May 19, 2017

ANNUAL DYE DAY - MAY 28, 2017

No formal meeting this month because of Dye Day.

Dye Day - Sunday, May 28,
10 AM to Afternoon sometime
733 Cree Ct, Walnut Creek
Bring your lunch, hot or cold coffee & tea available depending on the weather 
Bring your own gloves if you want to Indigo dye or worry about the dye powder getting on your hands

Items that Treadles will have on hand for you to dye, if you want to:
  • our new white Spinning at the Winery T-Shirts
  • small Cotton Market bags that fold up into their own pocket from Dharma
  • some light rayon scarves, 14" x 60"
  • some larger light rayon scarves, 21" x 72"
T-Shirts cost $8 each, lots of sizes still available.
The market bags [one to a customer] and rayon scarves [one to a customer] are free as long as they last.
If you have other items that are amenable to ice dyeing [info below] or that you want to dye in the Indigo bath [info below], you are welcome to bring them.
Also, if you have some of your own Fiber Reactive Procion Dye powder in colors that you like, bring that as well.

ICE DYEING
Procion powdered dyes will be used. Cotton, or other cellulose fiber items, will need to have a pre-soak in a soda ash solution prior to dyeing and will be available at Dye Day.

I don't know if its necessary to pre-wash your t-shirt, but I have, just in case. The red of the wine glass did run after soaking in the soda ash solution, so it may cause some pink or red spots on your t-shirt, so be prepared for that.

  • The process involves scrunching up your object, fabric, or garment, 
  • setting it up on a rack [important so that as the ice melts, your fabric is not sitting in a pool of all the dyes mixed together]
  • putting the rack into some sort of pan to catch the melting ice and dye
  • covering your fabric with a good layer of ice cubes or crushed ice
  • putting on a dust mask and sprinkling dye powder directly onto the ice
  • covering and letting it sit for about 24 hours without touching
Further instructions at Dye Day. We may have enough tubs or aluminum pans, but racks are more tricky to find at cheap prices. If you have your own plastic tub and/or a cookie cooling rack you can use, bring it. Below are photos of what Reba has found at her local dollar store to use, plus a photo of the scrunched up fabric and how it sits on the racks.
The basket above may be the perfect thing because it will hold the ice from falling off the sides when she scrunches the shirt inside of it. The little berry baskets the bigger basket is sitting on need to be turned upside down from what is shown so that the dye does not pool against the shirt in those two area. Plus, the stands need to hold about 2 -3 lbs of ice.

Again, there will be some of this equipment at Dye Day for you to use if you don't have anything of your own.

Sample of a nicely ice dyed T-shirt from the Dharma Web Site


PRE DISSOLVED INDIGO CRYSTAL DYE POT
You may choose to dye your shirt, or any of the other things, in indigo. No pre-soak solution is needed for this dye, but I would still pre-wash your shirt if you already bought one.

None of the shirts at dye day will be pre-washed.

If you have done any type of shibori dyeing before and have equipment for this, bring it and use it here. The buckets are the orange buckets from Home Depot, so don't expect to be able to plunge anything deeper than those buckets. By equipment, I mean tubes, string, clamps, that kind of thing. No, there will be no instruction on shibori preparation. 

If you already have your shirt you could prepare it ahead of time if you like, especially if you want to do some type of sewn shibori design. But we will have all day and the dyeing itself is rather just a quick dip.


20TH ANNUAL SPINNING AT THE WINERY

Treadles to Threads Spinning Guild invites everyone once again to “Spinning at the Winery.” We’re hoping the 20th year of this event brings exceptional weather as well as an exceptional day for you in Livermore’s wine country. This  is a day to spend spinning, snacking, shopping and visiting with your fiber friends throughout the Bay Area. California vendors are featured with goodies from raw fiber to finished yarn, spinning equipment, fiber related goodies, a dynamite raffle, and lots more that that you will find utterly enticing. Morro Fleece works will again be there for deposit of that beautiful fleece you find from local shepherds.
Bring your wheel and a pot luck dish to share for a truly enjoyable day on the grounds of Retzlaff Winery. The tasting room will be open to enliven your dining pleasure.
This event can be crowded, so please don’t bring your pets, even if they are exceptionally well behaved.
JUNE 3, 2017
Retzlaff Vineyards 
1356 Livermore Ave, Livermore CA
10 am to 4 pm,   $5 entry per person

T2T Members: Joan will bring the sign-up sheet for the Winery day work schedule to dye day in case you have forgotten what you have signed up for. Remember, this is the one day we really need everyone's help to make this event successful. Your participation is very important to the Guild. If you have any questions, contact Joan here

Bring your items for the auction to the event directly, If you cannot, give it to anyone who will be going. 


RESTING UP FOR THE WINERY. . .
"What da ya mean, 'no pets'?!?!"