Iced Dying: How to Use the Fabric!

At this point I have an enormous stash of Iced Dyed fabrics! Many of the fabrics are bold and wild so using them in a piece of art takes a little thought.... how to highlight the fabrics without being overpowering?!

I came up with the below idea as a very simple way to showcase some of my favorite Ice Dyed fabrics. I have another design in mind for my next piece and can't wait to get started!

"Iced Delight"
4' X 4'
mounted on stretchers

How have you incorporated your Ice Dyed fabrics into a design?

Confetti Dying with Rob!

I had the absolute pleasure of spending time with one of my son's recently and we pulled out the dyes for some fun! I showed him the Confetti Dying method and he was off an running putting his own twist into the technique.

Below are his results:

Rob added more dye than I typically do and I liked the results. The colors were deep and strong... so cool to see another person's approach!

Rob's second piece was wild! The bright green dye was added late and applied thick creating this fun pop of lightness on top of the sage green he added first.



I'd love to see your results... who has given Confetti dying a try?! 

Framed Fiber Art

I just got two pieces of my felted art work back from the framer. I'm always thrilled to see how the act of framing changes the feel of a fiber piece. I've been pleasantly surprised at the quality of the framing department in JoAnn's stores. The below two pieces will be displayed at an upcoming solo exhibit at the Kent Memorial Library this November and December.

Basket of Poesies

Basket of Poesies was created by felting wool roving.
I added machine quilting and embroidery for added interest.

Felted Fall

Felted Fall has a number of fabrics and fibers included.
The leaf was created by felting wool roving, the leaf is attached to a piece of silk
and the background is on textured linen.
The mat is also textured tying the elements together.

Fiber Art - Finding Balance

I've had a love for stone carins ever since I started hiking in the White Mountains as a child. When you're up above the treeline the stone carins are placed like sentinels guiding the way when visibility is poor. It's customary to add a stone to each carin as you hike by and I've taken that custom to heart. I built a good size carin in my garden with friends and family bringing stones from their adventures to add to the carin.

I recently started adding smaller stone sculptures to my gardens creating little whimsical structures all predicated on the natural balance of stacking stones. There is something about the smooth stones balancing on top of each other with no additional support that I find peaceful and orderly. I'm planning a series of fiber wall hangings using the idea of balance as the subject.

 Below is my first completed piece titled

 Finding Balance

24" X 20"

The piece is created using my own line of fabrics including
a hand painted piece with ferns stamped on it.

Purple Stone Sculpture  - Detail

Norfolk Artisans Guild - September & October!

Stop in to shop for table runners and pillows created from vintage fabrics! My work will be at the Norfolk Artisans Guild during the months of September and October!

The guild has works from many local artists on display and well worth the trip to beautiful Norfolk in early fall.

Table Runners using vintage and reproduction fabrics

Pillows combining vintage and reproduction fabrics plus an antique hankie for fun

Not all the table runners are vintage 
 This piece combines my hand dyed fabric with needle felting

"Sisters" will be available
Hand painted fabric, applique, embroidery and quilting techniques
27.5" X 13"

"July Garden" is available
Felting, embroidery and quilting techniques
18.5 X 15.5"



Dying Fabric - Confetti Technique

Although I only had one free day this weekend I managed to find time to play around with the Confetti Dying technique! It was a nice day so I was able to work outside and free to spray and splash as I pleased. I did end up with interesting speckled feet though as I manipulated and hug the dripping fabric! 

I used two finishing methods once I sprinkled the dye powder across the surface of the fabric. I either kept the fabric laying flat or hung the fabric before spraying. Below are my results... such fun! Please let me know if you give the technique a try ~ I'd love to see your results.

See how many other colors are needed to create the color green. This technique allows the individual color molecules to stand alone rather than blend together.

All of these pieces were created by hanging the fabric
and spraying with soda ash and water.

This is piece uses only lavender; again the individual colors are pulled out. The lines were created by spraying in one direction and then turning the fabric to allow the dye to drip in another direction.

More fabrics hung and then sprayed.

These final two pieces use the Confetti Dying technique but rather than hanging the fabric I left it flat, sprayed and scrunched!

Fabric Dying: Ice + Confetti = A Unique Workshop

The Connecticut Fiber Arts Collective or CFAC got together for our August meeting by having Carol Ludington join us for a demonstration of her iced dying technique. Carol shared tips she first outlined in Quilting Arts Magazine. Carol demonstrated how to layer the ice and ways to fold and manipulate the fabric for creating her "signature" look! Once our fabric was folded, powdered and layered into the ice we switched gears to try Confetti Dying. Barb Adams asked why it was called "confetti dying" and although it sounds silly that's just the name I gave it when I saw the results; it looked like confetti splayed across the fabric. It's a messy process but we all wore our "finest" dying outfits allowing us to jump in and have fun! It was an extremely hot day so as we were cooling off over a lovely pot luck lunch Diane Wright shared her journal bowls; coincidentally also featured in Quilting Arts Magazine. Diane brought 3 of her gorgeous journal bowls and explained how the concept evolved. Diane and her hubby travel extensively and each unique item has a personal story adding to it's treasured memory.

Have you ever participated in a "dying" workshop? If so please share your thoughts and experience! Below are photos to show what fun you can have when a group of artists get together for a "play day"!

Carol Ludington explaining her fabric folding techniques with Karen Loprete, Mary Lachman and Barb Adams looking on.

Mary Lachman with her line up of iced dying buckets!

Barb Adams and Diane Wright adding dye powder to the iced fabric.

Karen Loprete contemplates her first Confetti Dying piece while Roz Spann and Diane Wright discuss their next move!

Carol Vinick is beginning to add dye powder to her fabric using a mesh sink strainer for even disbursement!

Carol Ludington sprays a soda ash and water mixture onto her fabric which gets the dye powder mixing and moving.

Mary Lachman sprays her fabric and went for the direct "spray" vs. "mist" technique... "it's more fun this way" she said!

Carol Vinick developed a new technique with fantastic results! After spraying her fabric she took another "clean" piece of fabric and pressed it against the dyed piece. Next Carol brushed her hands across the fabric creating a bond which allowed the "clean" piece of fabric to suck up the excess dye; it came out beautifully and I can't wait to try it myself!

Diane Wright's piece after spraying with soda ash and water.

Carol Eaton's iced dying results using the "fan folded" technique; silk to the left and cotton to the right.

Roz Spann's green silk to the left and cotton to the right.