SusieQHandDyed

Many years ago I received my degree in Textiles at the Nova Scotia College of Art & Design. Since then I've designed woven silk and beaded jewelry, worked in painted paper collage and am now absolutely loving returning to my textile roots by working with silk.

My inspiration and joy through all these mediums has always been playing with color, pattern and image. For the silk, I use a variety of techniques such as shibori, fold & clamp dye and direct dye, but my favorite technique is painting on the silk.

I may repeat a motif such as a leaf shape, but each scarf is painted freely with no stencils or printing media, so each is unique. The scarves are often dyed first in a soft shade and then painted. For other designs I paint directly on the creamy white scarf, sometimes using resist outlines and other times drawing and painting in free hand, creating a looser, almost watercolor look.

I'm always exploring new techniques and patterns and will be adding some block printing to my scarves this year so always check back to see what's new.

My other love is vintage fashion. I buy most of my own clothing second hand and I'm always seeing wonderful vintage finds along the way! Being a textile person I can't resist a wonderful fabric, vintage silk scarf or quality designer dress, but they're not always something I can use myself. A few years ago I changed my former vintage shop to my silk painting shop, but I decided that vintage fashion can also fit with my scarves, so I am now adding my vintage finds to my shop as well. You will find mostly dresses and silk scarves (of course) and perhaps the odd blouse, jacket or accessory. Please enjoy browsing!