a blue weekend

Saturday I treated myself to an indigo workshop at the art center! I never take workshops, but I was due for a break. I had never done indigo dyeing and of course it involved shibori, so I couldn't resist. (unintended pun). I wore gloves, so don't ask me how one nail on each hand turned blue.

But it was worth it! I came away with six pieces, all different and all interesting. I had grabbed a bunch of scarves to experiment with. Silk, cotton, rayon, and linen in various sizes and weaves.

What I love about shibori is its unpredictability (are you surprised?). You never know what you're going to get and unfolding every piece is like opening a gift!

I took a shibori class a few decades ago but it involved a lot of heavy buckets and some stitching and it wore me out. I did dye some beautiful fabric, but shibori doesn't play well with others so for the most part, I find it difficult to use. However, wearables are a different story. I can't wait to wear my favorites of these. Scarves are great for making a plain old solid t-shirt into an outfit. Ask me how I know.

Indigo is beautiful but I'm going to do my dyeing with MX dyes. I am in the midst of tossing, organizing, and generally cleaning out the supply closets in the studio. Of course it gets worse before it gets better, but I'll be there again today doing more. The place is a serious mess, especially because my kitchen there is in the middle of being redone and on the floor there are bags and boxes of canned goods and every other non-perishable from my cupboards.

I'm headed over there now to wait for the plumber.

Stay tuned.

R.