I've finished "Luna y Tierra," the yellow and blue piece, and I'm pleased with it. Plus, doing the handwork was just a joy. I've been reading Helen Parrott's book Mark Making, which shows a lot of interesting ways to use hand stitching as well as machine work--so I think I'll use this avocado-dyed cotton with some of my greens and maybe some of the lemon-yellow linen I found in the Goodwill in Portland (2.5 yards of 60" fabric for $6.00!) and make a bunch of fruity-toned blocks, and then just go nuts with thread and some of the yarn I bought in Tillamook. Sounds like a plan!
When my dyeing friend Pam visited, we chopped up a bunch of avocado pits and put them in glass jars with water and ammonia and some bunched up white cloth. We had tried avocado a couple of times before with disappointing results, obtaining only a wimpy apricot color on cotton, but this time we were determined to give it our best try. I made sure to fold the cloth around the pit pieces, figuring that would give some nice darker blotches, and the jars sat on my patio for over a month. I'd go out and shake them, roll them around, set them upside down every few days. Pam said we might get good results if part of the cloth was exposed to the air, not always submerged in the dyebath, so I made sure that happened. Today I emptied the jars and hung the cloth to dry without rinsing. Here it is on the lines outside my garage. Here's a closeup of the lower right piece, with some of the avocado crumbs still on it. I was pretty hopeful that most of the color would remain after washing. It took only an hour or so to dry (we're having a lovely fall day), and then I washed it all by hand, rinsed till the water was clear, and hung it out to dry again. Of course, quite a lot of pigment washed out, but it retained a nice earthy pinky brown color. So now, what to do?
I've finished "Luna y Tierra," the yellow and blue piece, and I'm pleased with it. Plus, doing the handwork was just a joy. I've been reading Helen Parrott's book Mark Making, which shows a lot of interesting ways to use hand stitching as well as machine work--so I think I'll use this avocado-dyed cotton with some of my greens and maybe some of the lemon-yellow linen I found in the Goodwill in Portland (2.5 yards of 60" fabric for $6.00!) and make a bunch of fruity-toned blocks, and then just go nuts with thread and some of the yarn I bought in Tillamook. Sounds like a plan!
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AuthorBobbe Shapiro Nolan, Fiber Artist in Eagle Lake, TX. Trying to learn to call the sewing room my studio, and myself an artist. I retired after 15 years in hospice nursing--so now I have the time!. Archives
July 2021
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