Lots of Dyed Silk

You know I love fabric and surface design, but I’ve always gravitated toward cotton. Really, to tell you the truth, I have been scared to death of silk. It’s such a lovely fiber, but I’ve been so afraid I’d mess it up.

Then last year I took an awesome silk painting class from Evi Slaby. I posted here and here about that fabulous class. Evi helped me walk through my fear of silk and taught me a lot about silk and how it takes dyes. Through that class, Evi and I became friends and ended up displaying our work together in our Colorful Friendship exhibit this past January. Unfortunately, Evi will be moving to the Chicago area – a big loss for our area and for me! If you live in the Chicago area and have a chance, check out one of Evi’s classes.

That being said, I’ve been playing a lot with silk. And I have so enjoyed it. I am dyeing them using Colorhue dyes. Check out this basic tutorial I posted a couple years ago.

silk scarves

Here is a closer look at four of them.

newscarf4

newscarves1

newscarf2

newscarf3

It’s funny. I would finish one scarf and think it was the best one so far. Then when I finished the next one I would tell myself it was my favorite! I really do need to play more with silk.

Meanwhile I’m still thinking small. I made this in a class several weeks ago. I definitely will be making more of these.

quilt pendantAnd some Boro Balls. My hand stitching sure needs some help! Practice, practice, practice!

boro balls

The temperatures here are changing as autumn moves into our area. I do love this time of the year. As mentioned earlier, I’m looking forward to playing more with silk. I plan to dye some cotton shirts before it gets too cold in my dye studio (garage). Working on my hand stitching is also high on that list.

What are your artsy plans for the coming months? I’d love to hear from you. Have a creative day!