Easter egg coloring 2020

Easter 2020.

We did have our annual egg coloring session this year, although not as joyful as in years past because of the quarantine. We did not make and give Easter baskets like we usually do.

Colored eggs 2020. The baseball egg is the upper left corner.

The number of eggs was smaller this year... Larry hard boiled about 18.

Egg dying prep: dye colors in coffee mugs and the egg carton for drying.

The Big Box of 96 came out for the occasion.

Crayola crayons box of 96

I did some mindful drawing and tried to come up with new free-motion quilting motifs to decorate the eggs—log cabin blocks, feathers, pebbles and concentric circles and squares.

Quilting motifs on colored Easter eggs.

Hoping that brighter days come soon.

Happy Easter.

Annual Easter egg coloring event 2019

Over the 10 years of this blog, I've documented our annual Easter egg coloring event. Sometimes we discover a new dye or embellishment technique to try. Sometimes we stick to the tried-and-true basics. It's fun, creative and relaxing either way.

2019 colored Easter eggs.

Egg and basket prep

Only one of the 3 1/2 dozen eggs was lost [cracked] after the hard boiling process. We worked with both brown and white eggs and I made fabric baskets this year using the Melba Flower Basket pattern from The Textile Pantry.

Fabric Easter baskets and hard boiled eggs await coloring.

We break out the big box of 96 Crayola crayons and begin the process.

Egg coloring process.

Free Motion Quilting motifs

This has been the extent of my free-motion quilting this year—putting the designs on hard-boiled eggs.

Colored eggs with free-motion quilting motifs.

Shibori resist dyeing

We experimented with the shibori resist dye technique on the eggs a few years ago. It's a favorite and the results are always graphic and interesting.

Shibori resist dyed eggs.

A few eggs were dyed solid. The dyed brown eggs have a rich depth of color.

Resist dyed and solid dyed eggs.

I was surprised that 8 eggs fit comfortably in the fabric baskets. 9 would be do-able but possibly a tight squeeze.

Colored Easter eggs in fabric basket.

On Easter Sunday, the eggs are placed into the baskets, ready for giving.

Easter egg baskets.

Wear an official egg-coloring cap
Here is our resident expert, chief egg boiler and co-colorer. He is wearing one of his official egg coloring caps.

Do you have an official egg-coloring cap?

Happy Easter 2019
Now look forward to several days of egg salad!

Annual Easter egg dying—what's your favorite?

Clear off the kitchen table... get out the big box of 96 Crayons... fill the mugs with water and vinegar. Let the egg dying commence!

Prep for the annual Easter egg dying session.

As busy, complicated and chaotic as life is these days, we always schedule time to color Easter eggs. For us, this is a much-needed break from technology and the other go-go-go work-related activities. We get to spend quiet time together, unplugged, just doing something as simple as putting color on hard boiled eggs. Coloring eggs for Easter has become a great tradition at our house.

This year, Larry said he found a new technique for egg dying. Supplies required: a leaf, nylon stockings or panty hose, and a twist tie. For the fabric dyers out there, this is a shibori resist dying technique.

Larry prepares the clover resist for dying.

Larry used a clover as the resist and the process worked quite well. The veins in the leaves and the stem were quite pronounced.

Two eggs using the leaf resist method.

I worked with my crayons and drew free-motion quilting designs on the eggs. I found a metallic lime green in the crayon box that got good results. Rubber band resists is also an easy technique that works well. And if you can get the brown eggs, they offer a warmer undertone and beautiful darker nuances to the otherwise bright colored dyes. 

Free-motion quilting designs and rubber band resists.

It's fun and relaxing to be creative and crafty by using one's hands on such a simple activity. At the end of the night, we alway wish we had boiled more eggs.

Colored Easter eggs: which is your favorite?

So, which is my favorite egg this year? The resists yield great results. The FMQ designs are a nice surprise to the recipients of the eggs. I'm drawn to the colors that are achieved from the brown eggs. But the forever classic "baseball egg" is the favorite because this is the one Larry always makes. And, he's MY favorite.

Happy Easter eggs

Happy Easter 2016!

Although the annual egg coloring process at our house gets more elaborate each year with the various dying techniques we experiment with, Larry has perfected the egg boiling process! 

The new technique this year is the sticker resist.

Start them in cold water. Bring to a boil. Take them off the heat and let cook for 13 minutes. Remove the eggs from the hot water and put them into cool water. Done.

Free-motion quilting designs using crayons.

We had no cracked eggs in the entire batch! They are easy to peel and the yolk is not green. This is the way to do it.

Rubber band resist. Shibori eggs?

We bought some brown eggs again this year. They have to be dyed in a dark color—like green or purple—to see any contrast. However, the natural un-dyed brown eggs are a nice addition to the basket of pastel colored eggs.

Brown eggs over-dyed in green and purple.

Wishing everyone a happy and colorful Easter season.

Colored hard-boiled eggs for Easter 2016.