My oh my, July was the first month I did not complete the challenge in time, but I did finally finish it. I’m sure I was late because I was stubborn and wanted to dye a color gradation from D8C060 – the gold – to a warm based color selected at random. I worked for days on getting the dye formula correct. Okay, got that accomplished then realized I did not have all the Procion dyes I needed. I really hated having to purchase 2 small containers of MX dyes when I had a shelf full of other dye powders, and I really hated having to pay for the shipping from CA to NY. Dithering back and forth, then full blown procrastination made me miss the deadline.
On my other blog – which focuses on art quilts and dyeing, I started printing fabric on my computer. Light bulb moment – how about creating that color gradation on the printer? I have a fabulous Epson Photo 2000P printer that uses archival ink. When I print on fabric, it’s permanent – no heat setting required. Now the inks are not exactly reasonable, but for small projects it’s a heck of a lot easier, and a lot less messy than dyeing fabric.
Here’s how I went about creating a fabric gradation for the July TIFC:
1. I used a paint program. I have Paint Shop Pro – originally a Jasc product purchased by Corel. I selected the gold color D8C060 as my main color. I’m drawn to warm based colors and selected a color randomly CC6666 to use as my second color.
2. From there, I clicked on the gradient feature in my program and it automatically created a gorgeous gradient. I played around with angles, repeats and various gradient focal points till I found one I liked.
3. Once the gradiant was found, I opened a new file that was 4″ x 6″ large and filled it with the gradiant. Now came the time to print on fabric. All the attempts are discussed on my other blog, but here is a picture of the final print.
I am really pleased with how it turned out. Now onto the August TIFC challenge. I wonder if I can finish that by the end of this month?
Hugs….
Dimity's Fiber Adventures