Summer of Color: Watermelon Ice

Although this Summer of Color with Kristin from Twinkle, Twinkle has been so much fun, it is now time to submit the final entry. Since I've been on this fabric dyeing kick, I thought I would also make this final color entry, called Watermelon Ice using Staz-on and 91% alcohol, just like I have dyed the last three quiltlets. However, since this is our final visit, I thought I would show you how I made it.


Early one morning last week, I started playing with various surface dye techniques. The water on the left side of the photo is from another project, and that grungy coffee mug just barely showing on the right is to sustain me. They are not part of the supplies I used.

Supplies from back left clockwise:
*Staz-on reinkers
91% Isopropyl alcohol (also called rubbing alcohol, but do not use 70%)
Foam brush (preferred)
Mixing containers
Fabric of your choice (I used an old tablecloth)

*You must use a waterproof ink for this. Do not use color washes, or dye, distress, or pigment ink. I use Staz-on brand. I suspect there are others, but this is the brand I use exclusively. And I have absolutely NO affiliation with the company, nor am I compensated to say this.

I began by mixing 8-10 drops of Pumpkin Staz-on into the container, to which I then added the alcohol.


Next came Cherry Pink,


Blazing Red, and finally


Mustard.


I tried coloring some leftover elastic black, but I never got the look I was going for.


It didn't take long for either piece to quickly dry in the hot summer sun. After all, alcohol dries faster than water. When dry, I realized that elastic I tried to dye black was not going to work.


To digress a bit, more than a few years ago, a swapper friend sent me a Xylene Blending Pen. I've only used it a few times, not even once for every year I've had it. I've always been told you MUST use new toner copies to get a good transfer with this pen. However, I've been getting rid of a few grad school (master's level) files and folders, but remembered I had a few pages I had not yet shredded. You must remember, these pages were copied sometime between 1989 and 1991 while I was getting my Master's Degree (before I moved to Wichita). So much for worrying about old toner. You can see this toner was still active.


First, I positioned the paper face down in the area I wanted to transfer, then saturated the paper with the blending pen. Because I have no grip, I used the blending pen to press onto the wet page to make sure the Xylene soaked image made its way to the fabric. And please don't ask where you can buy one of these pens, because I would have to do an internet search, just like you.


Here is the finished front. I used an old watermelon seed packet that still had watermelon seeds in it. I encased it under laminate, which is more obvious than what showed last week under the scanner. This may be because several of the seeds moved as I was adhering the sticky laminate. As you can see, I even sewed through a couple of watermelon seeds.


For the back, I added a bit of the same colored lace from the front and added my name.


After I got to looking at the scan while I was uploading the images, I was quite disappointed and felt it needed something more. So, I added "Summer" to the quiltlet using a stencil. Now I hope it's finished!

I would like to thank Kristin for this challenge. I am a bit saddened that this is the final week, but I look forward to the next Summer of Color.

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