Featured Artist : Karla OverlandCherrywood Fabrics

My name is Karla Overland and I am the "color person" at Cherrywood Fabrics in Brainerd, Minnesota. We have been using Procion from Dharma for over 20 years. We dye our unbleached muslin with a special technique that gives it a unique suede texture. Our most popular product is our 8-step gradation bundles that we sell as fat quarters, half-yard or full-yard bundles. I maintain over 40 formulas for our line of fabrics using almost 20 different Procion dyes from Dharma.

Our customers are mainly quilters, but we also sell to wearables artists, designers, home decorators and seamstresses. Since we maintain a palette of colors for several years, I strive to keep our dye lots consistent. However, I am always experimenting with new formulas and gradations to keep up with customers ideas and trends. I get ideas from gradations from many places, but mainly from nature. We live in a very wooded area of Minnesota with wonderful vegetation. I also look for palettes in different parts of the country, and sometimes name the bundles after these places. It is a fun (but messy!) process behind the scenes, and our customers really seem to appreciate the beautiful end product.

We also apply our Suede Look dyeing to Rayon Challis that we get from Dharma. It has a beautiful, silky feel to it and is completely washable. I have dyed many PFD shirts for the men and babies in my life, and it is such a quick way to get a unique gift!