I needed some new clothes, so I spent this weekend puttering in the dyepots. I dyed 17 articles of clothing: six T-shirts, four blouses, four button-down shirts, a ruana/poncho, an open jacket, and – shockingly – an actual dress! I haven’t worn a dress (except my wedding dress) in at least twenty years. That’s because the dress code for Silicon Valley engineering departments is jeans-only; I found out very early in my career that anything young, female, and in skirts was immediately dismissed as unimportant.
However, having left high-tech, I decided that it might be fun to experiment with radical wardrobe changes (ooh, cross-dressing!), so I scrunch-dyed this lovely dress in emerald green, cobalt blue, cerulean blue, and a hint of turquoise. I love it! And I may actually wear it. Friends: try not to faint when you see me. 🙂

Here are the nicer T-shirts:


And the light jackets:


And two of the simple blouses. These were meant to provide a boring background for more decorative/dramatic jackets and shawls. I had intended to dye them evenly, but there was a little bit of variation in color. I love it! The slight variation gives them more visual interest than a truly solid color.

And now I have a new wardrobe! Just in time, too – I’m leaving next Monday to go traveling, both on family business and to attend the American Craft Council’s “Present Tense” conference in Omaha, NE.