End of September

In the garden, just a few blooms showed their colours.

Rose of Sharon

Sedum











 September is soon over, and cooler autumn weather will be arriving. I took advantage of the last few sunny days to try dyeing some cotton and some silk hankies.

cotton fabric
leaves from my garden
sun dyeing technique

silk hankie
leaves from my garden
rock salt
pearl dye for the shimmer
sun dyeing technique

silk hankie
ferns from my garden
rock salt
pearl dye for the shimmer
sun dyeing technique

silk hankie
leaves from my garden
sun dyeing tehnique
rock salt
pearl dye to add the shimmer

silk hankie
shibori technique
all pearl dyes

another angle

Sharpie markers
cotton fabric
rubbing alcohol

after applying the rubbing alcohol

dried

the fabric on the left half was the hankie part folded underneath
it created a soft effect

Sharpie markers on a silk hankie

after the application of rubbing alcohol

less movement than on the cotton

sun dyeing #2
using leaves and stencils

the paper stencils left a soft pattern

the plastic stencil created a crisp result

after a second application of dye in yellow

sun dyeing on silk with leaves

after a second dye of yellow

cotton fabric, leaves and a paper stencil

after a second layer of dye in yellow

the paper stencil has distinct and soft areas of the design

using a felt stencil on cotton

the second dye layer created an even softer effect

Last week I dyed some fabric with avocado pits. After drying, I cut one piece of fabric in half, and threw 1 of the halves into the laundry. After it was dried in the dryer, I put the two halves together, to see if there was a discernable difference in their colour.
It appears as though the tannins in the avocado pits work well as a mordant on cotton fabrics.

I didn't really like the experiments with the markers and alcohol, so I decided to use any left-over dyes on those pieces, as well as a cotton cloth . What do they look like now?

This piece may get some more dye additions. I like the softness of the blue and golds on the lower half, so I may add some more blue to the top half and see if I can cover up more of the ugly bit.
Or I could try doing a shibori technique on this piece to see what happens.

I like the effect on the remainder of this cotton cloth. The section with the bold marker stripes could be cut out for another application.

This cotton hankie sopped up any spills and drips and has a nice soft effect. It could easily be used as is, or used as a sopping cloth in my next dyeing experiments.

My conclusions:
I like the 1 layer of dye on the silk and cotton in the sun dyeing.
A second layer of the same dye colour might be a nice effect.
The yellow layer appears too strong, so I may try a third layer to see what happens.
The shibori technique requires more dye than I used. Even though I put 2 layers on the silk, I don't think the dye  penetrated the silk enough. I do like the results.

Well, that's my week of playing with dyes. It was fun.
I hope your week was a creative one.
Thanks for visiting.
Hugs from Suz

As Summer Ends

I've progressed from PPP #5 to starting PPP #6:

#5 all finished

a start on #6

a close-up on the lace flower


bullions mark the petals' vein

 I played with some tatting

trying out a variegated thread

Ankars tatting, but I pulled too tightly as you can see by the buckling on the rings

adding beads to the Ankars tat

I think I need to re-tat this using a gentler hand

 I've been working on a fabric card for my sister who loves blue

I have more fabric tags to make.

Each tag has a quote or humorous saying about sisters.

Some will be tucked into lace pockets, and some will be stitched onto
the card. I know they'll make my sister smile.

In the garden, the sedum is turning darker. Soon it will be bright crimson. The nights are getting cooler, and there's a touch of crispness to the air. Summer is almost over.







I've been saving my avocado pits, and this weekend, I cooked up a batch to colour some fabrics.

a baker's dozen pits in the pot

Some had a layer of skin pop off the pit.

the selection of laces, and fabrics washed and ready

After coming to a boil, I simmered the pits until this dark colour appeared, then I turned off the burner and added the fabrics.  I left the fabrics to dye all afternoon and overnight.

Here's the fabric as it was taken from the pot. Such a variety of shades, from palest pink to a tawny peach.

After rinsing in warm water, I hung each piece up to dry indoors. The dark piece at the back of the rack is silk dupion. Most of the other pieces are cotton. I even placed a skein of thread into the pot, too.
What nice colours!

Well, that's my week. I hope yours was a happy and creative one.
Thanks for visiting.

Hugs from Suz

Painting Fun and Flowers

I was having difficulties uploading photos in my last blog post, so a second post this week. Paint has been dripping in the studio.  ;-o  But that's a good thing. And fun. Starting with a sky and some water:

adding in the trees and some rocks

The rocks around the island disappear in the morning mist, and everything looks a little magical.

ink and watercolour

a revisited painting
I added more rocks and sand, and dropped some rain

This was an old painting with just the leaves. I added some darks in the upper right corner

and some along the bottom.
Is it finished?

Hmmm, I don't know yet.

maybe it looks better this way?

no sketch, but a few pen lines

the road is out of perspective with regards to the figure and the dog

The perspective is better, but still not correct. I lost the freshness of the greens, I think. I wonder  if I can bring it back?
maybe...........

My mother-in-law's tongue has flowered again. It must like the south window shaded by the large maple tree.

In the gardens, the rose of sharon are blooming. Since this is their first year, I was surprised that 3 of the 4 are in flower. So far they're all the same colour.

The petals look so soft and delicate.

 pretty purple blooms

The marigolds are planted around the tomato plants to help keep pests away. Because of the summer drought, the tomatoes grew poorly: the marigolds, however, have done very well.  hmmm
I hope you've had a fun and creative week.

Thanks for visiting.
Hugs from Suz