This is ‘Middle Passage I’ after dunking the lower edge into the indigo vat. By adding more resists, I managed to retain more of the original fabric than I did with the other Middle Passage piece (where I turned the bottom four inches of the quilt into a solid band of dark blue).
I like how some of the dye concentrated on the stitches.
I also like how some of the indigo visually ties into the hand-dyed fabric that I had purchased and pieced right above the yellow-dunked print (they’re the ivory, ecru, and blue rectangles). But, overall, this experiment might have proved more satisfactory had I dyed the cloth prior to attaching the three layers together – the batting absorbed a lot of the dye that might have otherwise saturated the quilt top. Some of the indigo streaks don’t appear to fully saturate the threads. Below, is a view of the quilt that did NOT get immersed.
This morning, I twisted and dunked yet ANOTHER Middle Passage quilt (III?).
I can’t show you how it looks yet, but it is the least successful of the three by a lot. Here’s how it looked prior to submersion:
Because I liked the red batik border on this one, I folded the quilt and immersed the mid-section.
Because I’m unhappy with the result, tomorrow I will probably go ahead and dunk the entire lower half. I wish I knew how to apply a rice paste – I would use that to preserve some of the red.
how the indigo is interacting with the rest of the quilt, reaching up, it’s beautiful.
i seem to remember making instant potatoes into a paste like consistency to protect areas successfully.
Thanks for the idea, Cindy – sounds interesting.
I don’t know Dee, I like it and I like the stitches picking up more dye. I’d probably like the one from today too. I’m easy like that! Haha But, I also don’t have the creators vision in my head, as the audience…I like the colors and ‘feel’ and I love the little fish 🙂
thanks, Nancy… you’ll see the next one and decide… but then, the dunking is just another step, so there is more time to wrangle the quilt somewhere.
Bravo Dee, I love Middle Passage I – – – gorgeous!
I think the dying enhanced the movement which is just wonderful in this. Too early to tell about the dye & III. There is much less movement in this piece to begin with. I agree with you, the reds are wonderful. Looking forward to your next experiment on it. Wrangle on . . .
how brave you are!
and I agree the new dyes work really well with the fabrics already there;
I’m sure the last piece will turn out fine eventually: ……a leap of faith;-)
I read somewhere on Jan’s blog (http://jan-janmillingtonartist.blogspot.com/ )about flour resist, I think she made a paste and used that for ‘special effects’.
Lovely delicate results where the indigo has mingled with the star fabric.
Your pictures have me thinking about how we respond differently looking at something from a distance, or unfocused and then the close up the detail. How different of an experience that can be.
Saskia – I enjoyed going to Jan Millington’s blog – thanks for that. I couldn’t find the rice post, so I ended up using corn syrup, which worked pretty well.
Susan – I like that part, too.
Deb – I know what you mean. I’ve also been noticing that I may like four square inches, but not the thing in its entirety… and even that changes.
thank you Gretchen! your observation that there is less movement in the most recently dipped is really helping me look at it with new eyes. thank you for that.