Today…

…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.

Sunday This ‘N That

The presentation for All That Jazz went very well at Sew Tech. As I probed the class coordinator about what the session was to be about, I was told it was supposed to be inspirational. Apparently people can sign up and prepay for the year to attend these monthly sessions. I had planned to briefly introduce myself and my quilting and dyeing history. I showed some of my fabrics, dyed, screened, stamped with soy wax, etc. I wanted to show my progression to making fiber art. I shared with them ideas and techniques. The ladies were quite interested and enthusiastic (that’s my kind of crowd!). I showed them art pieces and quilts made from my hand dyed cloth. Since I had just finished a sample (Rosa and Friends..see previous posts), I showed it too. They were very enthusiastic about it and I did sell the first kit. I then did a demo showing them how they could cut multiple fused applique pieces without having to trace each piece over and over on the fusible. They like that idea too. Then I shared my class samples with them. These are from classes that I have taught at the shop over the years and some that are upcoming. I feel some of the patterns that I teach are timeless and fun for everyone, no matter how long the pattern has been out. Some of my very favorites are the Bull’s Eye quilt by Country Threads, Yellow Brick Road by Atkinson Designs, 4 Patch Posy by H.D. Designs and Star Crazies by Buggy Barn, as well as all of SuznQuilts’ quilt-as-you-go lap throws that are quick and easy. There are always new young quilters coming into the shop and I like to introduce them to fun and quick quilt patterns. The ladies were choosing which classes they wanted to take and they were getting excited. It was fun…and it always is when you have people excited about quilting. In the classes I teach, the girls are always excited about the project and looking forward to a day out and getting to learn and make something new. That’s what keeps this business interesting…the people! Have a great quilting week…I know I will!

“Leafed”

New Look For Blog…

….Like the new look?  Sometimes I just need a change.  Actually I was trying to add more widgets to the other theme, and it just has too much trouble with them, so I thought I would try a new look.  I think I like the set up.  Two columns to put widgets in instead of one.  Eek!  And I can even put my own header on this one, so you all might recognize the parfait “family” hand dyes from a post I wrote last week.

The other thing happening today is that I had better luck this morning re-discharging my black cotton.  Fresh dish detergent can sure make the difference, although I still thought it bleached slower than it should have.  Maybe I’m not getting enough on the cloth.  Sigh.  But I got it done and my borders are now on the sample I was working on, Rosa and Friends.  You’ve seen it before, but not like this.  The light is not the greatest and I will do a better photo later.  It still needs quilting and binding and the like, but I really like the discharged black for the borders.  I like it better than anything else I auditioned.  I also plan to do a smaller sample with sunset colors for the background.

The Last Few Days…

…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!