Tag: indigo dyed quilting cotton

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Indigo Dye Class at Paradigm Gardens!!

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Indigo Dye Class at Paradigm Garden yesterday!  Woohoo!  We had a blast. Check out the different colors.  The indigo dye turns from green to blue.  So beautiful.

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We had super fun.  The students were very experimental and adventurous.

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Check it out.  Lovely stuff.  Most of my pictures still have lots of green in them but the fabric was all blue and white by the time they headed home.IMG_4748

I have more classes coming up soon. The guys are Paradigm are so awesome, they’re letting me stay and dye some more.

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I’m changing the classes up a bit.  No longer will there be a separate 101 and 102 class but just a free for all kind of class.

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I’ll supply some fabric but you can feel free to bring a shirt or something vaguely shirt sized or about a yard or two of fabric.

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Check out that shocked and happy look on her face.  She was very happy with everything she made.

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She was not the only proud dyer that day.

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More details about future dye classes here.

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Two…that’s right, count ’em, TWO classes in one

They didn’t really happen at once but I’m going to post the pictures from them both at once.  They were both awesome and fun and a blast and I loved them.

These are from yesterday.

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It was a private lesson and she was super experimental.  She totally got my whole idea that we’re just playing and you really can’t make any mistakes.

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She came up with a whole new method that looks freaking awesome:

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She also played with the old classics.

image4(19)  image1(18)It was a great day.

But wait, there’s more:

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I ran a class on the weekend which also rocked.  Also chock full of playful people:

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Everything is Awesome!

Everything is cool when you’re part of a team.

Here’s my team member:

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Also, I’m just in a great mood because I dyed twenty four (24!!) napkins today and they were almost all PERFECT!!

Those that weren’t perfect, didn’t really suck.  I also dyed several shirts.  I’M ON FIRE!!!

Actually, I’ve realized that it’s September and summer won’t last forever.  So I’m dyeing ALL THE THINGS!!  CAPSLOCK!!

Here’s a few pictures:

image2(17)These guys were all on the same pole.  The one on the right is still oxidizing.  Here they are later:

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But, wait…there’s more:

image8(9)This is one of the one’s that didn’t work.  The really fully blue one with the tiny white spots, is not supposed to look like that.  I still like it.

image3(17)image4(18)image5(18)image7(10)That’s not all of them.  But I didn’t get all the pictures.  I didn’t have to.  I had all the fun!

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Not everybody sews

You don’t have to sew to play with indigo at my Indigo 101 class.  The next one in coming  right up on Sunday September 13th from 1 – 4 at Paradigm Gardens. You can call them at 608/242-3800 to register.  It’s $85 or $80 if you sign up with a friend.

I serge all of the fabric for my classes.  It’s a bit time consuming but I realize that not everyone who wants to play with dye, wants to sew.

I give students six Fat Quarters each and we learn at least six patterns.  Fat quarters are used in sewing quite a bit, they are basically a quarter of a yard of fabric.  They are 18 X 22 inches in size.  Awesome for quilting or making into little projects.

They also make fabulous and generous napkins or small but useful furoshiki wrapping clothes.

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Furoshiki clothes a a whole ‘nother rabbit hole to fall into but also way fun to play with.

 

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Indigo Workshop at Olbrich Gardens

Last night was my Indigo Dye and Shibori workshop at Olbrich Gardens.  It was so much fun!

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Everyone was really nice and had a great time.  I had everyone make four different patterns and then dip them in the indigo as the sun went down.IMG_4310

It was a lovely evening but it was not very conducive to taking pictures of beautiful finished pieces.

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There were lots of beautiful finished pieces, but you’ll have to take my word for it.  Because the sun set.

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But I did get this shot.  I’ve been promised pictures.  If I get some, I’ll share them with you.  Everything was really gorgeous.  I’m always struck by the little temporary positive community that gets made in a class like this. I love it.

I have class times coming up at Paradigm Gardens.  The next one is September 13th and is an Indigo 101 class.

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Yesterday was blue

But, it was the good kind of blue.  INDIGO, obv.

I had an Indigo 101 class at Paradigm Gardens and it was freakin’ awesome.

I always meet the most amazing and interesting people at my classes.  We made the world pretty and bluer.

I’ll try not to overwhelm you with pictures.

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Just kidding.  I’m totally going to try to overwhelm you with pictures.

image3(14)Because these are all so beautiful.image4(14)

image6(13)This becoming…

image7(9)…this is not something you would want to miss.

And that kind of transformation happened a lot.

image8(8)We named this guy Squidward.

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He ended up being quite pretty.

Here’s just a bunch of beautiful work presented without (much) comment.

image9(7)image10(5) image11(3)What’s that you say?  There’s a surprising amount of green…

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image18image16 image15Well spotted.  All this green turned blue when it oxidized.  That’s just indigo’s way.

image17Here are all those greened up pieces after being in the air for a bit.  The green bits all turn blue and all look gorgeous!

image19I’m kicking myself for not get a picture of this beautiful shawl after it oxidized.  You’ll have to take my word for it, it’s stunning.

image21I did get a picture of this one and I’m blown away by how lovely it is.

The next classes are coming right up and if you’ve actually read this far, you’re hooked and should sign up as soon as you can! They are each $85…sort of.

This Sunday, July 19th is a Shibori only class.  There won’t be any dyeing BUT we will focus on stitching, binding, clamping, folding and other assorted things to make beautiful patterns like the ones you’ve been shamelessly ogling above.

On Saturday, June 25th.  I’ll have an Indigo 102 class.  Welcome to anyone who has any experience dyeing.  It’ll be $20 off if you’ve taken the Shibori classes on the 19th.

Call Paradigm Gardens at 608/241-3800 to sign up.

Call me at 608/852-3970 if you have questions about the classes.

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Arashi Process

Just a quick post to show the process of over-dying the Arashi piece I made.  ImageI’m not crazy about the finished piece but it was worth it to learn more about the process. I’m a totally junky for learning.  That may be one of the reasons I like Shibori so much.  It’s always different and it would take many lifetimes to master it.

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Arashi Again

This is the part of being obsessive that I love.  I spent my July 4th holiday wrapping fabric around poles and then dyeing it in indigo.  I can’t get enough of that arashi. There’s so much variation within this technique.   image11(2)

This is one that I wrapped, dyed, let dry on the pole, unwrapped, re-wrapped and over-dyed.  Whew.  I have to ask myself why.  It’s ok and all but whatever.  I don’t see the point in drying and then re-wrapping.  I must be doin’ it rong.image10(4)I won’t walk you through each one.image9(6)Though I do love this skinny one.  Fun to make, too.image8(7)I did throw in some itajime.  That’s the kind where you cover part of the fabric with blocks.  One cannot live by arashi alone.image7(8) image6(12)Love this.  Uneven pleats ftw!!image5(14)Also cool, if I may say so myself.  I accordion triangle folded it and then wrapped it.  Even fancier than it soundsimage4(13)Hell yes.  1/2 a yard of cotton looking fine!image3(13)Another variation on willow pattern.image2(13)Ok.  So I guess I kinda did walk you through each one

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But I did spend my day with them and perhaps I got attached.

Come and dye with me on Sunday, July 12 from 1 – 4 at Paradigm Gardens!!!  Call them to register at 608/241-3800.  That’s a week away.  Holy Cats Time!  Slow down!