'Wot RoTT' exchange

[Lois B.]

Rita, when I was getting started into "my dyeing journey" I researched the topic of tea dyeing, online. I ended up using fiber reactive dyes, since tea or coffee dyeing/staining is semi-permanent and the acid in them will degrade the fabrics. The link bellow has some good information about it. Hope it helps.

http://www.marthabeth.com/dye.html

Thank you for posting those photos. I have not even a tiny :idea: on how am I going to set the reels for my quilt. Looking at photos of quilts with reels should spark some inspiration to get me going.

[Rita C.]

Limbania, thanks for the information. I wonder would salt neutralize the acid? I never did science in school so nothing about such matters. I will have to think again. Thanks.

[Rita C.]

Pretty colors! THanks for sharing. I hope it earns the guild lots of money. I have been so busy entertaining family that have come to visit and catching up on UFOs that I have not started my Reels quilt. My goal when I moved here was to use up what I have in my stash and not buy new fabric. So we'll see how that works out.

Lorna

I take it that that excludes all the green fqs I saw you buying :wink: :lol:

[Lorna B.]

Pretty colors! THanks for sharing. I hope it earns the guild lots of money. I have been so busy entertaining family that have come to visit and catching up on UFOs that I have not started my Reels quilt. My goal when I moved here was to use up what I have in my stash and not buy new fabric. So we'll see how that works out.

Lorna

I take it that that excludes all the green fqs I saw you buying :wink: :lol:

You couldn't expect me to go cold turkey, could you!? :shock: Old habits are hard to break, so yes, the one allowance I have made is to buy a green fat quarter from each show or shop I visit while living here. Not sure why I picked green except everything is so darn green here (year round!). Especially compared to San Antonio, Texas, where I just moved from, or southern California where I grew up. I love it!

Lorna

[Lorna B.]

Limbania, thanks for the information. I wonder would salt neutralize the acid? I never did science in school so nothing about such matters. I will have to think again. Thanks.

Salt will help to set the dye to the fabric, but not neutralize it.

To neutralize an acid you need something which is alkali - sodium bicarbonate/bicabonate of soda (same stuff) will do (just phoned my Mum to check, she is a chemist 8) )

I have absolutely not idea as to quantities needed, but gardeners are able to buy little PH sets to check the acid/akali state of their soil, if you were really bothered, you could get one of those to check your results of your test swatches.

Or you could just say 'Since I won't be around in 50 years time, what the heck' and go for it. :lol:

[Rita C.]

Thanks Rosemary (and your mother). That's just great to know that bicarb of soda will work. I will give it a try so. Not too worried about what happens to my quilts in 50 years time as I doubt I will still be around, and even if I am I will probably be very gaga!

[Roseanne M.]

Here's my 2 cents worth:

Rita, love those reel settings! Regarding tea dyeing, found info here:
http://www.quilt.com/FAQS/TeaDyingFAQ.html
(Scroll down to part about tannic acid...Barbara Backman recommends not using tea, rather tan dye for the look you want.)

Lois, there is info here about the fires:
http://wildfiretoday.com/
Looks like things are under better control & some areas even got a little rain.
Hope all is well with Bren!

Lorna, I can relate to "finish it, use it up!" lol, that's the title of my blog!

p.s. looks like I'm slow in posting this as several more comments have been made! I have used vinegar to stop the discharge
process when bleaching fabric, but have not used it with tea dyeing. And you never know about the quilts being around for a long time!

[Rita C.]

Just thought that I would say that I started working on my spools quilt today. Got 16 blocks done. Still not certain how it will eventually be put together but I decided to go ahead and make the basic blocks anyway. It's turning out very colourful. I had thought of using all the same fabric for the spool tops and bottoms but it was too dull so I am using a few different fabrics for them.

Work in progress photo:

Not great light in the photo, it's late at night here. Off to bed now, g'night.

[Roseanne M.]

Rita,
Looks super!
Sweet dreams.

[Renata L.]

Colorful it is! What a great idea to start this now... my default plan was Edyta Sytar's quilt... hmmm... so I could start and worry about whether I will do her border or something else later. Thanks for the brilliant idea and for sharing, Rita!

Codladh sámh!

[Margo C.]

Luv it, Rita!!

[Robyn B.]

I think that's very pretty!

[Robyn B.]

Looks awesome Rita!! I never considered different colors for the spool ends! I was stuck on either a brown or another dark... but you have inspired me to step out of the box!!

Oh, and I think I see one of my turquoise reels on the lower right side!! How fun!!

[Robyn B.]

Great looking spools, Rita.
Looks like I see my "yellow" reel on the top right.

Looks like a great job on your spools.

Margarita

[Jane R.]

Rita,
Your quilt will be extraordinary when finished...thanks for sharing.