Swim Fish Swim, into Indigo waters swim...

Ah Indigo, how I love thee. Let me count the ways...No but seriously, I really love working with Indigo, I think it is my favorite dye at this point. A very sweet mama had contacted me a little while back inquiring about transforming her Tussah Silk Fish into an Indigo'd TSF. I had just finished working on a Natty linen and Natty silk indios, so I said sure why not, my vat was already ready...
Now my Indigo dye jobs are not solid or even like can be achieved with procion fiber reactive dyes. I prefer a mottled watercolor effect, which I achieve with multiple dips. I don't start with an intense vat, I start off light, and build color and layers over the course of a few days.
Here is TSF in its natty state...a perfect canvas for color.

 First bath...

 See the little fish?

 Second bath...

 Here you can see the steam rising...and the oxidation on the surface...Indigo is awesome.

 Hi fishies!

So after each layer, I emailed her with progress pictures. She was thrilled each time, but wanted the colors a little deeper, a little darker. After my vat has sat for a while, it needs to be refreshed. This consists of adding more "stuff" and bringing it up to a boil...

 Again you can see the steam rising, and the depth of color building...

So over the course of a few days, and many many rinses...I felt it was ready...I emailed her the pictures and waited...anxiously as I always do, for approval. 

She said she was thrilled!! and asked if it were possible for an action picture...Ya sure, we were about to have a playdate anyway! And for full disclosure, these are not my bewbs, giggle.

Tussah silk fish has swum off to its new home. It was a really fun dyeing adventure. And I'm thrilled with the results!

Pink Silk

Just those 2 words alone are drool worthy. Pink Silk. mmm. You'll notice a theme with me, I like Pink...and I like silk...But anyway...This time I'm sharing my adventure with the Didymos Pink Silk Mille. A gorgeous, soft pale peachy pink cotton and silk blend wrap. I had owned this colorway a while back, and always loved it, but let it go to fund something else. I purchased another pink silk mille a little while back and was pondering a make over for it. Not a fan of peach...

so into the pot it went...and its transformation had me eagerly anticipating...so much you can do with silk. Acid dyes, procion dyes used as acid dyes...a combination of both...and the colors...I've seen PSM blue, and green and gray...Gorgeous every time...

well, it wasn't peach any longer...

 Here it was hanging to dry after a combination of acid and procion dyes. Eep!

And the finished wrap! This beauty just made its way to OZ...

I will definitely be experimenting with procion on silk again! 

Rainbows, part 2 on Bebina Natur ala Snow Rainbow

Ok, a sneak peak for you...Bebina Natur is in the wash with synthrapol again...The yellow is perfect, need to add another layer of orange...and a deeper red. This rainbow is inspired by my pal who created Snow Rainbow.

So here we go, a few days later, a few more layers of color...Its really beginning to look like a rainbow! 

more to come in the next few days!

Being the Virgo perfectionist I am, its very hard for me to say ok its done...But I've continued to work on this rainbow for the past few days, adding layers of color...At this point, its about as perfect as its going to get...or is it...

 Its a little stripier than I'd like...still working on perfecting my technique. But honestly, the stripes don't show while being worn, and some people don't even mind a stripey look...

 Haha my ds always wants to participate...

So here it is, in its colorful goodness. 

Dreaming of Rainbows

For the past few weeks I had been trying to trouble shoot a rainbow grad on a long piece of cloth...I've read the tutorials, talked to other dye artists, but it was all so nebulous...most techniques I read about seem this way to me at first...I see the words on the page, but until I actually attempt it myself, it reads like gobbledygook...A language I was never particularly fond of anyway...
So I got my hands on a lovely natty wrap, a Bebina Natur. Wow. One word: Awesome. The only Bebina I had tried in the past was the purple honeycomb, and I didn't care for it. But this...I can't wait to show you some pics...

In the meantime, I can share the first rainbow I did. It was a Didymos Natty Silk Indio, version 1 (which I didn't realize until I started dyeing it, oops), slingified by Kalea Baby. I used Jacquard Acid Dyes on this particular wrap, on my stove top. It was quite an adventure. Not a perfect rainbow, but I was really pleased with my first attempt.
Some pics. I had forgotten to take pictures while applying the yellow, blue and green, but here you can see the results...

 Applying the red

 adding the purple

Wow...it almost resembles a rainbow... 

All in all, I love it! Again, its not perfect, at least, not to my perfectionist eye. But its amazing for my first attempt. Stay tuned for pics of the next rainbow on Bebina Natur...