Dyeing Darks
Leaf Light, a quilt that used up my darks
There are readers who actually come to this blog looking for quilt content, poor dears, and so I am shamed into inserting a bit of it amongst my many garden, clothesmaking, and house selling entries. Not that anyone is complaining, but I am starting to have a longing for it all myself. I am dyeing fabric for others this week and that makes me want to use it up myself.
A close-up look at the darker parts of Leaf Light.All are Special Edition cottons with the infusion of black added, not into the colors, but on top of them...I will explain.
Originally I dyed panels of cotton especially for this quilt, Croton. I never had done this before, or since for that matter. I must have dyed at least 24 yards of it. Half yards at a time. I poured dye on flat panels in autumnal colorations of red, orange and greens, and of course yellows as you can plainly see. Then I added black, straight black along the edges or down the middle. It bleeds into the colors, altering them and darkening them, leaving some parts bright and others deeply dark.
I dye on platters, see The Lazy Dyer for more info.
There were tons of leftovers which resulted in Leaf Light and then this smaller work, Deep Study, which I still have somewhere in the closet. Leaf Light hangs in my living room.
My accountant suggests I put price tags on the art that is hanging in my house and maybe the buyers will want to purchase the quilts, if not the house. Ha! What buyers? Yesterday our real estate agent paid us a visit. He brought along some listing sheets and a list of all the homes within $30K of our price in our little town of 13 thousand people. There are 52 homes for buyers to choose from in that price range. Out of the 52 only four are under contract. We will be sitting here for a long time.
The panel on the left has the black added. The Stripey has a bit of black too, but more subtle than the Special Edition version. Compared to the center panel which is kinda on the pastel side, which now that I think of it, I need to dye too. O well, I have time. I'll add that to my to-do list.
Melody,
ReplyDeleteGet rid of the real estate agent and sell it on your own....it's easy...and YOU control when buyers can come look at your house. Cuts down on cleaning time. And you can drop your price a lot, making it more attractive. I've sold 2 homes that way...there are some buyers who ONLY look at fisbo's (for sale for owner) and do not want to have anything to do with real estate agents.
My favorite quilts of yours are the ones using deep and murky colors along with the brights. So eloquent.
ReplyDeletefisbo's are worth the time (it's less trouble and way more frugal).
ReplyDeleteWhen we went with a realtor here in ga I was the one who actually found the house we purchased. I actually snatched the FOR SALE sign up off the lawn and chucked it in the car trunk and then drove it to her office. She split her commission with me and offered me a job but I passed on the latter but the $$ bought us a new refrigerator. You may be amazed to find that in the South second hand homes often DO NOT come with refrigerators. As if they are optional!
Just looking at these beautiful fabrics made my heart sing!! I am going to drag out my dyes and try AGAIN to come up with something even remotely similiar (hope springs eternal). Melody...if you would write one of those books that we're all lusting after...a quilt book AND a dye book you could buy the house of your dreams and keep your house in Ohio as a rental...or a second home!! I could actually lose sleep thinking about a dye book from you. I've never SEEN more beautiful fabric!
ReplyDeleteWhen we were buying this house the Agent was such a PITA, talking a lot of rubbish that DH asked her to step outside while he spoke with the owner. It worked!
ReplyDeleteMs Mel, I think you should name a quilt 'The Drought Has Ended', to get your blog readers in the 'quilt frame' of mind again.
Those colours are so beautiful, my skin tingles.
Ooooh! I am going to try the black dye on the tray dyeing. Love those murky colors now that I am in Portland.
ReplyDeleteA sellers Agent will get you 10% to 15% more for your house vs a for sale by owner - it's well worth it for the free advertising and Multi-List exposure alone. And the sellers Agent will qualify the potential buyer by running a credit check and verifying employment. Without that activity you might just "sell" your house to someone who, 8 weeks later will tell you they can't get a mortgage. During that 8 weeks you might lose a real buyer.
ReplyDeleteDeb mentioned buying a house without an Agent. Unless you specifically sign a buyers Agent contract with an Agent you never "have" an Agent when you're buying a house. The Agents you work with when buying a house ALWAYS represent the seller, and only the seller. In fact they're required by law to only represent the seller. They're driving you around, showing you houses, asking you questions, and all the while have only the sellers interests at heart, by law.
If you sign a Buyers Contract with an Agent - you pay a fee to the Agent who is working for you under that contract. Almost no one uses a buyers Agent - yet almost all buyers "think" they have an Agent.
If you're selling - use an Agent and get 10% to 15% more for your house. If you're buying, do it on your own or use the sellers Agents for information but keep your information private. Never tell an Agent you like a house or you think it's worth more. It's as if you just told that to the seller.
All good wishes for selling the house, Mrs Mel!
ReplyDeleteLOVE the added black - wow!
What yummy fabric!!! I hope you're bringing it all to QSDS in a week and a half! See you there!
ReplyDeleteI absolutely love Leaf Light, oh my goodness - those colours, they are divine!
ReplyDeleteLeaflight is magnificent on the wall. What a gorgeous quilt!
ReplyDeleteAnd I will never get over your incredible generosity in sharing information with us, your adoring public.
I, too, would love to see that book! With your colors, design sense, and name-recognition, it is a guaranteed winner...
Oooh -- such lovely and lucious colors to play with. I can understand how doing the dying can make you want to play with all of the yummies!
ReplyDeleteI'm not going to touch the real estate stuff other than to say some of the circumstances talked about really do depend on the state in which you are buying/selling. Every state has their own real estate purchasing/licensing arrangements and laws. What is applicable in one area, may not be in another region of the country. As for the market in Illinois -- it stinks if you are trying to sell. I can't remember when I have seen this many for sale signs out for this long.