.

Sue did a cyanotype print with some previously prepared fabric and a sunprint using Pebeo Setacolor paint.

After soaking fabric in soda ash and allowing it to dry, Sue printed one piece with Color Magnet.  When dry, it will be ready for the dye bath.  The places with the color magnet will attract more dye resulting in a two-tone print.

Stay tuned for the results and more of our quilt camp adventures!