|
Links Home Contact Us Advertise with Us |
|
|
|
Submit your Blog |
September already?
Quilter Going Bananas | 4 Sep 2010 - 3:30 pm
September already? Geez, what happened to August I'd like to know. If you can explain it to me please enlighten me and leave me a comment, okay? LOL
So what's happening in my corner of the world? After finishing the latest Row Robin to exchange on Wednesday (see my last post) I got my next Row to work on. Ideas are percolating in my head but no sewing done yet.
So I figured I would show you an old applique project that I did over 10 years ago.
It's a block I hand appliqued from an incredible book called Jacobean Applique
by Pat B. Campbell and Mimi Ayars published by AQS.
Here's a view of the back of the block.
This block along with 3 others were the first blocks I ever hand appliqued. I had a phenomenal teacher who was very patient and helped me overcome my fear of hand applique. I really enjoyed making this block. Until next time...
FIBER JUNKIES DYE DAY
The Inside Stori | 4 Sep 2010 - 3:04 pm
Oh....how can I share the activities of the September gathering of the Fiber Junkies without making you all pea green? There really is no easy way NOT to sound like I'm bragging about this very talented and generous group of artists.....
Our goal this month was to dye fabrics......we had a hot, sunny day in our favor.....Patsy Thompson and Nancy Bruce (we need to urge Nancy to get a blog!) had everything set up for the rest of us slackers when we arrived. Thank you girlfriends!!
Judy Simmons has had lots of dyeing experience as does Val......but Carol Sloan and myself, not so much! We all brought various fabrics to share and experiment with..... The first task was to soak our fabrics in soda ash and water to prepare them for dyeing. Note the print fabric.....it was a gift from 'the perfect child', purchased on one of his trips.....it has a Finland mark on it, but I think he may have gotten it in Denmark. I thought I'd try to overdye it.
Here it is again, drying on Patsy's driveway after I dyed it with avacado dye. You are seeing the back of the material.....with a turnover to the front on one edge. I liked the original version but it was a bit starker than I thought I'd use in my work......now I can see more possibilities.
We soaked all sorts of fabrics; muslin, mercerized cotton, polished cottons, threads, wool, bamboo rayon, cheesecloth.....oh my.....
We began in Patsy's studio with an overview of dyeing procedures shared by each of us.....well.....actually I didn't have anything to contribute since my experience is limited to almost zero. It was fascinating to hear the different approaches each has.We moved out to the garage and Patsy showed us how to mix up the dye. We used Fiber Reactive Dye from Dharma Trading Co. Which works well with plant fibers.
She measured out 1 TBL. of dye.....we all wore masks during this process. Patsy is a physician in her other life and stressed the importance of wearing a mask when working with dye in its powered stage.
A little water was added and mixed with a spoon.......then more water was added to reach the 2 cup mark.
Patsy uses large squirt bottles to dispense and store her dyes. Those that aren't used in this dye day will be kept refrigerated, up to about 6 months. Nothing you use for this process should ever be used in the kitchen.
Here's our palette of dyes..... Patsy suggested that each bottle be labled since once they are mixed it's difficult to identify the color.More to follow.......
Kindle Keeper Tutorial
The Polka Dot Chair | 4 Sep 2010 - 2:12 pm
I know it's not Tuesday but I'm changing things up a bit and posting this tutorial today. (I normally post my tutorials on tuesday...).. Next Tuesday I'm *hoping* to be able to have a much needed etsy shop update! I got a Kindle a few years ago, and have loved it! When I saw they were coming out with a new one, I decided it was time to pass mine onto my daughter (less books to haul around at at
How Cute are These?
Quilted Cupcake | 4 Sep 2010 - 12:46 pm
Ikea again makes me smile. I saw these online last week, and had to have them. They're called Etty, and cost $4.99 for a 3-pack. I think I'll either turn them into pillows or a bag or two. They're nice and thick. I also scored some clearance fabric for 1.99 and 2.99 a yard.
They also have a super-cute cupcake apron for $5.99 - I would have grabbed that too, but goodness knows I have enough aprons now.
Our Sponsors
