Susan Ellis

I learned to tie-dye fabric at Gwynn Valley Camp in Brevard, NC, where I was trying to get rid of an overstock of adult white t's one summer. My friend and coworker, Tamara, a fiber artist from Texas, was kind enough to give me lessons, and the shirts flew off the shelves, but after dyeing 600 shirts over three summers, I never want to see another white t-shirt again as long as I live!!! Last summer, Tamara convinced me to learn Shibori. She assured me that dyeing silk scarves would be so much more fun than dyeing t-shirts. I was skeptical, but she was right... I LOVE DYEING SILK SCARVES, especially using the arashi, or pole-wrapping technique of Shibori.

Thankfully, I can purchase pre-made habotai, chiffon, or flat crepe white silk scarves from Dharma (if I had to sew them, I'd still be rolling the first hem!) which I hand dye using MX Fiber Reactive Dyes. I sell my scarves at craft fairs, galleries and in my online shop, Daisy D Designs on Etsy. Inspiration? I have a child in an out-of-state university. I find her tuition bills are the only inspiration I really need!!! But I do love color and texture. When I was in third grade, my turkey was the only one with multi-colored tail feathers!