my "studio"

Let me be honest right from the start. There are so many crafts I love and they tend to take over most of the house.  Some parts of my crafts have permanent housing; others must be taken out and put away again.  There are 3 major crafts that I do most of the time--tie dyeing, jewelry making, and paper crafts.  

I will focus on tie dyeing here.  I have been tie dyeing for about 18 years.  Over the years I have developed my own processes.  I have sold in many venues--from craft fairs, wholesaling, commissioned work (team shirts, costuming, chamois, etc), to selling out of my own store.   Early on, I discovered that teaching others is such fun!

My tie dyeing studio can begin in my basement (sorry, no tours!) where all my tie dyeing equipment is stored.  There I mix up the dyes.  I also have a table under a window where I do the actual dyeing.

My kitchen table is where I plan and draw my designs.  I use actual dye to paint the colors.

Now it's off the the family room to tie up the items.  Here I am in the process of tying up chamois.  (These are soft absorbent towels that swimmers and divers use.  I custom dye them for Kast-A-Way Swimwear)



Here is Oliver, my special helper.  Actually, I think he is looking for an opportunity to sneak rubber bands!

Back down to the basement to check on the chamois which must "cure" for at least 24 hours.

some completed chamois are below

If I hand paint a design (with dye), I sit at my kitchen table.

Here is a dress painted with dragonflies and roses that was first washed, dried, soaked in a solution, dyed, cured, washed, dried, soaked in a solution, dried, painted, cured, washed, dried.

Sometimes, my "studio" is somewhere besides my home.  I teach the tie dyeing process in many places--homes, schools, churches, businesses, parks...wherever.

On the right is a Girl Scout camp where I taught this past summer.  See this post for more photos.  It was so much fun!

Below is a class taught at a school.  I rarely am able to take photos while teaching.

Here is a Girl Scout Troop proudly showing off the shirts I helped them make!

This post is for the etsy bloggers' carnival which will be posted on Monday, September 28 by Edi at Memories for Life Scrapbooks.
Here is  the direct link to Edi's post with links to all participants (actually quite a few!).

PS  Here's my blogging spot. 

photos by me © 2009 except last one which is also ©.