Virtual Retreat Aug thru Dec 2015 Info on first post

[JudithA]

Judy,
I will be doing 2 cold water soaks each anywhere from 2-3 hours. That is if, I see no dye coming off as I give the cloth a quick rinse under running water. Then I would proceed to the first 12 hour hot water, with Dawn pure, soak. If the water is turning quite colored during this twelve hours, I will drain that and refill the tub with clean hot water. I would add more Dawn if I don't see any suds. It's the Dawn that keeps the dye from back staining. At the end of that first 12 hours of hot water soaking time, I will rinse and depending on how many times I changed the soaking waster, and how much the water is colored would be the determining factor for whether or not another 12 hour soak would be needed. By the time I'm ready to do the final washing and rinsing there shouldn't be any dye particles left to contend with. However, I will be washing them with Dawn just to keep things safe.
Had I never ran those sheets thru the wash that day on hot water, I wouldn't have had any color loss, or it would have been so insignificant that I'd never known. I doubt that many people will ever wash a hand dyed piece with hot water, but I will make these changes to be proactive. I also will leave my dyeing fabric in very warm areas, with plenty of moisture to process for a minimum of 48 hours from now on. That will be harder for me than all of this soaking and washing and ironing!
Vicki Welsh's article goes into great detail and it's really worth the reading time. I put the link up on my blog the other day if you need it.
Hope your dyeing days are pleasant,
Luann

[Scoopie]

I've been trying to catch up, and am impressed with how busy many of you have been!

Pamela, I absolutely love the corded, looped binding! I have done that on the outer edge of a quilt, but had not thought of putting it on the inside of the binding. Very creative!

Good to see all of you at the UK quilt show! Thanks for the pictures! I especially liked the picture of the hand next to Rosemary's quilt. It put the size into better perspective for me.

I've been working on my first major machine embroidery, with my new Brother. I am impressed with the detail of the embroidery. The geisha took me around 4 hours, with close to 50 thread changes, and quick snack and potty breaks. This is my iPad cover. It will be entered into our county fair this next week.



Here's the inside;

And here's the flap. It says "Dream."



Have a great day!
Dawn

[JudithA]

Luann,
I had read Vickie's article when you first posted the link, but got confused... maybe because I am 70 and am taking meds that definitely make it harder for me to think.
Thanks for taking the time out of your busy schedule to explain your process!

Judy

[JudithA]

Dawn,
Your iPad cover is stunning! 50 thread changers...Wow! You must have a lot of patience.

Judy

[twiglet]

Love it Dawn :cheer:

[twiglet]

Luann,
I had read Vickie's article when you first posted the link, but got confused... maybe because I am 70 and am taking meds that definitely make it harder for me to think.
Thanks for taking the time out of your busy schedule to explain your process!

Judy

Judy,
Sometimes when there is so much information it does get confusing for me too. This was such a big deal to me that I just kept reading it over and over to be sure I was understanding her approach, and why she did what she did. I never mind taking the time to help someone else understand what I'm doing. I just hope I make myself clear and don't confuse anyone further.
I'm glad we can share with each other on this thread. Everyone is so helpful and very kind hearted.
If you have any further questions, ask away. I will be glad to answer, to the best of my knowledge!
Luann
PS. I'm about half way thru the ironing of all that fabric that I soaked and washed!! I'm getting tired of it, but I do find ironing to be relaxing.

[rehak]

Beautiful case, Dawn!!

[rehak]

Anyone ever bought Cherrywood fabric? Beautiful hand-dyed cotton in lots of rich colors. However, they do bleed a lot of dye. I had a dark plum color that I had to wash about five times by hand before I dared to put it in the washing machine with other dark colors. My guild made a wonderful quilt as a fund raiser from Cherrywood fabrics, when I asked if they washed the fabric first, I got a blank stare. Yikes, I told them to tell the winner to use lots of dye catchers.

Kathy

[lotti]

i use mainly batiks for my quilts - and some handdyes
as all my quilts are meant to be used (and therefore washed), they all include sewn-in washing instructions, and when i gift them, generally also a package of colorcatchers for the first couple of washes (although all my fabrics (unless i use jelly-rolls - which is very rare) are prewashed and the quilt is washed at least once before it leaves my house. better safe than sorry

[JudithA]

i use mainly batiks for my quilts - and some handdyes
as all my quilts are meant to be used (and therefore washed), they all include sewn-in washing instructions, and when i gift them, generally also a package of colorcatchers for the first couple of washes (although all my fabrics (unless i use jelly-rolls - which is very rare) are prewashed and the quilt is washed at least once before it leaves my house. better safe than sorry

Lotti,
That's smart. What a great idea.

[anne1]

Lucky iPad...it's lovely.
Anne

[anne1]

i use mainly batiks for my quilts - and some handdyes
as all my quilts are meant to be used (and therefore washed), they all include sewn-in washing instructions, and when i gift them, generally also a package of colorcatchers for the first couple of washes (although all my fabrics (unless i use jelly-rolls - which is very rare) are prewashed and the quilt is washed at least once before it leaves my house. better safe than sorry

I haven't used any of my hand dyes yet, but I too always wash the quilts before they leave my house
Dawn...love the iPad cover!

[anne1]

I am finished with the appliqué of my Celtic Hearts 2 fabric W/H

I will try to post a picture of it.

Margarita

[anne1]

.

I am finished with the appliqué of my Celtic Hearts 2 fabric W/H

I will try to post a picture of it.

Margarita

What does the w/h mean? I'm acronym challenged!! LOL at least this one I know!
Luann

[rehak]

Very nice, Margarita!