Red Hearts

Base heart is started using silk dupioni, dyed with cochineal, wool quilt batting and cochineal dyed cotton backing fabric.  I machine stitched the edging and am now set to start embellishing the heart with natural dyed vintage trims, lace, yoyo's etc.  I enjoy the hand stitching portion of heart making it's a very nice respite between projects.

Purple Easter Eggs

If your wanting a natural purple for your easter eggs I suggest using beets or cabbage.

HOWEVER, there is a catch to getting the purple color and getting it to stay purple and not turn grey.

Beets or Purple Cabbage chopped fine
Place in a stainless steel sauce pan
Cover twice as deep with Vinegar and add one cup of sugar to the mix.
Bring to a boil.
Strain the vegetation out of the liquer.
Return the dye juice to the sauce pan.
Bring back to a boil and then remove heat source.
Place your eggs in the hot liquid and roll around in the liquid.
Do this for about 15 minutes.



.

Avocado Dye Baths

Pits to the left, peels to the right, my not so solar solar vats.  They have been sitting on my table in my wet studio for some time now.

Live Stream - Cancelled

I won't be able to live stream today, I have a stomach bug of some sort - most probably picked up from the place I ate lunch at yesterday.  Took my best friend out for lunch, to celebrate her birthday, and unfortunately gave her the gift of turning icky green!!! :-(  Well we're both sick now and have both decided that it's time to find someplace else to celebrate!

Live Stream

Am planning to live stream tomorrow and anything goes I'll be playing with natural dyes, fibers and fabric.  Stop by at 3pm central time! http://www.ustream.tv/channel/mark-making-with-nature

Prairie Potholes No. 15

Finally home!

Natural Dyed Silks

It's time to dig out the ironing board and do some pressing!

Bright Yellow Orange Fluffyness

Kamala dyed fancy yarn waiting to be couched down onto a new project.

Bloodroot

My bloodroot patch has started to spread, finally.  I don't actually use the roots for dyeing with, I planted them because I have a small prairie woodland garden.

Excited!!!

Well I've finally made the decision I'm moving my studio out of it's current space, a second story bedroom, into the living and dining room, these two rooms are open to each other.  What the casual obsevery doesn't know is that my "design studio" has bled over into three other rooms, four rooms if I count all of the mixed media items that are hogging space in my wet studio, of the house and well most of the time I have no idea what I have as far as supplies are concerned.

With John's blessing we have been pouring over various studio organization books, and magazines, and will over the next 2-3 months move my studio into the living and dining rooms, thus consolidating everything so that I can work more effectiently.  I will also be working towards divesting of 'stuff' that I am no longer using and/or interested in using in my artwork. 

The upside is I will have a guest bedroom again AND my current studio space will officially become my office space/library for all of those books I have bought over the years for my studio.  Thank you Alyson for that encouragement!

Studio Update

Not much going on in the dye studio these days, it's still too blustery to do any serious dyeing out of doors so I'm keeping myself busy writing up new tutorials for natural dyeing, and starting this weekend I'll be skirting fleeces. In the mean time I have lowered the price of my eBooks from $19.95 to $14.95.

Winter Cloth Year Three

These two pieces of cloth have been outside for three winters now, will wash and do something with them this spring.

All THREE of my books, Compost Dyeing and Other Fermentation Dye Tecniques, Rust and Clay Dyeing, Mark Making with Nature in one package via digital download for $50.00

30/30 Mark Making with Nature Package!

Mark Making with Nature the Package $30.00 (Special Offer)

In this package you will receive ALL THREE BOOKS in one digital PDF download. These three books include Mark Making with Nature, Compost Dyeing and Other Fermentation Dyeing Techniques AND Rust and Clay Dyeing.

 

Of e-Books and Other Things

I finally found a source so that I could make my books available as a digital download :-)  Check out my website for more information, I'm hoping to make the downloads available from my blogs as well. http://www.kbaxterpackwood.com/e-Books.htm

Am still recuperating from a nasty fall two weeks ago, I've been using the down time to get caught up on desk work, book projects, and a new video project which will be shot once it warms up this spring.  Until then I will continue to stream twice a month the recorded videos are available on Ustream.

Tea Dye Bath

About 20 teabags in water.  I brought the bath to a boil and simmered for 15 minutes, I then added the prepared fabric and simmered for 15 minutes before turning the heat off.  This is one method of aging new fabric, the color however is not permanent.

Tannin Over Dyed Rusted Cotton

I have a short tutorial on Ustream on dyeing with tea, coffee, and tannin and then over dyeing rust dyed fabrics with them  http://www.ustream.tv/channel/mark-making-with-nature I will be streaming part 2 tomorrow at 3pm Central Time.

Over Dyeing

Over Dyed Rust Dyed Cotton Fabrics

Upper Left Hand corner Tannin over Rust
Upper Right Hand corner Constant Comment Tea over Rust
Lower Right Hand corner Coffee over Rust
Lower Left Hand corner Tannin bound resist over coffee  over rust.

Crow Work Finished

Crow work finished and awaiting it's niche.

Aging Fabric with Tea, Coffee and Tannin

Tomorrow afternoon I will demostrate how to age fabrics effectively with tea, coffee, and various tannins. I have 30 minutes of stream time planned, which will be recorded, the stream however may go over 30 minutes.  http://www.ustream.tv/channel/mark-making-with-nature