Rusted Fish after tea-dyeing

My nice rusted fish has had a bit of a bath ... in tea ... and is now layerd and basted for quilting.

The whiteness of the fabric above the fish was just TOO white for me and dunking it briefly in tea has greyed the rusty colours a bit and has given the background a touch of lavender-grey. The lighter rusty areas around the fish image have become quite grey and looks like a shadow ... I quite like the effect!

Now to decide just how I am going to stitch it!  The fish is 24" x 12" so this will take a while to accomplish all the hand work that I am considering for it.

Rusted Fish

I have been pondering the idea of creating a rusted fish art quilt for some time and I leapt into it last night after removing everything from my living room fireplace in preparation for painting the brick.

The fish is one that I picked up at a market in Campbell River, BC, some years ago. It has been cut from rusty corrugated iron and it really appeals to me.

What I did was place the rusty fish on a piece of plastic then place the cotton fabric (already dampened with diluted vinegar) loosely on top. I made sure the fabric was making contact with the fish and then covered it with plastic to keep it damp and left it.  I thought it would take a week or two to get the image but today I discovered it was already very rusted  so I am now drying the fabric (while I make another imprint on the other end of the cotton) in preparation for the next step . . . and I'm not yet sure what that will be.  I'll let you know later!

PS ... I hope to remember to stay on-track with the fireplace painting, too!