Why is it?

Why is it that the piece of fabric dyed with the left over dye is always quite stunning? Unplanned, relaxed, not a care in the world style of dyeing!

 

Indigo quilts finished

I really love how the indigo pieces finished up with the white printing, hand stitching and machine quilting. I have not been very inventive in naming them and they are Indigo #1, 2 & 3! Above is #1 for the SAQA 2016 auction.

A detail shot. I tried to add some extra bits of fabric but decided simplicity was the best. I used red stitching in all three.

Detail of Indigo #3.

Batik

Batik, the art of wax designs, dyed and redrawn and redyed multiple times is a dying art in the age of mass production. So I can appreciate and enjoy the design and workmanship on this small tablecloth on our kitchen table.

 

Indigo continued

A further 2 indigo quilts have also resulted, both larger than the 12" SAQA donation. Using a different plant from my garden the photo above shows a progress shot of Indigo #2.

I've used a lovely wipe-up cloth for the backing.

Indigo #3 is for the Viewpoints 9 Be Natural challenge which I set on January 1.

 

Indigo

My quilting making in January after the family visit was to revisit the indigo pieces of cotton fabric dyed last year in Ali George's indigo vat. I stitched resist patterns and Ali dyed them for me as I couldn't be there for the day. The colouration was splotchey and not as bold as I imagined. My resist stitching wasn't strong enough to carry the design intended. However printing with white enhanced the pieces and above, is the first stage of the Studio Art Quilt Associates 12" square auction quilt I'll donate this year.

Pinned and layered with batting.

The backing fabric is a Jacaranda print.

Machine quilting underway using my trusty Bernina 440.

 

Finished workshop pieces

Thanks Jullie for sharing your pieces from the October, Sense of Place workshop in Brisbane. I love the bags you have made with the pieces you dyed and printed.

 

Wattle

Make wattle quilts while the wattle flowers has been my mantra of late. There is a seemingly short window of opportunity as the different species burst forth with beautiful yellow blossom.

Yellow background dye and then the print of the flowering wattle. Stitching to come.

Printing

I have started to print a couple of sun dyed pieces. Not sure if I am totally happy with the results yet so will assess and see if adding more will satisfy the design.

Experimenting

I am experimenting with eco dyeing. First step was the layering of cotton and silk fabrics with eucalypt leaves and small flower pods. The long plastic boxes that I had previously used for rusting have come in handy here.

I wet the layered bundle with a vinegar/water solution and weighed it down with tiles. I don't know how this will turn out as, at this point I'm not boiling this, just letting the weak Winter sun act on the ingredients.

I also put two pieces in jars with coffee leftovers and some vinegar and placed them in the sun.

 

Indigo

I am not an experienced indigo dyer or stitcher, but am pleased enough with these pieces of cotton and can see possibilities.

Ali George runs indigo dyeing workshops and it was her vat these pieces were dipped in.

Clean up cloth

This cloth piece first when through a natural dye bath, but the results were not spectacular, so it was put back into the stash. Needing a backing piece for the latest quilt, it came out again. After stencilling the background of the quilt, I used this as the clean up cloth and loved the result- gold shimmer and some blue. The background colour is a pale yellow but is not showing in these photos.

 

Eco cloth

I have a few pieces of silk I dyed with Kirsten Ingemar at Brunswich Heads a few years ago. Funny how some things sit around for ages before being transformed into a quilt.

Grevillea were wrapped in another piece and I have combined the 2 pieces for the quilt. Machine stitched around the outlines and now hand stitching to follow.

Thanks for the comments on my clean cutting table. I can report that it is no longer without clutter.
 

Yellow

This will be a background for another quilt. I'm trying to complete my deadlines with time to spare!

 

Sun prints

This is a great technique and perfect for my expression of Seduced by the Imperfect. While the fabric is saturated with the wet dye, place your objects on it and wait for the fabric to dry and the magic to be revealed.

 

Golden Textures

I have been selected as one of the exhibiting artists for Golden Textures in Maryborough Victoria at the Central Goldfields Art Gallery. The exhibition will run from February 21- April 5 2015. My  series is titled Seduced by the Imperfect and I'm excited to be making these new works.

A week or two ago it was very sunny and still enough to begin the dye process outside in my small backyard. Love this palm frond shadow- an idea for future work?

My colour palette is muted grey at this point so I was aiming for various effects with the dye. I am not using procion dyes for this as they are very water intensive and instead have found instant gratification with the Kraftkolour sun dyes made in Australia.

Pegs and beach pebbles help keep my fabric in position while the dyes work and dry.

And  a bit of shadow play while waiting!