I won’t attempt this again. Maybe i just don’t have the touch for it, or Calgary snow is different………
I did scrunch the fabrics, but perhaps not enough and they were dry when they went in, though they had been PFD’d first. Maybe the amount of fluid flattened the scruffling, and the dry just soaked up too much without the fracturing? I used a slightly coarser weave cotton also, and no doubt that affects the appearance as well. And i let all of the snow melt. And my dyes didn’t have enough of a mix of component colours to really separate…..and our water has a lot of iron and minerals in it…
I just don’t have any luck with Procion, no matter the tips and techniques others have shared. On Vancouver Island, though i did little, the results were always predictable bright, saturated and clear (no snow dyeing though 
).
The embarrassing, though admittedly better results than the 2011 debacle:
So, none of the wanted crystalline appearance at all. I do have some lovely soft coloured cottons now though, which means at some point they may show up in some work.
Funniest piece was this silk chiffon: Nessie had gotten hold of it once and i thought i had washed it all out, but apparently dog spit acts as a resist Pre-mordanted with a unique substance!
I now add Procion dyeing to my list of cannot do’s, along with gingerbread house building, gift wrapping, sewing angel wings and growing peppers.
Karin
January 27, 2013 at 11:19 am
Yes, yes, I know the frustrations of Procion.
And my onley breakthrough came with use of the microwave. Snow+microwave is going nowhere!
Keep your chin up, we can’t be masters of everything. But I hope one or two of your readers have some useful advice.
We are doing stitching on water soluble tomorrow, what fun.
k
Kit Lang
January 27, 2013 at 11:44 am
this looks like my first attempt at snow dyeing! I haven’t done it since – though the fresh snow around me is tempting, I don’t have any soda ash on hand and can’t be bothered to go and buy some. Your results aren’t tempting me further, so good on you!
(That said, regular procion dyeing, shibori with procion and painting with procion have all produced excellent results for me.)
Jennifer Cooper
January 27, 2013 at 7:54 pm
Instead of snow, try ice cubes. Lots of ice cubes. Same set up as with the snow – soda soak fabric ahead, set up drain rack, fabric scrunched, lots of cubes, then sprinkle on the procion, using mixtures not just a pure colour. More splitting will happen. I’ve never done it, but ask Ms. Google for more specifics re ice dyeing. Results seem way better. Good luck?
Chimo,
Jennifer
wendyfe
January 28, 2013 at 7:37 am
I think Jennifer’s ice cubes with sprinkled dye powder might indeed work to fracture the colours. Dye powder definitely works that way in hot/steamed/simmered bundles. Depends on just how much effort one feels called to put into the snowdyeing to get the imagined result.
Thank you for showing your results, arlee, whatever your opinion of their quality. That kind of sharing is what makes your blog worth reading – it is a record of your work, with all the ups and downs of life inside and outside the studio, how these affect your art.
MA
January 27, 2013 at 8:43 pm
I really do think that you ought to continue to explore the dog spit resist technique….a collaboration of sorts between you & the DFG. If elephants (and monkeys) can paint, why can’t Nessie help with dyeing? Seems to me I read somewhere that a painting done by an elephant sold for tons of money….maybe you’ve discovered a gold mine??
arlee
January 28, 2013 at 8:31 am
Thanks all for the comments and tips, you lovely ladies
Karin, would be a very strange microwave experiment
Kit, all those worked for me on Vancouver Island so it must be our water–or rather our 100 year old pipes!
Jennifer, nothing to lose i guess, only a small amount of some of the dye powders left anyways.
Wendy, thank you for the affirmation
I often wonder at those who only show perfect results every time!
MaryAnne, Nessie would be happy to slobber on a few things
She thinks it’s a great game!
Ayn Hanna
January 28, 2013 at 8:35 am
While not what you were hoping for, they are still lovely colors and you may still get the effect you’re after using the ice cubes. I love the dog spit resist…always looking for more resists and I have lots of similarly “pre-mordanted” fabrics which I find in the yard all the time, due to Emma’s love of textiles and her mischieveous-ness.
arlee
January 28, 2013 at 8:46 am
Try ‘em then
Perhaps “regional differences” will be apparent here too lol
nadia
January 28, 2013 at 2:26 pm
I think you’re pretty harsh on yourself, but then, I tend to accept whatever comes along with dyeing and then put it into something else. I suppose this could lead to a discussion about dyeing and surface design. I must be old fashioned (meaning I dropped out of the main stream when all this became popular), but I still think that it’s what you do with the fabric that counts.
best, nadia
arlee
January 28, 2013 at 3:19 pm
funny you should mention that, because that is exactly what i’m doing today–and it’s perfect
On Mon, Jan 28, 2013 at 2:26 PM, Albedo~~~chronicles of concupiscientia