images of nature

Peace and calm at Skookum Lake in Sault Ste Marie, Ontario - August, 2010. Cool and grey with a quiet type of beauty.

the rusty north

How I spent my summer vacation!! Rust dyeing at my sister's family cottage in Sault Ste Marie, Ontario (they actually call it a "camp"). It's tradition for me to come up with an arty activity for us to play with while we're at the lake. The air was crisp, the fish and sun were in hiding, but the wine, food and company were just fine!! This is the last piece we wrapped and by far my favourite. I used up the last of my recycled cotton sheet on 3/4's of a large saw blade (a last minute find by my brother-in-law).



Wrapped on a rusty minnow bucket.......



Wrapped diagonally on a long piece of rusty rebar.......



Wrapped on the rusty hood of an old Rolligon (the circle is a transfer from the radiator cap)......Perhaps the spirit of the Rolligon......What's a Rolligon you say?



An all terrain vehicle, originally used in a lumber mill in B.C. Works great for pulling downed trees and giving small children exciting rides!



A collection of bits and pieces, including rusty nails, chain, a drill bit and some type of large hook. The colour is a little off on this one and the Rolligon piece. The background is actually a very soft yellow. I have four or five more pieces that I thought showed promise, but were disappointing. I'll save them for another rusty day. Thanks Jim and Suzie, I had a great time!

dying for cloth

Basic black goes with everything!!




I see a forest and a moody night sky.....what do you see?


I'm thinking whole cloth for the turquoise one and I'm not sure what for the black/fushia. Lot's of potential though! Any suggestions?





I'm not showing you my yellow cloth, because it's just too pale. I was trying to mix yellow and black to make green, but all I got was a faint greenish yellow. The yellow MX was obviously not strong enough, so back into the dye pot it will go in a couple of weeks.

All three pieces were spaced dyed in jars and left on the balcony for a couple of days. Recycled cotton fabric was used, courtesy of an old sheet I found in the thrift store.

My friends are all playing with natural dying, but I think that I'll stick to the chemicals for now. How long do you suppose it will take for me to start pulling shirts out of the closet? I bet that some of the old cotton ones could use a little lift!

all smashed up

This is what happens when dyed cotton meets the embellisher. It blends nicely and has a lovely, drapey, felt like quality. A tactile delight!

The challenge didn't call for it, but I worked in some of my dyed cheesecloth to add movement to the piece. The saga will continue when the stitching is added..............

dyeing for a challenge

This, actually started out as this:





cheesecloth + white cotton + Procion MX dyes + spagetti sauce jars + crossed fingers + a little sunshine = glorious colour!

My first experiments with space dyeing! Something that I'm playing with over at Shelagh Folgate's Creative Challengers group. It's a closed group, but she opens it up from time to time for new challenges, so stay tuned. If you're interested in the challenge format, check out Shelagh's blog. She's offering a couple of her previous challenges as on-line classes. Why don't you sign up for one of them?

Off topic, but while we're still in the colour mood......have a look at this lovely hibiscus that I revived from the Home Depot sales bin. I had no idea what colour it would be, but admit that I'm pleased with the sunny yellow!





Stay tuned! I'll be posting more in-progress photos, later today! I just need to do a little work first..........