Bad Idea - Good Idea

-
I have looked until I am cross-eyed for the fabric I dyed from the rose water - but no luck!
I don't understand where it went.
I should never have cleaned my studio!
*deep sigh*
Oh well, let me share the results from the rose petal folding/pressing:
I took pfd fabric, soaked it in a mordant and folded it up nicely.
And a few weeks later I got this yucky brownish green fabric:
Isn't it lovely?
*gag*
And the fabric which was dyed with this rich burgundy color from the rose petals?
The one I can't find?
It came out this color:
Green?!?!
Yup, Green.
As soon as I saw the color I knew what my mistake was.
It was basic chemistry - 
and since I have NEVER taken a basic chemistry class we should all be impressed that I even knew what the problem was so quickly:
I used the wrong mordant.
I used soda ash and I should have used vinegar.
I'm not sure what the fancy chemical reactions are (please explain in the comments if you do know!) but I was certain I was right.
I searched the internet and found that yes indeedy I was absolutely correct.
It is time to buy myself some new roses and give this another try.
This time with vinegar!
To be continued. . .

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Gelli Plate Tutorial with Leaves

-
Image
Here's the Gelli Plate Tutorial you asked for! My Gelli plate has been well used and well loved. 1. Place Gelli Plate on a flat, covered working surface, and place small dots of paint onto the plate.  My demo photos are with me using acrylics and paper but it works exactly the same with fabric paint and fabric.  I like using Jacquard Textile paint when I make fabric prints. 2. Use a brayer to spread the paint evenly across the plate. 3.  I used the leaves as a resist for the first print. 4. Place the paper/fabric on top of the printing plate and smooth it out nicely to get an even print. 5.  Carefully lift up the paper/fabric. Found a photo from when I printed the fabric - see same process. This is a first print. 5.  I know that MONOprinting means ONE print but seriously, when you remove the leaves from the plate there are these beautifully textured leaves left on the plate just dying to be printed.  I couldn't ignore t...
Read more

Fabric Printing at Home Blog Tour

-
Image
About two months ago I wrote a review about the book Fabric Printing at Home written by my friend, Julie B. Booth . Today I'm going to show you one of the things I learned from her book and then give you an opportunity to win a copy of the book for yourself. I used a hot glue gun to create a design onto a toilet paper roll.  I was impatient and didn't seal the toilet paper roll with white glue or a gel medium before creating my design.   I inserted a short roller handle that one can find at the local hardware store into the toilet paper roll. . .   . . . and used my 3x5" Gelli Plate as a paint palette.  I rolled the paint across a sample piece of fabric. . . . . .first going long ways. . .  . . .and then again short ways. I really like the texture this provides whether I go once or twice across the fabric and I'm gladly adding it to my art "toolbox."  Have you tried something like this before?  What ha...
Read more

Quilt National

-
Image
My husband and I took a red-eye flight to Columbus, Ohio, and then drove the one hour to Athens, Ohio, to attend the opening of the Quilt National quilt show where my piece, Wild Flowers was being shown. Made a stop at Tim Horton's, a Canadian chain for some delicious breakfast sandwiches and donut holes. We went to the Kennedy Art Museum, on the Ohio University campus. This is the side of the building. Photo of the front of the building from the cleveland.com website. The building was designed in the 1860s by Cleveland architect Levi Scofield, and was originally part of the Athen's Lunatic Asylum. It opened in 1996 as the Kennedy Museum of Art. There were some lovely prints, paintings and exhibits. It didn't take long to tour, which was good for my knees. I was glad to be able to see this Elizabeth Catlett print. I admire her work. I've seen some of her her other prints in person, and was anxious to also see this one. Friday evening, the Quilt National show opened, and...
Read more