Pre-reduced synthetic Indigo adventure

————————————————————————

We were up to something today.

We have in hand instructions for creating a synthetic Indigo vat into which we will sacrifice 2.7 meters worth a fabric, more specifically a size 2 Didymos baby wrap. I wasn't comfortable with anything longer just yet . . .



And the tools.



Lye is not required with Pre-reduced indigo, instead soda ash is used and the indigo breaks up more easily.



First we added Thiox to 6 gallons of water, then the Indigo. Once the Indigo is added to the Thiox a strong reaction occurs and the bath emits an ammonia smell.
This is why we are masked. After this initial reaction the smell lessened, but we had the exhaust fan on and the windows open the whole time anyway.

Next, dissolve the Soda Ash into hot water and add it to the bath stirring slowly in one direction as not to introduce oxygen into the vat.




Then, we skimmed the "flower" off the top of the bath and saved it, it contains valuable Indigo and should be returned to the Vat after dyeing.
Natural Indigo Vats can last many generations if properly maintained, a synthetic vat can last a few months I believe (we'll see).

Let the vat rest for several hours, tightly covered, before dyeing.



The goods have been washed on hot with synthropol and soda ash.
It is important to introduce the fully wetted goods to the bath carefully to avoid introducing any oxygen into the vat. Oxygen is the enemy!
The colour of the vat should be a clear yellowy green colour.

The plunge!



Submerge the goods and manipulate the folds underneath the surface.



After only two to three minutes we removed the goods being extra careful not to let any drips fall into the vat. You can squeeze and wring the goods under the surface to avoid extra drippings.

Then we let the wrap oxidize for 15 minutes.

(we repeated the 2-3 minute dip a second time)



And after 15 minutes I thought it looked good and was contemplating a second dip (as with natural indigo you can build up the depth of colour with subsequent dips).

Note how in the picture above the water surrounding the wrap is yellow-green and below it is indigo blue—oxidization!



But then I lifted the wrap . . .
A big lump does not allow proper air exposure.





Time lapse . . .




Did I mention I threw in a few more items? The sweater and tee were dipped twice, the two tanks were dipped only once.



Backside of the sweater after 15 minutes.





And we are rinsing!






Aaaaaand . . . it's a bit dark.



The instructions said rinse on hot multiple times (like, one-thousand), and wash with Ivory Soap.  Ok, will do.



Waiting . . .


…

…


But you don't need to wait, fast forward to dry shots!







Life in Essex part 1

We finally moved in in February, the house isn't ready, but I was up for camping out as long as we planted the flag before the one year anniversary of our closing date.

Things are a bit chaotic now of course, with boxes and toys strewn about, here are pictures before the little creatures took their toll:

The room formerly known as a closet, this will be the master bath . . . one day.

The claw foot tub from Magnolia:

Our future towel rack by Charles and Ray Eames:

Boy's Room, his "rainbow" floor:

The playroom:

The kitchen, we love it!:

The kitchen fireplace:

More lived-in images to follow . . .

One Day I'm Gonna Whistle?

Simply the sweetest thing I've ever seen:

Jorge & Alexa Narvaez sing Home by Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeros

Bagging the Gift Wrap

Last year, along with the rest of the trendy blogosphere, I became smitten with Baggu, the reusable tote bag company with the simple stylish answer to the bring your own bag to the market requirement.

Having just aided in the execution of an ecommerce site at my workplace I cannot help but be head-over-heels impressed with Baggu's website.  It is elegant, clean, and suductive—it is impossible not to buy at least one of their delicious colour offerings. 

 

This year I am putting my wrapping where my words are and eliminating paper goods from our holiday gifting.  Each gift will be enclosed in a Baggu tote, allowing the recipient to reuse the bag for shopping and such all year round.  It's two gifts in one, it's the gift that keeps on giving, it's delicious!

Update on Sunday, December 19, 2010 at 9:20PM by Blahut Arnason

Getting there!

House Paint

Pumpkin Cream door, Bradstreet Beige clapboards, and Linen White trim.

An improvement over this:

Of course, we must wait until spring, but looking at the little swatches saves my sanity sometimes. 

And for lighting, we are loving the brass bracket lights from Marston & Langinger.

Niles Beach Tuesday & Thursday

Organization

I have a few things on my mind, but mostly I'm spinning my wheels.
• Tackling an exciting challenge at work.
• Considering a new blog dedicated to baby wrapping since it's my main obsession these days, and these things do go in cycles.
• Organizing my multiple photography accounts: Photobucket, Flikr, Picasa, Mobile Me, and Facebook (does that count?).
• Getting more involved in the house renovation since it has taken on a life of its own out of neglect on my part.
• Using the iPad as a time saving device rather than a time sucking device (I'm using the Squarespace app to compose this post right now).
• Celebrating every moment with my baby who is already six months old today.

Ocean Boats

Everyday (well, if I manage to get out of the house), I see something beautiful rushing past the driver's side window.  Today I stopped in order to fully witness the giant cruise ship in Gloucester Harbor from Niles Beach.

Labor Day

There was nothing laborious about it, a day on the beach, leftovers, and a tri-cycle ride.  Perfect.

"So, have you moved in yet?"

No, it looks like September with a lot of work to be done once we get in.

But I'm starting to get excited!

Here is the bathtub we rescued from Magnolia and are installing in the full bath.

And here are the kitchen cabinets installed.  I'm finally believeing the kitchen is going to be fantastic!