Dolores Quilts

Blooming Patch Work

2012-01-25T18:39:00.000-08:00

Friday, the Sassy Stitchers quilt guild worked on a blooming patchwork quilt. I decide to just use a monochromatic color scheme in browns. Here is a picture of the quilt top. I will still add a light color border and then I am thinking of prairie points for the outer border. The color variances and textures don't show well in this picture.

Sewing Room make over

2012-01-17T12:26:00.000-08:00

I am still painting and organizing my sewing room. While painting today, the mint color made me remember looking at my bedroom wall when I was 3 just before we moved and liking the color so much. At the time I didn't know the name for it, but wanted my new room to be that color. (Yes it was mint green) I don't remember any pictures, toys or furniture. I only remember the wall color, the number of stairs to the landing for jumping off, and the shinny grey paint Dad painted on the front porch. I couldn't wait to walk on it. I remember getting on a tricycle and riding across the porch as soon as it was dry. The tricycle tipped as I turned and the petal made a hugh scratch in the new paint. Not knowing what else to do I shove the trike over the edge of the porch and ran inside to play.Anyway here are some pictures of what has gotten done. A picture frame fabric birds decoupaged to paint chips, my art supply shelf and clock, and the first pegboard repainted and reorganized. Well have to get back to sorting all my scraps and putting everything away.

Christmas projects

2012-01-16T07:45:00.000-08:00

I have been very busy with reorganizing and painting my studio, but thought I'd take a break to post some pictures of some of the Christmas presents I made this year. Here are some pictures of a few of the cosmetic bags I made.

Deconstruction

2012-01-10T08:21:00.000-08:00

I've been eco dyeing and and working on some pieces I call deconstruction. This mini piece is about 2.5" X 8". It is made from a failed eco dyeing project that decomposed into lots of small scraps. It uses scraps of burlap, jean scraps, thread leftovers and a piece of plastic packaging.

Studio makeover in progress

2012-01-04T05:43:00.000-08:00

Decided to repaint and organize my sewing room. These are my new colors.

Dark French Chocolate, Mint Shake and Buttercup.I have a lot of clean up from December's work and decided to just redo everything.

Trying to organize in a way that is easy to keep things organized. Thought the new colors would make everything nice and fresh.So i guess it is good bye to the kings. This oil painting was done years ago for my son. I love the sunrise, but the guys staring over my shoulder is sometimes creepy.

My New Years Resolution---- fading already

2011-12-31T07:25:00.000-08:00

Resolution one is that I will not sew gifts, especially Christmas gifts for anyone on my list next year. Well that is I will not after January when I should be finished with the last seven gifts.

Resolution two is to finish what I started. Oh, the baby's wall quilt will probably not be finished by January's end. So does this give me a reprieve from resolution one. Does this include all the quilts I've already started that are in various stages around my sewing room, or all the ideas sketches and computer mock-up. I have a few quilts going back at least 10 years.

Resolution three is to just create each and art every day. (This really should be resolution one.) Well art every day unless I'm still finishing gifts and old UFO. (unfinished objects) Oh and if I'm not home or we get in way too late. Then I also will not get to create much on designated laundry day. Oh and I must try to get some of the housework done. Does it count as art if I leave the dust and just draw pictures in it?

My main resolution is to put family first. I guess this means I have to come out of my studio to prepare dinner or at least heat up the leftover pasta from the earlier in the week. I guess that also means I have to fold and iron the laundry that I might have gotten done. And then their are friends who are like family that I might need a special gift for, so I guess I will have to make gifts for them. But then, if I make gifts only for friends would that mean I don't think family is as important. And if that is so, then why is this my main resolution?

