This Year’s Dyeing

 

There are activities and projects that return every year. One of those projects is dyeing. During the whole year, I collect suitable pieces of fabrics, lace, threads, old ones but new ones too. I always dream about „one week dyeing“, but every year, my plans shrink inevitably to two or maximum three days. Nevertheless, I enjoy it every summer again and again. 

Like last year, I used Jacquad Procion MX, thus fibre-reactive dyes again. My aim was on one side to achieve more vibrant colours than last year, on the other side to try out overdyeing of printed fabrics.

The first goal was achieved only partly – the colours are really nice, stronger than last year indeed. But I use the dyed fabrics in projects which have to be washed sometimes. For that reason I wash the dyed fabrics in really hot water (60°C) which makes a part of colour disappear. Nevertheless, I like the outcome quite well.

On the other hand, overdyeing of printed fabrics brought great results. I went through my fabric stash choosing prints (mostly black and white pictures or patterns), that I never used because they were somehow not inspiring to me. Maybe, I need colour in my life, because I´m really excited about the same pictures and prints, which got a new colour.

I mixed water with urea first, then dye powder was added. I had some rests of dye powders from last year and I bought some new ones, all in all I got 11 colour concentrates (black, medium blue, navy, aquamarine, turquoise, golden yellow,   antique gold, cobalt blue, carmine red, magenta, deep purple). My favourite became cobalt blue, definitely.

Everything prepared on the table in the garden.

Wet pieces of fabrics waiting for dye.

Dyed fabrics and threads need some time before they can be washed. 

The landscape after the battle...

After washing:

Results are not bad at all:

 

Let´s colour our lives!

Happy stitching

Michaela

 

 

Quilt 4 – Washing Day

 

The fourth quilt from the series „Fields, Meadows & Gardens",  the "Washing Day", is finished. This time, I´m really satisfied with the result. It is completely sewn by hand and also heavily quilted by hand.

First, the ground was quilted, then the tree crown was made from patches of green cloth and quilted.

I planned to use rusted ribbons for creating the trunk and branches, but I found the colour not the right one. Searching for another material I found an interesting piece of cloth, uneven, frayed, and perfectly shabby. One side created the roots almost automatically, the other side and the branches „needed some help“.

The washing day must be a sunny day of course.

The washing line is couched, the pegs are embroidered needle weave bars (I used rusted thread). 

Eiderdown and pillow were made of Japanese cloth. It´s a great pleasure to work with it.

Folks, I really feel my hands and arms protesting. The hours and hours of hand quilting have to be paid off. No matter how much I love hand quilting, I should perhaps reconsider the sewing technique of the two other quilts which are waiting to be made…

 

Happy stitching

Michaela

 

Quilt 3 – Grandmother´s Farm

 

The third quilt of the series Fields, Meadows, and Gardens is finished! Well, here and there a few stitches should be (and probably will be) added, like always, but I declared it completed for now.

It´s called "Grandmothers Farm" and it´s almost completely sewn by hand, except some raw edge appliquéd trees and shrubs. Let´s look at how it evolved:

Based on sketches in my sketchbook I prepared a sketch about the size of the planned quilt:

The first colour choice:

Beet field:

Tree in the garden:

Meadow with cows:

 

 

Hens and the house:

 The meadows under the stream:

Like always, I´m not completely satisfied yet, there are many things, especially in composition and colour choice, which could be done much better. The quilt will hang in our bedroom now and I know, after some days, I will love it. Like I always do. 

Sorry for not shering the complete picture of the quilt. I will reveal all the quilts during  PPM 2022 exhibition in April. 

Happy stitching

Michaela