A Color Plan

Humble Beginnings

This pattern is 19" x 35" and was created by Jane McGown Flynn.  I came across a color plan for this rug by Peggy Hannum in the McGown Newsletter of May 2001.  Peggy completed this mat in 2000.  I've never begun a rug with a formal color plan, and certainly not one completely planned by another artist.  I usually start a project with a few colors that I like and believe will work in the design.  I color plan as I go along.  So this is a new challenge for me.  This color plan calls for dyeing 6 and 8 value swatches and spot-dyes. 

The first step was to find the formulas Peggy listed in her article.  Some books I found on Ebay and some on Amazon.  Two of the recipes came from Jane Elliot's Color Flow books. I could not find these as they were out of print.  I contacted the Dorr Mill Store, and they were very helpful. I was able to buy copies. (Great store with such an accommodating staff!)

The two daisy like flowers are hooked in 8 swatches of red (Color Flow #92).  The Cushing dyes used in the formula are Rust (1/32t), American Beauty (1/16t), and Egyptian Red (1/8t).  The 8 swatches are 12" x 14", so the recipe was tripled. I used white vinegar as the mordant which I added after the wool had begun to absorb the dye. The wool is white from Dorr Mill.

The wool pieces were soaked in water with a little Dawn detergent.  I then dyed each piece in it's own pot, so that I could keep the wool moving in the water and get very even color.  (Time consuming though, as I have only 3 dye pots) Each swatch simmered in the pot for an hour.

Now.... let's see if I can keep to the plan......