New Fabric and a New (Old) Singer

I've dyed some new fabrics a while back, I was looking for a certain shade of green I'd seen in a magazine and played around some to see if I could come close.  This one has some beautiful subtle textures that I think are very pleasing.  Wet procion colors look very different after they've washed and dried, so getting a true color match is tricky business.

I also tried out a very interesting dying technique that is designed to give a very smooth transition between colors and was really pleased with how it turned out.

I tried this one with four colors and two plys of fabric, so I now have two pieces that look like this.  I've already cut into this for a new quilt project, what a TREAT!

A whole bunch of greens and fuchsias in a variety of intensities and hues:

And also some blue/purples to go along.  These are much more nuanced colors than my early procion work.  I had an art school professor that would tell us that an artist shouldn't use a color straight out of the tube, "Make it your own!"  He would have been talking of oils or acrylics but it applies to procion dyes.  Of course I'm not going to mix every single color just because an old professor said I must, but I respect the opinion that colors should be "owned."  Sometimes they just don't need tweaking, and I'm running out of some of my favorite colors in the early batches, so I'll be back into this again soon enough.

I finally learned my lesson, I bought a box of disposable gloves for use when dying. It took about two weeks for my hands to lose their acquired colors last time I dyed (actually, don't look too close under my fingernails!!) I looked like an auto mechanic!  And this time I remained unscathed. It took me a while, but I learned my lesson. 

Soon I'll be sharing photos of my new quilt project.  I'm past the most intense part of Christmas production and ready for winter activities like cooking and keeping a fire in the wood stove and sewing.  Oh, and I was given another old Singer sewing machine today, this one doesn't have a presser foot and I haven't gotten it to work properly yet.  I'm up to four old sewing machines now, just hoping Studio B doesn't become a home for tired old Singers... though maybe if I keep them upstairs with the piano then we'll all be happy.  =)

Thanks for dropping by my blog!
With love from a tired old singer, sewer, and dyer,
-Carmen Rose