Rust Dyeing Kiln

The shower stall where the kiln will be

I chose to live in Madison, Wisconsin. That choice means I can only rust dye from April through October. Rust dyeing works best when it is hot and humid. Because I had a booth in mid October at International Quilt Festival-Houston and will have one at IQF-Chicago on April 16-18, I do not have enough stock for the Chicago show. So I am building a rust dyeing kiln in my basement!!! Hopefully this will allow me to continue rust dyeing throughout the very cold Wisconsin winter. Anyone who has done any rust dyeing will attest that it is messy! This means I am building the kiln as far away as I can get from the laundry room. It will be in the basement shower stall. There is a sink in the bathroom for rinsing out the rust dyed fabric.

Shower stall lined with insulation foam

Tote Tuesday

Tote Tuesday logo was designed by Jeanelle McCall

Tote Tuesday, a Fiberart For A Cause fundraiser for the American Cancer Society, will open Tuesday, February 2 and continue through March. It’s a fundraiser and a showcase for everything that is fun and creative about the fiber arts. It is being organized by Virginia Spiegel, who ran the amazing Collage Mania, that raised over $190,000 for the ACS in just four years. She has over thirty totes listed with the actual number of sponsored totes in-progress approaching fifty. You can read more about it on Virginia's blog:

http://www.virginiaspiegel.com/blog/

I am going sponsoring a tote called The Rust-Tex Collection. My tote is scheduled to be up for auction on Feb 2. Here is a picture of what will be in the 100% cotton tote, which you could rust dye after you get it.

Here is the blurb I wrote for Tote Tuesday:
"The Rust-Tex Collection has everything you need to get started in rust dyeing including the Rust-Tex Instructional CD. Rust Dyeing is unpredictable, but Lois Jarvis has figured out 4 techniques that will give you repeatable patterns. Also in the tote, is the Rust-Tex Starter Kit that includes everything needed to create the “Trees” pattern, one of the four techniques on the CD, and 4 steel stars that are guaranteed to rust are just some of the things in the 100% cotton tote that you could be rust dyed after you pop the CD in your computer and learn how to rust dye."

Here is the list of what will be in The Rust-Tex Collection tote:

Rust-Tex Instructional CD
Kit to make "Trees Fabric"
Tannin (enough to make a quart)
1.5oz bottle synthrapol
Tube of iron fillings
4 steel stars (guaranteed to rust)
100% cotton tote for rust dyeing
Fat Quarter of Stormy Skies Fabric
Fat Quarter of Trees Fabric
Fat Quarter of Sunburst Fabric

With a retail value of $96 I am sure you will all want to bid on it. I will post where to do the bidding closer to Feb 2.