1. Enjoying warmth of the fireplace at calico cat barn with quilting friends.
   

I tried a different method of dyeing on some small samples. Usually I use the low immersion technique instructed by Ann Johnston and seem to have lots of excess dye when ready for the rinsing stage. With this technique I used ¼ c of water with ¼ tsp. of urea and added ¼ tsp. dye powder. Since I was using small samples of fabric I trifolded lengthwise and then triangle folded as when folding a flag. I clamped two pieces of wood on either side of the fold on two pieces, two quarters on one piece and just the clamp on the final sample. I feared there would be too much white on the wood clamped pieces but was not disappointed with the result. Using just the plain clamp impression was also pleasing to me. The fabric was soaked in soda ash solution for twenty minutes before applying the dye. Dye was applied with a spoon, just dripping it on different parts of the folded cloth and into the separated folds, put in a plastic bag and set for 12 hours. A surprise was how little excess dye was apparent in the first cold water rinse and even in the hot soapy wash compared with other methods.

Now to consider a use for these brightly colored pieces. (I used black, emerald green, dragon fruit, sapphire, and deep yellow.)