red, red wine

Blame it on the wine. When I washed my natural dyed fabrics, everything came out dingy. The cabernet colored Color Catcher was a dead give-away. It was the deepest colored piece in the entire wash. Apparently, even three Color Catcher sheets weren’t enough to stem the spread of the tannin dinge. 

No worries. That turn led me down a different path and I decided to try for an impressionist look to my quilt. I figured I could fit my blurry flowers in somehow. I found a marvelous piece of Carol Eaton’s ice dyed fabric I had purchased at a SAQA conference in DC. I was originally drawn to it because of its variety and subtle colors missing from my super-bright stash. 

It was the perfect piece for “Misty Melange”. I randomly pieced the background with 1” and 2” strips to create a watercolor effect. I added strips of green hand dyed fabrics and accented with wine colored pieces of linen, cotton and Color Catchers (polyester?). I also raw edge appliqued strips around the edges to create a more symmetrical top. Though I thought I would use the flower-pounded fabric, I opted to omit it. Instead, I added flowers to the quilting motif. 

It was a fun challenge, especially playing with the whole family. I would have to say I remain perplexed at why the “dyes” I used will stain my favorite shirt forever but will come out in the wash when I want them for an art quilt. Mordants, molecules, binding…perhaps I should’ve paid more attention in chemistry class.

Misty Melange is 33.5” W by 42.5” H, quilted with cotton and polyester thread.