Snow dyeing

Well a week later and I have all the shirts and scarves ironed, and about half the fabric done.  It's snowing again today, so I think I will mix up some more dyes...different colors this time.  If you have not heard about snow dyeing, it is like making snow cones with fabric.  You take a piece of fabric that has been soaked in soda ash and lie it on a screen or rack with slots.  Place the screen inside of a container, off the bottom.  Put 2-3 inches of snow on top of the fabric, then pour your dye on the snow.  Pour probably isn't the right verb... more like sprinkle.  I use syringes or pipettes.  Then it is a waiting game while the snow melts distributing the dye over the smushed fabric.  Your only control in the experience is color select.  Sometimes the colors blend, sometimes they don't; sometimes they migrated, sometimes they don't.  I once did a piece that looked like a sunset on a lake on the snow.  Afterwards, it ended up looking like a Monet's version of flowers in a vase.  Here a couple pictures of what I did last week...

Cool, huh!?! Now, your thinking beautiful but what can you do with them.  Well, the ones that look like marble I can see as a background fabric.  Behind a nice appliqued design, the snow dyed fabric would add a nice subtle movement in the background.  The more colorful pieces could be "fussy cut" for applique or used in a pieced block.  Think how the snow dye would "pop" next to a solid colored piece of fabric.  The cloth that started out as a sunset and ended up as a flower vase, I am planning on doing a whole cloth piece with, free motion embroidery the flowers to add more definition.

Time to mix up dyes... piece and happiness