Only a Few Days Left of 2016

“Everything has to come to an end, sometime.” 
― L. Frank Baum, The Marvelous Land of Oz

A family selfie! Reminds me of a Norman Rockwell!

     What a great Christmas!  Had all the family over for the day....everybody's favorite foods, stockings to laugh about, gifts to share, and games to play!
      My daughter Andrea lives a little farther away so she stayed a few more days with me.  Yesterday we decided to do some dyeing.  Last year she had given me a set of white thread and dyes  to create ones own colors.  I have an ideal place set up for a couple of people to work...my upstairs studio. It took most of the day...what looks like a simple project always turns out to be more than one expects!

       Step one: soak the thread and any fabric to be dyed in a solution of soda ash.

White thread soaking

Step two: mixing up the dyes...concentrate with water using only red, yellow and blue to make all the shades and hues.

Two cups of twelve colors

Pro Chemical paint we used..some dry powder dye came with the kit, but this is what I already had.

Step three: after separating and tying up the thread, it is put in plastic bags and the dye poured over it

Step three: Pouring in the dye (wear those gloves or you will have multi colored hands!)

Step four: squish up the dye into the thread to distribute it evenly

Step five: Creating dyed to match fabric and thread...variegated. Place fabric and a skein of thread on a styrofoam plate and squirt different paints around on them.  Cover with plastic wrap. 

Dyed fabric and plates ready to be dyed.

Plastic wrap covering

We each did 12 plates of fabric and thread

      So by this time it is late afternoon....time to clean up as the dye is supposed to sit in the plastic overnight.  We were ready for a little of the vine and heated up a plate of leftovers....often better the second day!