Wednesday, November 6, 2013

In the Pink

I tried something new the other day.  I'd bought some different pink fabrics online but they weren't exactly the pink I had in mind for a retro-mod type wall hanging. 

So I decided to try discharging some of the dye with a bleach and water bath.  I found this website to be very helpful in learning more about it.  I used 2 quarts of water mixed with 1/2 cup of chlorine bleach.  From what I had read, it wasn't going to take long, so I stirred it around and watched it for probably a total of 7 minutes.


In the neutralizer bath.
Then I rinsed them in clear water and put them in a second bath of 2 quarts of water and 2 capfuls of chlorine neutralizer for aquariums that we had left over from when we had a fish tank.  After that, I washed them in warm sudsy water and rinsed them thoroughly.

Here are the before/after results.  The original with the discharged version on top.  It's subtle, but there is a perceptible difference.  The lightest one is actually  more of a blush pink color, not tan as it appears in the photos.


These are Robert Kaufman Quilter's Linen (a print, not true linen). 

They're still not exactly the shade I'd like, but close enough for rock 'n roll.  I am using the discharged watermelon pink and the discharged blush pink.





* * * * * * * *
Today is my daughter's 26th birthday ~ Happy birthday Shella-Bubba!  (I am notorious for inventing nicknames.  She got stuck with that one, among others, but I think she's okay with it...or maybe she was okay with it until I announced it to the whole internet.)

We celebrated on Sunday with her favorite dessert, mint chocolate bars.  I bounced completely off the no-sugar wagon while they lasted, but they were good.


Michelle and Nick
I hope you have a great day and a wonderful year ahead, sweetie!

11 comments:

Kevin the Quilter said...

Wow! You are brave AND talented! I am "dying" to see what you have up your sleeve now! TEASE! Happy Bday to your daughter!

Pam said...

Lovely stuff! Love the gradations. I personally can never have enough pink!

Beautiful picture of your daughter, too!

MomWaldsPlace said...

Can NOT wait to see this quilt. Seriously, no patience here.

Hey, your daughter is stinkin' cute. Takes after her mom!

You raise the question of what nick names they came up with for you over the years as pay back.

Shay said...

Brilliant idea for subtly changing fabric colours. Love seeing the graduated colour too and those half circles are fabulous...cant wait to see all of that in it’s glory!

Happy Birthday Shella-Bubba. I like your style when it comes to birthday “cakes”

Karen said...

you are far more patient than I as I would not even try to dye those - but they turned out so great!

I also provide unwanted nicknames and my co-worker's nickname is bubba and he is as far from a bubba as you can be, which is of course why it's his nickname

Can't wait to see your project!

Janine @ Rainbow Hare said...

I love the different shades you got :)

Elizabeth said...

Your daughter is such a beautiful girl (and I know where she got it :)! I hope she had a wonderful birthday! I make up goofy nicknames for my kids too, practically a new one every day.

I LOVE that peek you gave of your hemispheres in progress. Awesome colors and interesting process to discharge the dye. That is going to be a great quilt!

xo -E

Sara said...

Oh I think that quilt is going to be pretty darn special! Wonderful experimenting you did with the pinks.

Happy Birthday to your daughter!!

Kim said...

How spiffy do those pink fabrics look!! Well done!! Here's to a wonderful year ahead for your beautiful daughter!!

Sarah Craig said...

What a great idea! I'll have to keep that in mind when we get in funky fabrics….

Pokey said...

Looks like a success in the fabric dying, those will give a nice blend in your hemispheres quilt. Happy Birthday to your cutie girl Michelle!
:-}pokey