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Fabric Dyeing

Thanks to Anne Peters, she has started to teach me how to dye fabric.  On May 13, she showed me how to bucket dye. This produces an even colour all over the fabric.   I can’t remember the name of the colours right now, but they ended up to be quite similar. 

My first time dyeing fabric
Fabric dye by myself, Bucket Method. Two different reds.

I am excited to get into fabric dyeing.  I have been watching Color By Accident, by Ann Johnston.  She has developed some very interesting techniques that I am planning on using.   She got some very good results and I hope to get something similar.

Anne gave me the following instructions for our first session:

 

I think we can keep to about 1 hour sessions.  After your dye concentrates are mixed up, the sessions will be about 1 hour unless you are dyeing solids or near solids.  Those sessions will be about 1.5 hours and we will add the fixative to your bucket of dye.  Then you stir and stir.
For tray dyeing we will soak the fabric in the soda ash fixative for at least 20 minutes and then we arrange the cloth in the tray and pour over the dye.

Method 1 - dyeing in the bucket.  No waiting time.  You stir for an hour and then remove from the dye bath.  You take the fabric home and rinse it out immediately.
Method 2 - dyeing in the tray.  The fabric and dye must batch for 24 to 48 hours at a nice warm temperature.  Then you take it home and begin rinsing out the dye and soda ash.   

How to wash out the dye:
1. rinse in cold water to remove the soda ash.  Soak in cold water overnight to loosen most of the dye that didn't bond with the fibers.
2.  Keep changing your cold water, agitate,  and soak for several hours until the water is mostly clear of dye.
3.  Change to hot water - as hot as possible and use New Dawn soap.  Agitate and squeeze and after about 5 minutes rinse out with cold water and soak in cold water again.  Never leave your fabric in hot water to soak. 
4.  Keep up the cold soaks and hot water soapy washes until your rinse water is clear of dye.  When in doubt iron your fabric between 2 layers of white cotton.  If any dye is transferred to the white cotton, you have not removed all the dye.  Go back to long cold soaks and then hot washes with soap. Unattached red dye is particularly difficult to remove. 

RCQG Quilt Show 2015 - Gathering of Quilts

Well, I entered 8 quilts into the quilt show (May 1 and 2) Gathering of Quilts 2015 - RCQG. 

Only one quilt won anything, it was however the quilt I was mot proud of and hoped to have done a bit better.   It was my "Torii at Night" Northcott Fabric Challenge piece.  I received Judge 2's Honourable Mention. 

Challenge Piece - Torii at Night quilt by Scott Schau

Here it is as it was hung in the show. 

There are two main things that I think (from judge's comments) it did not do better, first, I did all of the appliqué before I made the quilt samwich, thus they could not see the back of the work and I did not quilt it dense enough on the top half.  Things to remember for next time.  

However, heveryone thinks it is fantastic quilt - I am very happy with how it tuned out.

 

Miranda and Dave - wedding quilt

This quilt I started in 2003 or so and it was a quilt that I had many problems with,  I finally got Creative Sisters to quilt it, just to get it finished.  This was another quilt that made me think about getting my own long arm.  This quilt no longer had a home as the person I was going to give it to is no longer in my life, I then met a wonderful couple Miranda and Dave.  They got married in August of 2014 and I thought it would make a great wedding present.  They loved it and have been told they use it on their bed. 

 I love the colours, the design is just a simple rail fence, with a simple quilting pattern.

Miranda and Dave's Wedding Quilt
Miranda and Dave's Wedding Quilt
Miranda and Dave's Wedding Quilt Back
Miranda and Dave's Wedding Quilt Back

My Mom's Quilt

In 2012, I made a quilt for my mom.  This is one of the quilts that lead me to getting a long arm sewing machine to do my quilting.  The pattern is from Marsha McCloskey’s Quick Classic Quilts – Four-Patch to Feathered Stars.  Burgoyne Surrounded. 

After all the work of cutting and piecing the small bits, I felt odd about handing it off to someone else (in this case it was Creative Sisters in Waterloo) to quilt it.  While they did a great job and I love the pattern used, it was just not done by me and I thought, if I were to enter any quilts into a show, I would need to do the quilting on my own.  

Mom's Quilt - Burgoyne Surrounded
Mom's Quilt - Burgoyne Surrounded - In Quick Classic Quilts by Marsha McCloskey
Mom's Quilt - Burgoyne Surrounded - In Quick Classic Quilts by Marsha McCloskey
Mom's Quilt - Burgoyne Surrounded - In Quick Classic Quilts by Marsha McCloskey

Working on website and blogs

I am working on setting up my website for my business and personal.  I  have scottschau.ca and quiltsbyscott.ca – was using scottschau.ca as my business site, but thought I should move it to quiltsbyscott.ca and then redirect scottschau.ca to there.  

Will have to work to get some pictures of my work posted.  If anyone has suggestions on how to make my sites better let me know.

 

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