Virtual Retreat Aug thru Dec 2015 Info on first post

[Judith A.]

Luann,
Your dyebaths are looking good!
I spent the last 2 days trying to tie-dye tee-shirts for my grandsons. They ended up with too much white, so I am in the middle of redoing the whole project over again. I was way too exhausted afterwards to haul them up from the basement to batch in my warm kitchen. I left them on top of the dryer downstairs with an electric blanket on top of them. I also dried a few loads of laundry underneath them. Will see how this works. Pictures to come.

Judith

[Judith A.]

Karen,

Yes I was very tired last night. But my arms ached so that I didn't fall asleep until after 1am. The glitch that happened along the way- a styrofoam container that I was using for the hot water soaking of the first 18, decided it wanted no part of what I was doing! It sprung a leak and I had 'red' water all over the heavy duty area rug it was sitting on. Ugh!! The rug is on the porch, and those first pieces are in for a thorough washing now. The rinse water was running clear after that overnight soak, so I'm confident that residual exhausted dye is out.

And this morning another 'event to deal with', my ice maker quite, again, during the night. Just had it fixed replaced at the beginning of the month,,, I'm sure this will be warranty work!!!

Luann

[karen f.]

Yikes! Red rug, no ice what next?

[karen f.]

Luann,
Your dyebaths are looking good!
I spent the last 2 days trying to tie-dye tee-shirts for my grandsons. They ended up with too much white, so I am in the middle of redoing the whole project over again. I was way too exhausted afterwards to haul them up from the basement to batch in my warm kitchen. I left them on top of the dryer downstairs with an electric blanket on top of them. I also dried a few loads of laundry underneath them. Will see how this works. Pictures to come.

Judith

Judith,
The three things needed for dyeing are heat, moisture, and time. Many say that the more heat, up to a point, the less time it takes to thoroughly exhaust the dyes. When I first started I would leave them to batch for 2 days minimum. That's what I was told and that's what I did. Lately I've allowed my impulsive nature to get the better of me, and I've been paying the price! Changing back to a longer process is not easy, but that's what I'm going to do. The results have been better already, even though that batching was for 24 hours, next on gets 48+ hours for the batching process! But it's so hard to wait,,,,
Luann

[karen f.]

Wow Luann!!! That's a bummer hmy: red rug, no ice hmy: I am now soaking the fabric I dyed in the second boiling water bath....I am doing them all together, because I really want to see if there is any bleeding at all, and this is my experimental batch (ie the first one :P )
Marianne....love your quilting, what a great idea
Judith...are you re-dyeing the same shirts, or starting with new ones?
Dorothy

[karen f.]

Wow Luann!!! That's a bummer hmy: red rug, no ice hmy: I am now soaking the fabric I dyed in the second boiling water bath....I am doing them all together, because I really want to see if there is any bleeding at all, and this is my experimental batch (ie the first one :P )
Marianne....love your quilting, what a great idea
Judith...are you re-dyeing the same color, or over dyeing?
Dorothy

[karen f.]

Don't put the top on your picnic chest when batching fabric in it. I just took mine off and found that condensation was on the inside of the lid! Doesn't sound like a problem, but when I wiped it with a paper towel, I have lovely streaks of color on the paper. So, little tiny particles of dye go with the condensation droplets and could drip back down into a different little cup and change your outcome.

Man o man, I just keep learning ! Hope this saves you any possible headache.

Luann

[karen f.]

Wow Luann!!! That's a bummer hmy: red rug, no ice hmy: I am now soaking the fabric I dyed in the second boiling water bath....I am doing them all together, because I really want to see if there is any bleeding at all, and this is my experimental batch (ie the first one :P )
Marianne....love your quilting, what a great idea
Judith...are you re-dyeing the same color, or over dyeing?
Dorothy

The most upsetting thing about the rug was, my hubby had gone to the kitchen just before I found it and never said a word to me!! I think he figured I had spilled and didn't want to be picky, but that much water and red, should have been an indication of a larger problem. Not that I never spill, but dye? That would get cleaned up immediately. Oh, well, men!! LOL, cuz that's about all I can do at the moment.

Actually, I'm already planning my next dyeing experiment! You just can't get me to give up.

Luann

[karen f.]

didn't mean to post twice, but couldn't delete the first one ops:

[karen f.]

Wow Luann!!! That's a bummer hmy: red rug, no ice hmy: I am now soaking the fabric I dyed in the second boiling water bath....I am doing them all together, because I really want to see if there is any bleeding at all, and this is my experimental batch (ie the first one :P )
Marianne....love your quilting, what a great idea
Judith...are you re-dyeing the same color, or over dyeing?
Dorothy

The most upsetting thing about the rug was, my hubby had gone to the kitchen just before I found it and never said a word to me!! I think he figured I had spilled and didn't want to be picky, but that much water and red, should have been an indication of a larger problem. Not that I never spill, but dye? That would get cleaned up immediately. Oh, well, men!! LOL, cuz that's about all I can do at the moment.
Actually, I'm already planning my next dyeing experiment! You just can't get me to give up.

Luann

AAAggghhh men :blink: what are ya gonna do LOL! I love experimenting, and can't wait until I get to do some more Gotta wait 'til company is gone though :side: :P
Dorothy

[Geneva C.]

LuAnn, Those buckets of color make my heart sing! You sure have your job cut out for you!

All you dyeing ladies are impressive. hmy: Keep up the good work!

And I hope your red rug turns out ok.

geneva

[Geneva C.]

I haven't commented in a while, but I'm, trying to keep up with the posts. Thanks for keeping me entertained - LuAnn! I hope to see something quilty from all those fabrics soon(ish)!

I'm learning lots here. I only had one attempt at trying to dye fabric and it ended up a yucky grey. I was trying 'natural' products like wine and blueberry. I suppose I'd have needed something to 'set' the colours.

Keep it up!

[wendy w.]

Those pots of dyed fabric are wonderful. Shame about the rug, my husbands like a hawk when I'm dyeing. In fact I'm forbidden at the moment. However, at a group I attended this afternoon we made silk scarves in an hour - eat your heart out Luann :lol:

[wendy w.]

Wendy,
Did you want my address? I mean, how else will you know where to send my scarf?? It is beautiful. Did you use a microwave to get the heat factor?

And just so YOU can eat your heart out,,,




The first 18 pieces! They turned out beautifully intense, with lots of texture created by doing low water immersion. For me it will be longer batching, warmer temps during the batching and that prolonged hot water soak during the wash out process. I think these definitely will encourage me to take my time.
Thanks to everyone for listening to my dilemma filled moments!
PS I told my husband he needs to take that rug out to the driveway and see if he can hose out the red color. We'll see if he does it or not,,,

Luann

[wendy w.]

Oh my! Oh my! Oh my! Delicious delightful fabrics - LuAnne, I love the colours!
Wendy - I'm impressed. The scarf is beautiful.

You gals are drawing me in to dyeing. I do have a friend who works a lot with Indigo, but I've been too busy to take her up on her recent offer to 'show me the ropes'. Sigh.

Now, back to the mystery work....