Category — Silk half circle veils

They have names like :

Firebird
Blue Bayou
Beautiful Dreamer
Burnished Wine
Madame Bleu
Monet’s Garden
Blushing Silver
Baby, I’m blushing
Golden Pond
Slash
Dream Catcher
Crushed Orchid
Moroccan Stripes
Scarlet Runner
Out of the blue …

Yes, I am. Frenzied, that is. If I’ve been a bad, quiet blogger, that’s why. It’s not just because it’s the middle of a very long winter that takes its toll on my energy levels either.

Twice a year I go through this. Dye every piece of silk I possibly can so my local dancers can get their pick of the crop. Try out new things, pull out some old but loved techniques. Run the gamut of every colour scheme possibly imaginable. By the time I hang every thing on the rack ready to go, I’ve bewildered myself with the available selection.

Last weekend, I had an attack of the oranges. Orange makes me happy. It’s not a colour that people first think of, but when you see it splayed out in an interesting combination on a fine piece of silk it can be more than a little glorious. In costuming, it goes through phases; a couple of years ago I spent 3 months solid dyeing nothing but custom veils that were orange based. I didn’t like orange for a long while after that. I do very little custom work now so I don’t get caught stuck inside the box. The whims of fashion can be creativity killers.

So yes, I love orange, and I love mandalas too though I haven’t made very many veils in this technique for a long while it seems. I only made a couple so far, but damn … I’m good at it! I needed a reminder it seems. Somebody on eBay started selling mandala veils and the like a few years back for a disgraceful pitance, so that pushed my interest away from this technique. A shame really. There should be more of these beauties gracing the stage. Done well, they look like stained glass rose windows; quite stunning really.

Anyhow, to make a long story short, if you’re wondering why the blog nor the for sale page are being updated right now with the new pieces : it’s because I’m busy making and hording. For those of you in the region, do please come and see me Sunday, February 22nd at the Ottawa Dancer’s Bazaar. There’s lots of other vendors and artisans too presenting their wares for your sparkly shopping delight. Just follow the “events” link in the navigation bar for the where and when details.

Don’t be fooled by the simplicity of this. It takes nerves of steel, a steady hand and a very decent washing machine to even attempt to tie-dye a red pattern while keeping the background pristine white. You have to also be willing to make something else out of it should it not turn out, which is highly probable.

I’m quite liking the bleeding, exploding heart effect. I had it in my head so it had to be done; I had to stop thinking about it. Is it something that will sell? I don’t know; that’s not usually my big concern when I’ve just got to get something out of my head.

Short post today, sorry. I’ve got 14 more veils waiting to be ironed!

You might have seen these already somewhere, so I apologize for the cross-posting. Believe it or not, there are people who look at my work who aren’t belly dancers. A good friend mentioned that they should be up front, so here they are.

I love these. I love it when I can’t stop staring at something. I’m actually hoping they don’t sell as quickly as I thought they would just so I can keep on staring at them.

I seem to be dyeing a lot with black these days, but there’s a very good reason and it has nothing to do with my mood. How can I not be just fine when I see something turn out like that? I’m ecstatic!

These are all freshly pressed and ready to be snatched up.