I snow-dyed some fabric several years ago, a large piece plus some scraps and yarns. It languished in my stash. While watching The Planets by Brian Cox, I realised that my fabric was like the gullies and impact craters on Mars. The size and shape of my dyed fabrics dictated the layout of my piece. Numerous orbiters and rovers are now mapping and analysing the surface and interior of Mars, and scientists are piecing together a picture of Mars past and present. On the back, I have listed successful missions to Mars.
Snow-dyed cotton fabric and mixed yarns with Procion dyes. Rayon embroidery yarns, two buttons plus silk paper decorated with throwsters’ waste (leftovers from the silk thread production process called throwing) to add more textures. Free machine quilting with variegated threads emphasising the drips and streaks from snow-dyeing. Edging created by zigzagging over twisted threads, a method learned from Linda Miller. Buttons to add interest to the back: spaceship with handwritten list of Mars missions and alien face for quotation ‘Envious Eyes’ from The War of the Worlds.
