Grey Blue Week

Recently completed octopus painting, available at framing-grace-gallery

We have had an unusually overcast week here in the Turks and Caicos Islands.  Moody skies and rainy overcast days must have inspired me as I finally got around to a dying project I had been procrastinating on for quite some time.  I had a couple of pretty blouses that were beginning to look worn, thanks to little spots and stains (I'm famous for never being able to keep anything clean for even a single day).  A couple of tins of navy blue fabric dye, some salt, some hot water, and presto chango! You would never know these:

once looked like this!

I added a coral colored dress and lantern I found at a thrift shop, and a fabulous beaded top that I did not agree with the cream colored base of, and stirred it into the mix.  Pretty amazing that all of these pieces turned out such different shades with the same dye batch, despite some of the fabrics being fairly similiar.  Keep this visual in mind when dying fabrics!  I suggest buying a few boxes or tins of the desired color so if the first round does not come out as intense as desired you can go back to the drawing board and  modify your mix with the dilution of hot water. 

All images by Stacie Steensland

Apologies to the tourists who were expecting the bright Caribbean sun this week, but a few blue-grey days and all the precipitation were a welcome change for residents! Our sunset sail on Sunday evening proved that just about any weather looks lovely in Turks and Caicos!