Sunset Quilt

I had an idea for a theme quilt for MQS in May.  The theme is “South of the Border”. The February Art Quilt group was supposed to be how to paint sunrises and sunsets. We weren’t able to meet and that project is on the list for next month. It had gotten me to thinking and I came up with this quilt. I’ll be posting the steps in making it as I go along.

I started dyeing the fabric March 4th. I wanted to use Quick Fix so that I didn’t have to wrap the fabric up and wait 24 hours before washing. I searched the internet for inspiration – I usually use Google images. I typed in “desert sunset” and “desert sunrise” and looked at photos until I had some idea where I wanted to go. One of the most striking photos had a very large white sun setting.

I used Renee’s Mini Rays (www.reneequilts.com) to draw a large circle on freezer paper. I ironed the outside onto the fabric and then painted Presist into the circle to resist the fabric dye.

Resist, beginning painting

I then mixed up MX dye with urea water and water. Using the urea water is optional. It makes the water wetter so it will take longer to dry and give the dye molecules more time to find a “home”. I used only a small amount of dye to give a pale yellow color. I painted the dye on with a sponge brush.

Adding more color

I added more yellow dye for a deeper yellow color painted some more and then added orange. If the fabric is wet enough the colors will blend together.

When you’re done painting, let the fabric air dry. When dry, paint over the whole piece with QuickFix using a large sponge brush, saturating the fabric. Wrap the fabric in plastic and let sit for 1 hour. I used about 2/3rds of a bottle of QuickFix for this piece. At this point you will see all sorts of problems and think you’ve made several mistakes.  Just remember…. It’s not over ’till it’s over.

Finished Sunset Fabric

After an hour rinse the fabric 3 or 4 times and then wash in hot water with Synthrapol. Dry the fabric and then you’ll be able to see how the fabric came out. I was really pleased with the result. Before I rinsed the fabric it looked as if the resist had not held and that there was some yellow under it. It also looked like there was more orange in the yellow than I had wanted. When dry the circle was yellow free and the orange had stayed put.

Later this month…. or maybe next month, we’ll be continuing with sunrises and sunsets using some different mediums.  I’ll also be posting the next steps in the creation of this quilt.

If you want to give it a whirl be sure and send me photos!!

Until next time…   Patti

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