Month: February 2016

Highlights from San Francisco

On By Erickson's HeirloomsIn TravelLeave a comment

Having taken a few days off work – I headed to San Francisco to see my oldest son. After arriving, I spent the first day walking around the Mission District. I enjoyed viewing the many wall murals along my walk.

Women’s Building

And the other sights of the Mission…




Some of the highlights were actually getting the the higher places in San Francisco.
Bernal Heights… 


Twin Peaks….

My son, Tim.
We also visited Napa and Sonoma.  Being a non-drinker (I know that is not normal for visitors the the Valley), Tim and I went to see the scenery and art.  We stumbled upon the di Rosa Art and Nature Preserve and arrived just before a docent-led tour was beginning. We learned a lot about Rene di Rosa’s art collection, the various artists in the collection, and thoroughly enjoyed our visit. 


  

Crochet Along Blocks – Crocodile Flower and Lion’s Mane Crochet Squares

On By Erickson's HeirloomsIn Crochet1 Comment
Two more  crochet blocks completed.  




“Crocodile Flower”

Designer: Joyce Lewis

Pattern: $1.99 at Ravelry http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/the-crocodile-flower

I really like this pattern.  There are many wonderful color combinations on the Ravelry website.

“Lion’s Mane”

Designer: April Moreland

Pattern: free at Ravelry

I’m still having fun making these!

Mandala Dyeing 2

On By Erickson's HeirloomsIn Mandala, Soda Ash dyeingLeave a comment

My fourth attempt:

 

  • Combed cotton 22″ x 22″.
  • Fold and iron fabric.
  • Soak in warmed soda ash solution for 30 minutes.
  • Place in tray over bucket.
  • Place 8 cups of fresh snow over the fabric.
  • Mix dye with snow. Orange, Mixing Red and Royal Blue  1/2 teaspoon of each dye mixed with 8 cups of snow and packed over the fabric.
  • Place lid over the bucket and allow to sit at room temperature.
  • After 24 hours, rinse fabric in cold water.
  • Wash in hot water with blue Dawn soap.
  • Rinse, dry and iron.
Lessons learned:
  • colors are brighter, but still too much white, 
Things yet to learn
  • The amount of dye needed to migrate through the full thickness of the folded fabric.
  • The impact of clamping the fabric. 

My fifth attempt:

  • Combed cotton fabric 12″ x 18″ folded accordion style into eight sections, then fold in half or in thirds lengthwise.  Clamp one with large forceps.
  • Fold and iron fabric.
  • Soak fabric in warmed soda ash solution for 30 minutes.
  • Place fabric in tray over bucket.
  • Mix dye with snow: Golden Yellow, Mixing Red and Royal Blue (3/4 teaspoon of each dye mixed with 8 cups of snow) and packed over the fabric.
  • Place lid over the bucket and allow to sit at room temperature.
  • After 24 hours, rinse fabric in cold water.
  • Wash in hot water with blue Dawn soap.
  • Rinse, dry and iron.
    • Lessons learned:
  • colors are very bright and reached through 24 layers of fabric.
  • some undissolved dye particles made spotty marks on the first layer of fabric that the dye penetrated.
  • clamping was effective to give some controlled areas of blocked dye penetration.
After several additional trials, I have learned that I can selectively control the intensity of the resulting color by placing varied amounts of fresh snow (no dye added) over the fabric before packing the dye mixed snow.

My final attempts: 

  • Combed cotton fabric 22″ x 22″.
  • Fold and iron fabric.
  • Soak fabric in warmed soda ash solution for 30 minutes.
  • Place fabric in tray over bucket.
  • Cover with scrap fabric to collect undissolved dye particles.
  • Mix 1/4 to 3/4 teaspoon of dye powder with varied amounts of snow.
  • Pack fresh snow and snow-dye mixture over the fabric with varied positions
  • Place lid over the bucket and allow to sit at room temperature.
  • After 24 hours, rinse fabric in cold water.
  • Wash in hot water with blue Dawn soap.
  • Rinse, dry and iron.

Really happy with these!!