Snow dyeing and gradations

I actually did something today! The snow was about 6″ deep, so I thought I should jump in with both feet and do some snow dyeing. Everybody else is doing it, right?

I haven’t done any real dyeing since about 1998. (DD#2 and I did some simple dye jobs for her wedding, but that hardly counts. We used Rit dye to make her petticoat lavender and to make the groomsmen’s shirts butter yellow.)

Anyway, even though I knew I wanted to try snow dyeing, I was rather nervous and I kept procrastinating. I was thankful for Karen who shared her snow dyeing tutorial and to Lisa who gave me some private encouragement. Then I read through the tie-dye instructions on Dharma’s website. And then I thought about it for a while. And then I looked in my cupboard to see what dye supplies I had. A week passed… The snow melted. Yesterday it snowed steady all day long and I kept thinking…

Today, I decided I would quit procrastinating and do it. I pulled out the fabric, the chemicals, and the dyes. I scrubbed a trash can so I could use it to soak the fabric in soda ash. I tore the fabric into fat quarters and a couple larger pieces. And then I went to work.

Now I just have to wait until tomorrow morning and then I can wash it all out and see what I get.

Since I was being brave, I also decided to finally use a dye kit I bought who knows when. The copyright on the instructions was 1992, but I know it wasn’t quite that old 🙂 The kit had everything to dye a series of six gradations from “Wisteria” to “Ice Blue.”

I must have had a lot of energy today. Maybe it was that mocha chip Blizzard I ate… Anyway, I also made apple crisp for tonight’s dessert. It finally gave me an excuse to use the little, individual casserole dishes I have.

I can’t wait to see the final results of my snow dyeing. Hope to have pictures tomorrow.