But I'd ordered some white from P&B a few weeks back, and started doing a little bit of dyeing here & there. Then I ordered some more. Last weekend I went downstairs and clambered around in the ruins of what is fondly known as "basement remodel" and sorted out all of my dyes, my dyeing containers, the auxillaries and chemicals. I consolidated the dye dregs of a number of jars into their proper mates, sorted the dyes by color groups (reds/yellows, blue/greens, browns/grays, etc). So at least now I can find what I'm looking for - or more importantly determine quickly that I don't have what I'm looking for!
Then I started dyeing. Method over madness, perhaps. Instead of doing the "mad scientist" act, I actually dyed in groups, more or less. Methodically - or as methodical as I can get.
I've been doing a soda-soak on my fabrics this week, and I think they work better that way. I'm getting a better strike, especially in parts where there is a slight resist (from twisting or manipulating the fabric). I'm also getting some wonderful "freckling" with this method, and that is often the look I strive for, and which often eludes me. The closeup of the blue/green shows the freckles I'm talking about.
At any rate, it's good to be going on this again. I put 6 of my new pieces up on etsy yesterday, but so far not many views. Last week I sold 3 yards from my shop there - the buyer definitely got the best of the bunch, so I thought I'd better put some new ones up. The link to my shop is in the sidebar on my blog. I have some books there, also, and some miscellaneous other things.
My big reason for starting all this dyeing activity is that I have committed to participating as a vendor at my guild's Spring Fling retreat. I think it will be fun to do, and provide some exposure for my hand dyes and an opportunity to promote my etsy shop.
Other items I'm getting ready for the event include hand-dyed underwear (not yer grannie's pannies!) and dyed vintage damask tablecloths. The underwear is the same type I've been dyeing for myself for eons - white cotton - but they dye beautifully. The tablecloths are wonderful. That old damask takes dye like a sponge, and the pieces that are good enough can be sold as tablecloths. The others will sell as "cutters" to use in various craft and sewing projects - or to mend and use as quilt backs and such. It's a way to rescue the unrescuable. I dyed a linen cloth (woven stripe, not damask) yesterday that had some kind of weird yellowish stain over a large area. It took the dye (violet and forest) with no problem - washed out wonderfully, and all I have to do is iron it and put it in the stack. I'll take some pics of the tablecloths and put them on my blog soon. Oh, and I've dyed some cotton L/S T's for myself, which is fun and gives me something new to wear.
So now, start the day. It's supposed to be really nice today - warm (in the 80's) and sunny (but windy). Perfect day to hang out dyeds, right? I have a washerfull of greens to put out this afternoon, and perhaps will get to some neutrals before the day is out.
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