Dyeing, Dyeing, and More Dyeing….

October 3, 2012 by Leave a Comment

A few weeks ago I spent a day doing some dyeing.  I realized that my stacks of hand dyed fabrics to sell was getting mighty low.  So I spent a day dyeing and then hours of ironing to get them ready to sell.  I love the palette of colors I ended up with…butterscotch, curry, terra cotta, olive in light and dark, and indigo blue.  I decided to dye in such a way that I could get a piece with lighter value in the same tub as the the darker ones.

They look so yummy all stacked up together!

Today, I have started at it again. I sold a few yards at the show, but I still needed to beef up my stash as I will be setting up to sell to some fantastic quilters coming to New Harmony from Kentucky.  I have sold to these gals before at the farmer’s market and believe me, they like fabric!  So I am getting ready for them.  One slight problem…my stash of Pure Threads by James Thompson is on the very low side.  I have been pulling out every piece of white or off white cotton I can find in my house, since I can’t get any bolts of it here on time.  I have now dyed my Pimatex cotton (that I usually paint skies on) and yesterday I purchased quilt backing cotton and dyed it too as well as a cheaper natural muslin. I have some heavier weight sateen type cotton that I could dye too…not sure why I bought that in a wide width…

The first batch is now rinsed, washed, and dried, but there is more to go…and then there’s all that ironing….

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What I’ve Been Doing…

July 8, 2009 by Leave a Comment

It’s been awhile again since I’ve blogged…I’m getting so lazy!

Update on the Arts Council show…I got a call last Wednesday that I have been awarded an Honorable Mention award…yeah for fiber! Rayna wrote me a nice note and said that this is extra special because this is recognition in an art show.  Thanks, Rayna.

Update on the Runaround Bag…I decided not to go with those antique buttons.  Instead…I think some fun, funky buttons are called for…

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I have been dyeing some fabric to replenish my supply.  The multicolored ones sell pretty well for me.  The striped ones were hung on the clothesline and I poured the dye on them.  That was sorta fun if you can keep the dye off your toes…I may do more, mostly because I would like to use them myself.  I also soda soaked some white cotton and hung on the line…and guess what showed up?  The Japanese beatles swarmed the white cotton…go figure…they must like the soda ash.

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Last week I prepared some discharged black sateen pieces to sell and to stitch on.

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I will be making more of these…”painting” on black cloth with dishwashing gel is too much fun.

Filed Under: art shows, Arts Council, discharge dyeing, dyeing, hand dyed fabrics, new art Tagged With: , , ,

Making More Samples…

September 15, 2008 by Leave a Comment

I am trying to finish up samples today.  I have fabric to paint and the afternoon looks like it will be warm enough.  This morning was cool as a cool front came in behind Ike’s wind and rain.  I showed this kimono block the other day, but now it is quilted and beaded with a few ceramic beads.  I didn’t want to make the whole wallhanging, but just  a couple of blocks to show off what the pattern looks like with my hand dyed fabrics.

This next one is made with just one fabric, a multicolored hand dye.  I used some heated Angelina film for the center decoration on the obi.

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Today…

July 25, 2008 by Leave a Comment

…And here are the fabrics all nice and ironed from yesterday’s dyeing spree.

I took serious inventory of the messy patio and did some major cleaning out there this morning.  The shop vac picks up the dust, dead bugs and other fun things from the concrete floor.  Of course, all the lawn chairs are stored there and have to be washed off.  It’s looking better already even though I’m not done and it beckons me to spend some more time out there!  With cooler mornings, I don’t mind that at all.  I have a vast number of used dryer sheets that need to be painted and there is pimatex cotton on the way that will need painting when it arrives, as well as more dyeing.  I am working on the fabrics for Rosa and Friends.  It can be ordered from my website here.

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There’s A Story Behind This Quilt…

July 14, 2008 by Leave a Comment

I got my husband to hold this up outside last night so that I could get a pretty good picture of it. He didn’t want to be in the pic.

There’s a story behind this quilt….I have been an election judge for 5 or more years now. My precinct might have 300 or so voters. Of that number 150 or so might vote, especially in the primaries. It’s a verrrryyyyyy llllooooonnnnngnggggg day! We open the polls at 6 a.m. and close them at 7 p.m. and then there’s more work. I might get home by 9 or a little before. You know those pictures you see on television of people in lines at the polls….that’s not us! There’s not much to do all day except visit, read, and eat. I decided not to waste that time. I had a lot of old hand dyes. By old, I mean they were the ones dyed on less expensive (aka cheaper) muslin. They were the ones I did in my early days of dyeing. I decided to use them all up in a quilt. I chose a simple block. Every time I worked an election, I would take my pieces ready to sew and hand pieced every block. It was a lot of fun and filled in the time so well. When I used up the fabrics I sewed the blocks together on the machine into this colorful quilt top. Now I just have to decide how I want to quilt it….I am thinking big funky flowers and some wavy lines….and what my next project will be for future election days. Of course, we could be busy at the one coming in November!

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The Last Few Days…

June 23, 2008 by Leave a Comment

…I know I’ve been pretty quiet here. That’s because…last week I was contemplating expanding my selling options by opening an Etsy shop. On Thursday I signed up and on Friday I listed a few items. I will be using the shop to sell hand made textiles, silk scarves, and small pieces of fiber art. People started to visit the shop on Friday. By Friday evening I had two people who “hearted” me. Etsy people will know what that means! That was exciting. So I have been busy with that. See the shop here.

On Saturday, I taught two short classes in Evansvile. The first class was this little bag made by Jill. She was thrilled with it. I also managed to get two of them made at the same time!

The patterns for the other class didn’t make it to the shop…and then I discovered I had forgotten mine! Have you ever “winged it” when teaching a pattern class? Fortunately for me, it was a tote bag and I had just made my class sample in May, but still…I had to think. I teach so many different projects, that I just can’t be expected to know on a whim what is what. I threatened to take the sample apart, but it all came back to me, step by step. Whew! This was a pretty cool bag and the way it was made was pretty cool. It was the Whimsy Bag by Lazy Girl.

I have so many things I am working on and need to work on, I feel like I am running in circles. I have one quilt show in Kentucky lined up for the fall and I am making up a few samples that feature my hand dyes so that I can sell kits. I’ll give you a sneak preview of one sample, but it is not complete as I am still deciding on what the borders will be. This pattern is called Rosa and Friends and it was designed by Betty Blais of Embellishment Village. I think she did a great job.

Have a great week!

Filed Under: hand dyed fabrics, quilt shows Tagged With: , , ,