HOW DO DIFFERENT COTTON FABRICS EFFECT THE RESULTING DYE COLOURS?

I decided to test my usual two brands of cotton fabric, against other cotton fabrics found in the market, to see which dyes best and how big a difference the fabric actually makes to the end result.  

Into the same dye bath I put fat eighths of:

• Cotton Oxford (THB200)
• Cotton voile (THB180)
• Regular cotton (THB60)
• Cotton Sateen (THB150)
• Very cheap and loosely woven cotton (THB30 - that says it all!)
• My usual cotton (THB70)
• A heavy cotton that I also use (THB70)
• Jute (what the heck, I was interested to see how it would dye)  (THB90)
• Beige cotton with a raised texture (THB90)

All the fabric was sold to me as 100% cotton except the jute.  I also added a couple of other bits of spare cotton and linen I had, just to see how they would dye.  I can't replace the fabric, so it wasn't really part of the experiment.

The results were quite different from what I imagined.  You can see the first batch I dyed above.  They were all in the same dye bath.  I sorted them into piles that I considered had the same overall colour.

WHAT SHALL I DO TODAY?

Say it aloud, then answers on a postcard please!

Quilting Arts Magazine - huh?

I admit I have a love/hate relationship with Interweave the publishers of Quilting Arts, but come on, anyone would have to laugh at this.  How can a digital edition of a magazine be out of stock?

DVD & Book Reviews: Fabric Photo Play by Julia C. Wood & Making Faces with Maria Elkins

I got lots of great feedback on my portrait quilt of my friend John and requests for more information on the subject.

John's quilt is the third quilt I have made using the method described in the book Fabric Photo Play by Julia C Wood.  I am not sure where it is available for purchase now, but I am pretty sure if you contact the author she will be able to direct you.  It is published by AQS and at the time I purchased it, cost $20.

Text hell

HIs there anyone out there who hasn't sent stupid nonsensical texts?  Alan once told me to stop texting him unless I proof read them first as most of them made no sense at all.  For a bit of a laugh, you should check out these texts http://funkypickens.com/25-funny-auto-correct-fails/ that were not proof read by their writers before being sent to the recipient.

KANTHAS

As luck would have it, my trip to the Crafts Museum in Delhi, co-incided with an exhibition of kantha textiles from Murshidabad, West Bengal.  I had never heard of kanthas before, but it soon became clear that they were a form of quilt.

Portrait Quilt

My friend John had one of those birthdays this year - you know the sort I mean.  I was tempted to play a cruel and horrible joke on him, but then there would be nothing unusual in that.  Instead I made him a portrait quilt.