I could sit in a quandary all day debating this and then where did my art time go. And yes before I start creating art i have to clean out and organize my studio again. By the way has anyone seen my 4' X 7' table. It might be what's peeking out from the ever-growing mound of fabric scraps. Speaking of scraps, be sure to save yours for me. I will be using them to create fiber art pieces. To get started I have to clean and organize all the scraps I already have. I think that table mound looks like a potential avalanche. Hope not because I can barely see the floor now. I must find a small area to create art every day or at least finish those gifts ........

Happy 2012 Everyone!

Last post of ornaments

2011-11-29T07:42:00.000-08:00

Here are just a few more. David made the choir -which is my personal favorite.

This is just part of the aftermath! Now I must start cleaning up.

More ornaments -No two alike

2011-11-29T07:30:00.000-08:00

So we still have plenty of ornaments. No two are alike.

Mine - a first home ornament with ladybug

Jessica and David - by Jessica

Our first home -Jessica

David's Ribbon Ornament

More of David's Ribbon Ornaments

David's Reindeer

Jessica's heart

David's tree

Jessica's shooting star

More ornaments

2011-11-29T07:17:00.000-08:00

Here are a few more ornaments.

Mittens by Jessica

David's Sled

Another by David

Jessica's Heart

Jessica's gingerbread girl

Homemade Christmas Ornaments

2011-11-29T07:07:00.000-08:00

We decided to make all homemade ornaments this year for our tree. My Son and Daughter-in-law have been working hard. Our living room is now a complete disaster area.
Here are some pictures of our ornaments.

more Dye results - fire bush

2011-11-17T07:38:00.000-08:00

More dye results. The fire bush leaves from a friend's fire bush came out a beautiful shade of pink. the results from the leaves from my bush came out mush lighter. I used the same process for both, even had more leaves in my batch. Here are pictures of the results. Picture one shows results on a cotton shirt and cheese cloth. The second one shows the results on , cotton shirt, linen, and cheese cloth.

Zentangle giveaway

2011-11-17T06:31:00.000-08:00

The Diva's Give-away Celebration
The Diva (Laura Harms) has had 200,000 hits on her blog and is celebrating this by offering wonderful prize packages.
You can find more about it right HERE!
http://iamthedivaczt.blogspot.com/2011/11/passing-celebration-on-to-you.html

Eco Dyeing - Maple leaves

2011-11-11T08:28:00.000-08:00

Here are some results from the maple leaves.

Maple leaves on linen

Maple leaves with alum mordant on cotton

Maple leaf water in iron rust pot.

Linen fabric in rust pot

Dye Results -sumac

2011-11-11T07:50:00.000-08:00

Here are some pictures of the sumac dye results. I love the color. I used Kona white cotton, cotton duck, and cheese cloth.

Strange Little Helper - and oops!

2011-11-10T09:32:00.000-08:00

I had a strange little helper this morning while taking the fabric out of my dye jars. I cut up paper scraps to label the fabric and the mordant and leaves used. Litte Bella got up on the counter and kept steeling my paper scraps. Yesterday she kept stealing pencils and quite a chase ensued trying to get them back.

Bella is 4 month old chinchilla. She is very friendly and inquisitive. I let her have run of the kitchen on the morning while I work in there. I was afraid she might upset something so I put her in her cage. Good thing I did, I am such a klutz. I knocked my jar of sumac dye off the counter and it shattered. It had to be the one with ammonia for the mordant. Glass has gone everywhere.

Raccoons return

2011-11-07T08:05:00.000-08:00

The raccoons have returned. In my studio I can hear them scratching in the chimney and fighting. Now they had the audacity to did up fabric bundles I had buried for compost dyeing and toss them over the garden fence. Well at least they didn't tear them up. I will have to rewet and rebury them later today.

Baby Quilt Wallhanging

2011-11-06T20:25:00.000-08:00

This is one of my WIP's. The background for my quilt in progress is made of scrap yellows sewn together and then cut in to squares and rectangles. These were sewn together in log cabin style, trimmed and sewn to other blocks.

This is a picture of the flower and girl that will be appliqued to the quilt and then embellished.

