March Sunshine

The March sunshine has been inspiring. The first nice days hit and I immediately set up the Indigo Dye Vat. The first dye day I had no kids--the second day I had all the kids plus some so it was extremely difficult. Dye 15 min and then kids for 2 hrs.Repeat. Repeat. My DH arrived home that evening to crazy kids,mom and nothing to eat for our family and their friends. He immediately loved on me and them. Came down and saw what I was working on then set off to the kitchen to make dinner. All with a happy attitude.Hes a good man, a very good man.  I am pretty sure I wouldn't have been so happy if we had changed roles. Thank goodness it wasn't, but I realized I could try and be better.

March 14

Today is the day!  Today is the first day since the weather turned that I will be mixing up my first Indigo batch. A million thoughts are running through my head and the worries about the kiddo's schedule keep getting in the way. Wish me luck...

Stitching Shibori

Pics are from last summer..

Dish Towel

Stitching and stitching, my fingers will never be the same...Sometimes I think that its not worth the time to make so many stitches just to dye it all and have to rip the stitches out. Anyone who sews will tell you that ripping stitches out is a heart wrenching thing to do...so much time and work just to be rendered lost. My thumb joints are not ever going to be the same. I am constantly thinking please oh please let me have complete use of my hands the entire time I am living. I truly appreciate them so much.   Multiple dye sessions on a fabric always make it worthwhile to me though. Fold, stitch and fold again. Sometimes with different colors, sometimes the same. That layering look that we get as we age, something good something more beneath the surface. Pulling wet stitches though? Still the pits.

Samples

Every time I do anything I always wish I would have done some samples for myself....This time I remembered!  They are all 5 x 7 and I would like to make them into a little fabric book for myself, I do need to figure out how to make a book however.

Winter Dye

After the dye bath

After the stitching and dye bath I hung them up to dry before washing them. The winter has made me restless and so none of this was given any batch time. The darker green shibori from the stitching photo is bunched up on the top of clothesline, I wish I had taken more photos but a sunny winter day of 41 degrees makes a girl restless!

Most of these fabrics are going to be over dyed next. I clamped them first and have been doing some stitching. They are beautiful and will make someones quilting project beautiful!

Stitch

The beginnings of shibori. Words cannot express the joy I feel knowing I am going to be dyeing fabric. The prep work as seen below can never go fast enough! We didnt have much of a winter this year so there was not a lot of time to just sit down cuddle up and stitch.  I have 3 girls, 5,7 and 9 who want their mamas attention all the time when we are together.