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!