A Scarf in the Breeze

New scarves freshly dyed last week. There are my favorite three, that middle one with all the color grew on me. I wore it to church and hubby snapped a photo of me wearing it which you can see top right on the side bar.
***
These are more muted colors in a cut satin style, very rich and wintry looking. Gotta love that 10 inch fringe, sooo pretty! Devore Satin Scarves, 14x72, $49
A few more cut satin scarves in a rayon/silk blend. There are all roughly 14 x 72, perfect size and shape to be worn in a variety of ways! Devore Satin Scarves, 14x72, $49
***
These are some cut velvet styles, the middle one is a really rich combination of olive, chocolate and charcoal colors with a little of this and that color showing here and there. Cut velvet, 14x72, $45
Oh, look who popped in to say hi, this is Misde. She's my constant companion. Hard to go wrong with these cool colors in a variety of styles: $45 (Dog not for sale)
***
100% silk styles in some interesting color combinations. These are really soft and I love how the silk took the dyes. I went for softer colors this time around. 14 x72 inch Habotai silk scarves - $32 each
I love how the light olive one turned out and the rich charcoal with plumy overtones is kinda cool. Click on the photos for a closer look. 100% silk scarves $32 each:
See some of my earlier scarves in brighter colors here.

Thanks for dropping by,
-Carmen Rose

Hand Dyed Scarves

Over the last few days I've been working on dying some scarves for the Christmas season. These are just so yummy!

Cut Velvet scarves, 82% Rayon, 18% Silk, Size: 14x72 inches plus fringe unless otherwise noted.
From the left: Crimson Swirl, Golden Bouquet, Lemon Lime Stripe and Color Blend Leaves. $45 each.
From left: Turquoise Blue leaves, Cerulean Blue Stripes, Jade Green Stripes (and Color Blend Leaves, same as above.) $45 each
These are kind of cool, the design is one color and the background is different. The left scarf is 10x49 and olive/cranberry - $37. The right scarf is a combination of olive and chocolate brown in 14x72 with fringes - $45.
These four scarves are 100% silk, soft and yum yum yummy! The small one is 7x52, $29 without fringe. The left is a color blend of fuchsia, purple, blue and cerulean blue. The next one is fuchsia, orange and purple. The last one is orange, yellow and lime green. The right three are all 14x72 for $45 each. This is my favorite size for a great scarf. I often wear these this time of year wrapped around my neck with both ends free in front, it's a great way to add a splash of color and warmth to any outfit this time of year.

In the old days I would dye up a bunch of these, make earrings to match and I sold LOTS of them for gifts. A great scarf with matching earrings is really a great gift! It is nice to have a great selection to choose from when I leave the house in the morning, these are so fun to wear!

Somewhere over the rainbow...

We’ve been back a little less than a week and I still have not had time to get back into the textile studio. While traveling I did a good bit of hand work quilting with embroidery floss through all seven pieces from the series. I’m also adding a line of hand dyed silk through the series and I’ve got three of the seven of those sewn on. Beyond this point I don’t know what is next. It is an improvisational series, that is certain.

This is "Green" before quilting:

With some machine quilting and some hand work plus the row of silk:

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

This is "Blue" but I'm thinking of it more in terms of "Cyan." This is before quilting: This is what it looks like with machine and hand quilting plus the row of silk.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
This one is Indigo before:
After adding some pieces to make this piece the right size, plus some machine and hand quilting. (The top photo's colors are showing more true than the lower one.) This one also has the row of silk along the horizonal line.

I hope to get back to these soon but I don't get the hand work done very quickly when I'm at home. Being stuck in an auto for hours is the perfect time to do quilting, that or mid winter in front of the fire. But this time of year it just doesn't seem like the work I gravitate toward. It will come.

In the zone

It started with this new chunk of fabric

And then I added a few others, mostly hand dyed with a few commercial ones thrown in.
And I was just minding my own business making something for my kitchen to replace the winter scene that just has to go.

And something really unexpected

started to happen

and I found the flow

and I got lost in the work

and remembered...

why I do what I do.

Yeah.

Quilts in the Sun

The sun came out finally, and I was able to catch a few snaps of these quilts. This red and white quilt is one I worked on all during the musical “Shenandoah Moon.” The red is a reproduction of a vintage red from the 1930’s and the play was set in 1933 so I felt like it was a good fit. There are also ecru parts in the design that are a little harder to see in this photo. I consider it a modified Irish Chain pattern.

I hand quilted it during practices and hemmed it during dress rehearsals between my scenes. I did about half of it by hand and other parts are machine quilted, which may seem a little strange but it actually works quite nicely in person. I will keep it as a reminder of the amazing people I enjoyed getting to know. I would come in to the green room, sit down and quilt, and my new friends would come and keep me company. It was good. The show is over and I miss them.

Baby quilt for Harlen (and Misde, my constant companion)

I used the quilt during the show. I entered folding it a number of times, as if it just came off the laundry line. It turned out to be too much to wrap the baby in, so I never was actually able to use it for its intended purpose but that’s ok. The second to last show it was draped over the porch railing in one scene. By the final show it remained on that porch railing through a number of scenes. I made a rag doll for another scene in the show out of the same fabrics. I think I’ll see that back one of these days, at least I hope so. They said they’d mail it. Thankfully the character that I played is long gone but the quilt remains, along with the memories.

These two small pieces are the first ones to come out of my first experimentation with procion dyes. They are a combination of cotton, silk and linen plus some dyed white on whites and I’m delighted with what the added texture does to the composition though it’s difficult to tell any of that from the photos.

The silks... oh they are soooo pretty! They are not finished, I need to bind them and that should do it unless I decide to add something more but I don't think it's needed at this point. I would like to name them but their mood perplexes me, not sure what all is there emotionally in these two. I was surprised at how somber they looked finished.

Dying for Color

In between all the adventures of the last week or so I dyed some fabric. It was stolen time in between everything else, just me in my studio playing with the things I love best... colors and more colors. I ended up with 22 silks:
24 white on whites, these were an afterthought and just tucked in to containers that already had fabric in dye so they only got the leftover dyes and attention. Some of them actually got some color and others are much softer but they make nice contrast with the vivid ones.

I also came out with 32 cottons; none of them are perfectly solid which makes me happy because I really wanted the hand dyed look. They are completely delicious!

I have 14 multi colored chunks of fabric in a bunch of different color ways. Some of these are really marvelous and I can't wait to sink into them.

I have 20 chunks of a heavy woven linen that took the dye in marvelous swirls and blends. These are so pretty and I even like the frayed thing that started to happen around the edges.

As all of these went through the dryer I also ended up with the most beautiful dryer lint, bet you think I'm joking. I've saved it, it will turn up in something but I don't know what yet.

I need to spend a little time mixing up the colors that are missing in these color ways. It was a good experiment with the 26 ready made procion dyes I was working with, now I need to see what can be done about mixing up the other colors that I would like to finish out the blends.

Plus, I have the seaweed and flowable paints and I'd like to try marbeling some fabric. Sometime soon, but not likely today. I'm still trying to recoup from last week. Seems like I feel every one of my forty years right now. So I am trying to take it easy. But color... nothing restores my soul like color.