Countdown...6 Days

Six days from now the Cotton Patch Quilt Show will have its awards night, and I will open my first major hand-dyed fabric vendor booth. It has been an incredibly busy month, but I've enjoyed it a great deal. Here are some photos from around the house/production floor...

This is the fold and price stack in the dining room.

Stacks of cool stuff...yards, half-yards, and multiple yards stacks, plus Bill's newly designed Ruler Racks and a beautiful sign he ordered for me.

More yards and half-yards.

Multi-yard pieces, quarter-yards and some fat-quarters.

These are some of the first wool felted pincushions for the show. I visited Main Street Yarns yesterday (I love that place!) for more lovely wool roving. Now let's head out to the garage/dye studio...

This is a 2-yard piece with the yellow at one end and the blue at the opposite end. Can't wait to rinse this one. This is low-water immersion dyeing with Procion MX dyes.

This doesn't look like much yet, but underneath the top layer is another mixed sunrise colored fabric. I layer my fabrics in the dye bath to conserve time and dye. The top layers will absorb the extra dye and will be a lighter color. The benefits are two-fold: more dyed fabric in the end, and less dye to wash out. Here's another dye bath where you can see the layers below...

If you'd like to know more about low-water immersion dyeing and dyeing in layers, check out Ann Johnston's book, Color by Accident.

It's time to create...