Chromaqueen Introduction

I'm new to this site, although not entirely new to blogging. My daughters got me interested in this site, and I'm finally getting started. Here goes with my first blog to the site!

I enjoy the art of tie-dyeing different fabrics, as well as marbling & shibori, a Japanese method of dyeing material. I started out with cotton items such as T-shirts, then moved to bib aprons, tote bags, infant onesies, socks, & jackets. Tonight I added 100% silk scarves. I work with a good friend, and we play with dyes, fabrics, & techniques. We also give workshops on our methods of dyeing fabrics. We sell our items at science conferences, and my daughters convinced me it's time to branch out to the internet.

My fingers are frequently various colors, and tonight they're fuschia, purple, & turquoise. I have gloves, but I usually forget them. I did manage to keep my t-shirt & pants dye-free tonight, which is rare. I used the shibori technique on 2 onesies, then microwave-dyed 2 silk scarves. I won't be able to tell how the shibori items look for 24 hours, but the scarves are instant-gratification, and look great! When they're washed & dried I'll share pictures of them. One is a mixture of my 2 favorite colors-pink & purple, done in a slanted stripe pattern. The fuschia & turquoise scarf is in the swirl pattern.

I buy my dyes & supplies from Dharma Trading Company and from Pro Chemical & Dye. I use different sizes of squeeze bottle, rubber bands, foam brushes, pipettes, shaving cream, and thickeners. My knowledge of chemistry comes in handy sometimes in my art, so I combine 2 interests in my products. I'll never get rich money-wise from this, but I enjoy it & it liberates my artistic side.