What's new?

Yikes! I can't believe how long it's been since I posted! It's not that I didn't have anything to post about... just no time! In addition to my tie-dye biz, I have also volunteered to post on a blog for my artfire guild, Fiber Arts. And for some reason, I thought I would have time to create a post every week... what was I thinking? Right after I made that commitment, I got a HUGE order to dye 80 drawstring bags, 80 pieces of fabric that a friend is making into golf cart seat covers, and then I still have 80 terry towels to dye. All this is due to the customer by the 3rd week in May, but I needed to get the fabric done and passed on to my friend so she could do the sewing. Well, I'm down to 10 more pieces, and I should be ready to hand the fabric off to her on Monday. Here are a few shots:

Here are the towels, waiting to be dyed.

Here is one of the fabric pieces, ready to be made into a golf cart seat cover.

The drawstring bags.

Then, just about the same time I got this order, one of my regular customers e-mailed me to order 10 tank tops. I'm almost done with that order, but have had to sandwich them in between the batches of fabric. Fortunately, she is patient and understood that my turnaround would be a little slower than usual.

Other than that, I have been working to schedule 3 dyeing classes this summer - two with my friend Wendy, who I have co-taught with the past 2 years, and a third class that I will be teaching on my own to a couple of gals, which will include both tie-dye and batik techniques. Hopefully, I will have some nice photos to share here from these classes. And then there is just... life in general! My house looks like a wreck, I have other time commitments I have been trying to balance with my business, and I have an overwhelming urge to play in the yard now that the weather is warming up! Breathe in... breathe out... but it's all good!

Happy Spring!

More batik

I've made progress on my batik line... one thing I discovered is that if I have a design with easy to see markings, I can slip it under the shirt when I have stretched the shirt over a foam board and secured, and I see the design well enough through the shirt so I can trace it onto the shirt, rather than having to cut a stencil and trace thru the stencil onto the shirt. A time-saver for sure!

So here are a couple of rompers I finished yesterday:

I didn't have great light when I took these shots... the dyes are actually brighter in person.

I also want to see if I can have a couple of thermofax screens made up of some of the batik designs I have been making, so I can make a printed variation, although I really do love the crackled effect I get with the soy wax.

I just put another shirt into a dye bath that has a batik lotus blossom... I really like the design, and hope to make more of them if this comes out well.

Meanwhile, I'm off in the morning to Scottsdale for an overnight stay with a friend... so amy more batik will have to wait until Sunday... have a great weekend!

Batik... this year's project!

I have had batik in my project board for awhile now... I've been doing autumn leaves shirts for 4 years, and I love them, but I have wanted to broaden my horizons a little, and I decided this is the year. Yesterday, I cut a stencil of a dragonfly, and tried it out on both a t-shirt and a piece of muslin, both pre-soaked in soda ash solution and dried. In both cases, I traced the design on using regular pencil, then I waxed the design on. On the muslin, I added dye to the body and eyes with unthickened dye and an artist's paintbrush, then I brushed the dye on around the dragonflies, over the wings to pick up the divisions, and out toward the edges. I used 4-5 colors of dye, a couple of which I actually mixed and stored back in August! Amazing how well they hold their strength if they are stored in a cool spot! When I finished applying the dyes, I covered the muslin with plastic wrap and batched overnight.

Here's the muslin:

After I let the wax harden on the T-shirt, I scrunched the shirt into a small bin, then I poured over the dyes and let it sit for about an hour before I rinsed and washed. Here's the shirt:

I'm pleased with my start, and got busy this morning creating some more stencils. I'm also searching the internet for pre-cut stencils to see if I can find some I like. It is pretty time-consuming to cut the stencils, and although it goes faster if I cut them from card stock, I'm concerned that the card stock won't last very long before it starts to break down. At any rate, thi is definitely going to be my big project for the year, and probably beyond!

Gel Glue resist experiments

I am working with my friend Wendy Wetzel to create a new Dye Divas class, and one of the things we want to demo is Gel Glue resist and painting with thickened dyes. I did one sampler, but forgot to cover it and batch, and the dyes did not bond with the cloth... bummer! So the next attempt, I made sure to cover with plastic for 24 hours after I finished applying the thickened dyes, and got much better results! Here is the sampler:

This is a fun method to create designs, and using thickened dyes instead of fabric paints leaves the fabric softer. So this can be used for clothing items as well as art pieces... something I really like! I just got a neat pattern for an unconstructed jacket, and I hope to do some with fabric I create using Gel Glue resist... I'll post pix if I get the jacket done!

Fiber Arts Guild

I am a member of a guild on artfire called the Fiber Arts Guild, a collection of shops where the artists/crafters specialize in all things fiber... weaving, knitting, crocheting, quilting, tie-dye (not just me!), sewing... you name it! Anyway, I wanted you to know that we now have a blog to showcase the members. I have posted a link to it on the right side of the blog, and I hope you will check it out. It's just starting up, but we hope to have lots of interesting posts from a variety of our membership in the near future. So visit, bookmark it and become a regular browser! See you there... I volunteered to be one of the writers, so I'll be stretching the envelope a little!

Interview by Andreea Ayres

I was recently contacted by Andreea Ayres, who just started a new blog launchgrowjoy.com, which is a great resource for those of us who create products for sale and are looking for suggestions about how to market our products. Anyway, Andreea asked to interview me for her "Featured Entrepreneur" column, and she just published the interview here... check it out! And do browse her blog... lots of great info available, so check it out! Thanks, Andreea, for plugging me on your blog!

Clouds

Like most of the country, we have had a little weather over the past day or so. Yesterday morning, when it began to get light, I took some pictures of the clouds and sunrise:

Above, the wind did a good job of tossing the clouds around

If you look closely at the segment of blue sky here, you will see a sliver of moon

Above, looking northwest, the sunrise is adding a nice tinge of color to the clouds

Later in the day we had snow, but the clouds and sunrise were more newsworthy! I feel very fortunate to live in an area where I can go outside at sunrise and get a clear shot of some really spectacular views! Enjoy...