So the stuff I dyed last night did not turn out very dark. Maybe my dyes are old or the sodium carbonate in the dishwasher powder was weak. Whatever the reason, I got pale results. They will be nice for something I am sure.

I'll get to the supermarket or pool supply for some proper soda ash to find out.

Pressing Concerns

So I went by the Home Depot yesterday and bought a piece of MDF to make a large pressing surface. I already had some batting and fabric to cover it. The staple gun that I bought years ago and has been sitting in the garage, finally got it's first use. I am pleased with the result. Right now the board is sitting atop my rickety ironing board so I have to eventually find a better way to stabilize it. It is doing it's job for now.

I got all my dyes together because I got antsy with the need to make color. I did not have any soda ash on hand and went to the grocery store to get some washing soda. Arm & Hammer still makes this stuff, unfortunately the grocer doesn't stock it anymore. I went exploring under the kitchen sink and discovered that my dishwasher powder is sodium carbonate...BINGO! Now I can spend the evening setting up some fabric to dye overnight. I'll post pics of the results if I like them. I want to do a Ricky Tims style convergence quilt so I will be deliberate about the colors and pattern I create.

Everybody's doing it

So after returning from this year's Alex Anderson Quilt Retreat, I discovered that so many of my fellow retreaters are blogging. As an exercise in journalling my quilt design projects, I am too jumping in the blog pool. The journey begins....