Chinese Whispers

[Lois B.]

Sorry, think I'm seeing double today :shock: :shock:

[Maureen A.]

That does seem like a tough picture to start from. And what a huge difference at the end! The last looks like whole cloth quilt with waves and a sun quilted on it.

I've been working on my reels quilt. I have the applique pieces all ironed on and now I am stitching them all down.

Today we went to Newmarket for their open day. We went to a couple stables and saw the horses, the horse racing museum and to Rowley Mile race track to look around. Unfortunately it was cold and wet today. Still a nice day out.

Lorna

Lorna, the one before the last quilt was Storm at Sea so the maker of the last one thought there was obviously sea in it somewhere and made her quilt as a hand dyed Wholecloth Stormy sea with lots of hand stitched texture. I don't know how the sea got into it but that came in near the beginning in the second quilt :!: :!: :!: There was even an underwater scene with lots of fish and one with Jellyfish :roll: :roll: :!: :!:

[Maureen A.]

Well...passing the time this weekend wishing for smoke-free skies and perhaps a bit of wind and rain...wind
to blow the smoke away! and rain to help dampen down the fires. It has been UGLY...and I know..we aren't
alone in this....our worst came express from central Washington ! AND we are getting a break today...cool
with a few sprinkles....smells wonderful!! Windows are open and housecleaning a bit.... rather be sewing !
Here's sun setting a couple of nites ago ! the day before we couldn't see the sun at all !

Marilyn, I am glad the weather is improving. In Scotland we can't perceive on fires that large, it is much too wet here for that. Only on the moors and glens in a really hot summer there is a chance of fires but we haven’t had a hot summer in I don’t know how long. Must be scary especially if it is coming near your property

[Maureen A.]

[quote="loise98"]It is so much fun to see the difference from start to finish with the Chinese Whispher quilts. As I look at the beginning of this thread and the rules it refers to the photo as "the photo used for inspiration". So I am assuming your quilt is merely that what you are inspired to do first from the photo and then from the quilt you recieve. I wonder how I will be inspired. I hope I am not stumped./quote]

That is correct Lois, I have to take inspiration from the photograph they send me. Then everyone else gets inspired from the quilt they receive. I am getting a bit scared now about receiving the photo and getting quilters block

[Maureen A.]

Sounds like everybody is staying busy. DH was home for 6 days, after 9 weeks being at work, gone again for a couple of weeks. He'll be back next Wednesday for another week and after that it'll be back to his "normal" 2 weeks on, 2 weeks off schedule! (happy dance here). Slowly been finishing the extra blocks for the sampler and getting ready to put the inner borders and sashing. Slowly also working on a couple of other projects, watching some TQS videos and the new class on fusing. Dyed 7 more yards of fabric. I needed to use some leftover dye I'd kept in the refrigerator in sealed canning jars. It turned aout beautiful, if I may say so myself. There was one yard where I was trying to make a "variegated" sky kind of thing so, I used purple and orange. :shock: :shock: :shock: when I was ready to rinse it looked awful. But, oh! Surprise! Is actually my favorite fabric from this batch, it turned out into some great burgundy, peach, with some hints of green, yellow and blue, almost like a red maple forest at fall time with some sunshine and sky picking thru (hope this makes sense) :wink:

Here are a couple of photos.

Full yard- looks "purplier" in the photo, more burgundy in person.


Close up - 6" x 12"

Love your dyed fabric Limbania, love the colours. I absolutely love to dye fabric but I am afraid to say that I hoard them, as I don't want to cut into them, as they are all unique pieces. They are just for stroking :lol: :lol: :lol: I have dyed some multicolour pieces to put in with my indigo pieced pieces to lift them as blue can be very uninspiring. I am using the dyed fabric as zingers.

[wendy w.]

I'd like to try dyeing as well Terrie so if you find the threads let me know. I'll probably do painting dye first as I've not really got any area to set up for creating a glorious mess. Yours are beautiful Limbania.

Maureen you've got another week so don't start getting anxious yet

[wendy w.]

I found one called :
Fabric Dyeing and Painting, with many different subtopics. It seems a broad field! Ice dyeing, sky dyeing, bleach 'dyeing' what kind of fabrics to use, Like many things, it's often trial and error,to see what best suits you. I'm going to put it on my 'list' :lol: LOL Although it may bump something else hat's been on there for a while, as I find a am slowing loosening up.

[wendy w.]

I've a feeling it's one of those things that's best done in a class with a teacher to ask lots of questions.

[wendy w.]

Probably messy... :roll:

[wendy w.]

Dyeing - easiest fabric to use is 100% cotton, doesn't need lots of technical equipment - you can use ziplock bags and a packet or 2 of Dylon & salt. A large tray/roasting tin to stack the bags in is sensible. Chuck it & duck technique works great, if you want a more even finish keep agitating the fabric in the dye solution for 15-30 minutes (you don't need to put your hands in the dye, just massage the fabric through the plastic bag) Or you could get technical and do fancy pleating/stitching/tying or clamping before you toss the fabric in the dye bath(bag). The hardest part is the waiting - ie leaving it to soak in a few hours, and then leaving it in the rinse water for a couple of days (recommended for the avoidance of bleeding!), before drying & ironing - always a wonderful part.

As Maureen says it can be tricky to bring yourself to cut into them sometimes because they are unique each and every one 8)

Here is an idea - how about we all dye up some fabric, and then send it to someone else to cut into and make up and then get it sent back to the original dyer? or is that just getting too ambitious?

[Maureen A.]

I've a feeling it's one of those things that's best done in a class with a teacher to ask lots of questions.

Wendy, I do my own dyeing in the kitchen in the winter and the garage in the summer. In the kitchen I make sure there is plenty of plastic sheets and towels around the area. All the utensils like jugs, spoons and measuring tools are only used for dyeing. I get my Procion dyes from Kemtex in Chorley (Stuart is very helpful, and PFD (Prepared for Dyeing) cotton from Whaley’s in Bradford. I use one called Delphina in section C but any 100% cotton is fine even Asda 100% cotton sheets. These are both in the UK. You can get dye kits lots of places like Rainbow Silks, just google it.

It is messy at the start but once you do it you learn not to make a mess. I did a few courses on dyeing on Quilt University years ago and learned a lot and had to buy my fabric from the USA as I did not know of Whaley's. Books help but actually doing it is much better. We hold classes in dyeing at the Studio (part of the LLQS) a lot of times and we get groups from all over the place coming for a few days at a time, as there is a Premier Inn nearby. Email me if you want to know more.

[Norma H.]

Thank you, Maureen, for providing the links for fabric in UK. I know Rainbow Silks but not the others. It's quite a bit cheaper if you can get the things in Europe

[Norma H.]

Rosemary - another brilliant idea! :idea: :idea: I'm in for swapping dyed fabrics. :lol: That will give me the motivation and then we could all make something with all the dyed fabric. How about a FQ for each person?

Technical question: Does 'dyed fabric" become "batik", because it is hand-dyed? See how much I hafta learn?

[wendy w.]

No idea but like the idea of a fabric swap as well Terrie that will make me get started, I'll exchange with you.

Thank you for the tips people. I remember some of what you said to me at Harrogate Rosemary so I'm going to get some dylon and raid Asda to get me started and will probably get a friend or two to play too.

[wendy w.]

Oh dear my finger slipped and I seem to have ordered some Pebeo Setacolour discovery pack from Rainbow Silks. ops:

I saw Deborah O'Hare at FOQ and she recommended these and has tutorials on her website.