Sunday was a good day to dye

9-step gradations.

Yes. 9 steps. I donated my copy of Dyeing to Quilt to a library book sale a few years ago; I did the math a couple of times and came up with 7 or 9 steps every time, never 8...it wasn't until after I lined everything up for the photos that I realized I could have left out the equal-parts mixture, Mixture 0, because it doesn't seem to be visually different than Mixture 1 or Mixture -1.

They're quite mottled, because I stuffed the fabric in 16-oz Solo cups for low-water immersion.

First: Equal ratio of Chocolate Brown (from Dharma) and Golden Yellow. Would be interesting to repeat this gradation with a 1:2 ratio of brown to yellow to get a more subtle shift, or to repeat again with half as much dye powder. Would also be interesting to use a little more liquid and stir more often, to keep the brown from separating into components (the middle pieces have red and green areas).

Second: Equal ratio of Scarlet and Clear Yellow. Again, would be interesting to repeat with a 1:2 ratio, or even a 1:4 ratio of red to yellow. And I could probably leave out the middle three pieces.


Some experimenting...I had big jars of "Bronze" and "Camel" dye that I ordered in 1999 and probably never used. Since dyes change over time, I gave them a test run. When I first pulled them out of the dryer, they weren't very compelling, but after I ironed them, they grew on me. In person, they're not as warm as they appear in the photo, they're greenish. Might do a one-color gradation with either of them, using more liquid and stirring frequently.


Finally, threw half my brown discharged fabric in with the leftover yellows. Better, but these are still throw-away experiments. Who knows what I'll do to them next!


I placed an order for more dyes, and I think I forgot Chocolate Brown, Golden Yellow, and Scarlet (I ordered mostly black and blues). I know I should learn to mix all of those colors from the four primaries, but I like the accidental discovery aspect of it all. And I'm lazy.

I do want to try to get some foresty greens, to go with the brilliant oranges.


Personal bitching: I have no idea how I ended up with such a brutal social life. I've had some mandatory event every night since I got back from Vermont, and this weekend I have to go to Iowa for my nephew's birthday. All I really want to do is dye fabric, now that I have everything set up. There is not enough time to support myself AND have friends and family AND make crappy amateur art. Pick any two.