Unpredictable Blues

I've been trying out a few more ideas with indigo. The ombre was part of our last class lesson and I was trying for a nice even gradation of values.

I had plans for this one that did not work out, but I will try to get what I'm after using another method.

And a cloudy moon - not quite what I was after, either!

I also dipped this leaf print the other day after not using the vats for some time and got a mixture of turquoise and green - although what's pictured here is wet and more vibrant than the actual colour. The leaf prints really darkened after dipping, too.

The unpredictability of the vats ensures my ongoing curiosity about what will happen next?

Stars, Moons and Flowers

I backed, sandwiched, and machine quilted this table runner top I started two years ago and realize I'm out of practice! I like the back better than the front - maybe I am needing some pink to offset the recent flood of blues!

In the online Indigo class, we received our third lesson and the theme is Moons and Stars - which fits right into and builds on - some of what I have already been doing. Here is an eclipse I tried on wool:

A linen star:

And a moon on cotton sky dyed fabric:

Reactivation

Waves of blue are continuing to roll in around here. I reactivated all my indigo vats, which is a really experimental process of trying this and/or that to find what works. They feel very alive - I take their temperature, feed them, keep them warm... And they responded with improved colour! I decided to explore combining blues from different vats in the same fabric, today.

I like how the different dyes are just short of meeting - it looks like a dry brush effect.

And here is a little relief from all this blue!

Just for a minute, though. Each of these silks were done in one vat using the natural indigo.

The blues are not going to go away for some time yet...

Hunting Colour

Today I was interested in seeing if I could dye a brighter turquoise with indigo. Two of my vats were spent, but two were working, so I dipped silk satin swatches and got turquoise the first try! I wondered if maybe I could dye cotton of a similar colour and tried, but without success other than in the lightest dips. This was my last blue dip of the day and while I did have some linen that went in afterwards, the vat was no longer giving colour. It reminds me of a frosty winter scene.

And so does this silk velvet piece:

Here's one more silk scrap from the vat that I like for the square pattern in the weave that darkens where the indigo touches it:

And yesterday I popped this silk velvet that was a cream and yellow from previous leaf dyeing I had done, into the vat:

Now I will see if I can get those three spent vats going again - or maybe make up another kind.

Trails of Blue

The swatches were dry enough to organize, so I made cards of them according to time spent in the vats and also cards showing the 24 swatches for each vat, so I can see what I got at a glance.

The lighting for the photos changes the colours somewhat, but I did get one blue violet wool swatch and a range of other colours including yellow green, blue green, aqua blue, turquoise, cerulean blue, and blue. Wool gave the greatest range of hues and values. These swatches are using crystalized chemically produced indigo:

And these swatches are using natural indigo:

Answering some of my questions has led me to wondering about others....

96 Blues

I did make up a fourth kind of indigo vat today and dipped more wool, cotton, linen and silk dupioni swatches for the same six time lengths as the previous swatches for the other three vats. The colours I got range through blue, cerulean blue, turquoise, aqua blue, aqua green and even blue green. And I think one of the swatches still drying will be blue violet - but I'll wait to be sure. I haven't fixed the last vat's samples to cards yet because they are still drying.

I am interested to compare and go over all the results and then play further!

Swatch Switching

The online Indigo class began today, and I made up two different indigo vats in addition to the one I already have going, to see what the differences are. All of these samples are from the same vat - I decided to use cotton, dupioni silk, wool and linen for swatches and to dip them for six different time periods, to see how varied the results are - and I got quite a range! I got the darkest blue with wool and there seems to be greater variety with protein fibres than cellulose. I have more swatches done with the other two vats, but they're not complete yet, and I may even do a few more types of vats. I am loving the learning.

Soul Fire

A dragon has alighted on Palace of the Soul, roaring out creative fire and setting the cloth ablaze. It is the Year of the Dragon - a fierce creature that commands respect and seeks the pearl of great price. I once named my black, serpent-slim cat 'Draco' after the dragon constellation.

I had chosen to add this fabric I dyed because I saw a dragon in it, which I used as a rough stitching guide.

Dragons are unpredictable and wont to fly off into the blue, just like creativity follows its own mysterious and surprising path.

And soon I will be into the blues, too, with the online Indigo Dyeing course taught by Glennis Dolce. I have been gathering a variety of unusual supplies for that and am looking forward to where it takes me when it starts next week.