Shibori Bubbles & Lace Dyeing

So it's 10:21 on a Sunday evening.

I am determined to start getting up earlier (than I have been) in order to make better use of the day. 

we'll see how it goes. 

But for tonight, I've been prepping for my Monday dye day. 

I need to come up with a fancier name than

Monday Dye Day though. But that's what I do on Mondays.
Dye

This May (it will be here before we know it) 

I'll be teaching a 4th class in my series of 

Natural Dyeing Collaborations

here in

Portland.

Last week I picked up the piece of lovely silk fabric from Mary 

at 

Z Fabrics.
where the 2nd part of Natural Dyeing for sewers will be held. 

Tonight I'm prepping the cloth so that it can soak over night. 

I used linen string but you could use any strong, yarn or rubber bands.
I also used button but I usually use rocks from the road.
I love the organic shapes they make.

I thought a bit about what design to do on the scarf for the class sample. 

I thought about doing something fun with a needle and thread to create binding and wavy lines.

But you know, again I went for the bubbles. 

I LOVE creating round bubble like shapes with shibori

and in my watercolors. 

There is just something about circles, bubbles, and the general roundness of objects that I am drawn to. 

Maybe it's because I've got some of that going on myself. General roundness here and there. 

It's ok, I like my roundness and I'm proud of it.

I also opted to use up an old cochineal/ acetate dye bath
that was occupying my shelf since July.

I kind of couldn't get over how red it still was.
I had about a gallon and a quarter in various containers.
Acetate is a mordant recommended to use with plant based fibers.
But I didn't hesitate to use in on the silk.
I wanted to use up what I had and I wanted to see what would happen.

 (the reflection here in the pot is funny- not something I noticed until just now)

This was just after 5 minutes of being in the bath.

I cooked it very slowly and for a few hours with temp reaching
about 160-180 over the course of a few hours.

I let it sit in the pot over night and
in the morning, I hung it up over the sink so
all it could drip back into the pot.
When it was dryer, I tried soaking it in the sink
but so much dye was coming out.
After a few rinses
I changed course and brought the fabric down to the washer.
That's right, I thew it in the wash with a little
sprinkle of my home made laundry soup.
Which I love.

I was little started with how much it lightened up,
but, it's still beautiful.

Having still more dye left in the pot, 

I added this shirt I thrifted.

I have a thing with lace. 

If you haven't noticed. 

Again, it's lighter then I imagined but 

it's still lovely.

Just a few shades pink.

It will headed to my etsy shop next month:) 

I went ahead and added fiber to a 3rd bath (really a 4th if we count the 1st one in July.

What I've got here:

white Maine Finn wool

yak/silk roving

soy silk

silk hankie

irish texel wool i dyed with indigo

I also threw in some skeins of brown wool.

They are sill hanging out in the dye pot.
I'll up date how the turned out
here.

I love using up dyes but it's often I always underestimate
how much I will be dyeing.
I never quite know how far a dye bath will go until I get through the first one.

That's one of my favorite things about natural dye baths
is stretching it further and further.
Especially when they are plants that I find
unlike this pot which was cochineal extract.