Thursday's Brew Fest

I hadn't done any new eco dyeing in close to a month, so I brewed up a batch of bundles last night.   Thought I'd try some of my usual-suspect local plant materials now that it's fall, see if I get any different results than I did in the summer.   Although I started with a pot of tap water, I added a few bits of brass and some brass water that had been sitting for a couple of months.  Two of the bundles were wrapped around aluminized steel and 3 or 4 pieces around blackened rusty pipes.  Each bundle was generously spritzed with vinegar as it was wrapped.

I have a theory that I haven't gotten very good/dark prints from the local oak, maple and eucalyptus varieties possibly because the seasons in northern California are quite different than elsewhere.  Meaning since the trees and shrubs don't suffer the climatic extremes that they do in other places, possibly whatever it is that carries the color is different in the species we have here, doesn't color as well or as deeply.  I do realize that species, variety, location on the globe, time of year, local water quality and other factors play into eco dyeing results as well.  But I'm thrown to wanting to figure these things out for myself.

This is a cold bundle I wrapped yesterday, with rose petals that have been in my freezer for months.  I decided not to steep it as the petals started coloring the fabric right away.  I did use vinegar here, otherwise no other mordant (the fabric was premordanted in soy milk).

I finished the Fiberactions "structure" challenge quilt earlier this week.  Mum's the word on this until the reveal on November 15.

I'm nearly finished with another machine quilted piece.  Actually, I did complete it, then decided I'd do more quilting on it and further texture the surface with paint and paintstiks.  Whether or not I would do this has been a question for this piece from the getgo, so I figured I'd just make it, then decide where to go with it (as opposed to not making it at all because I wasn't sure what to do in the end).

I"d love your input on something, if you have some ideas to share ~ I'm considering how to wall mount the handstitched work I'm doing.  If it's a big piece, like the Dalai Lama quilt I did recently, then I have no problem turning the top over to make a casing for a bamboo pole.  Attaching a fabric sleeve to the back of lighter weight handstitched pieces, and using a slat with eyescrews feels like overkill for this softer, more fluid kind of work.  Stitched-on tabs at the top don't always work for the appearance of the finished piece.  And I simply can't afford to frame them.  So I'm considering options.  Do let me know if you have any good ideas.  Thanks!

Hope you have a wonderful weekend!