Up all night ...quilt lock in

2011-11-05T13:34:00.000-07:00

Just getting home from our quilt lock in. Yesterday morning was gentle and sunny, this morning a really thick ice had to be scraped from the window before driving home. I Spent the day working on UFO's with the other Sassy Stitchers. We teamed up with the night quilters for an all night lock in. We have great fun and get a lot accomplished. I began quilting the quilts I've made to cover the windows, added 10" to my granddaughter's quilt and thread painted the hair. I made one purse as a Christmas present and a large microwave bowl holder.
Am falling asleep at the keyboard, Good Morning and good night.

Fall leaves - eco dyeing

2011-11-04T05:32:00.000-07:00

I am currently allowing several jars of leaves to batch on my porch. Monday will make 2 weeks. I plan on straining the liquid and preparing the fabric for dyeing then. Here are a few preparation pictures. I used japanese red maple (these had not turned all the way), sugar maple, various oak leaves, as well as sumac leave and berries.

Rose Dye

2011-11-04T01:13:00.000-07:00

2 weeks ago I made fabric dye from red knock out roses. I stuffed a jar full of rose petals and hips. I poured boiling water over this and let steep overnight.

Next i strained the liquid and returned to jar with fabric. The petals were added to another jar along with a mixture of stars and stripes petals from the freezer. More hot water was added and allowed to sit overnight. I strained and added a few frozen petals wrapped in cloth. Both jars were set on the porch to batch.

The end result was a lovely shade of pink for dye 1. The second looked better before being washed and dried.

Michigoose's gander at quilts & life: Halloween Power Suits

2011-11-02T17:53:00.000-07:00

Michigoose's gander at quilts & life: Halloween Power Suits

Happy Haunting

2011-10-31T03:55:00.001-07:00

Slideshow design personalized with Smilebox

Trumpet Flowers

2011-10-27T21:45:00.000-07:00

A beautiful day before the cold weather.

Deconstructive fiber art

2011-10-19T10:02:00.000-07:00

I've decided to use those bit I dug from the ground from my compost dyeing disaster. I have 5 different fiber art pieces inspired from these bits. I am combining them with bleach discharged fabrics, burlap, cheesecloth and other loose weaves. The plan is to add lots and lots of hand and machine stitching. Here are photos of my starter ideas. They still need to simmer awhile so i will go back to working on my other ufo's.

Natural dyes - New baby

2011-10-19T09:41:00.000-07:00

My second grandchild arrived this morning around 4am. It's a 7lb girl!
I've been busy with too many projects. Was given a small loom and am trying that out. My long arm quilting is improving with practice, the bottom stitches are looking as good as the top.
I'm still collecting material for natural dyeing. Worked with magnolia seed pods which give a nice variety of peach and tans. Goldenrod gave a nice soft yellow. The most surprising effect was adding ammonia to turmeric.
Here are some pictures.

All though I loved the rust color reaction, it dried bright yellow.

Power Suits

2011-10-06T04:51:00.000-07:00

Power Suit Art Quilt Challenge
I'm part of something BIG! Little did I know that when I accepted a challenge package that more than 100 artists would respond. Here is the website that talks about the challenge and lists the artists Power Suit Quilts

The opening reception is on October 22 at Artistic Artifacts. The quilts will be displayed through November 23, 2011. I will be able to post pictures of what Power Suit means to me on October 23. I have 3 quilt in this exhibit. Stay tuned.

Here is what we received to work with:
Each artist received a free packet of materials containing fabric swatches (wool and cotton samples), a necktie, and some random buttons. They could use the fabric we gave them, supplement with their own fabric, or use only their own fabric.

Read about how this challenge got started on Cyndi Souder's blog

Volkswagon Necropolis

2011-09-19T14:55:00.000-07:00

Volkswagen Necropolis - Another Haiku and Quilt
This quilt was a tribute to my first car. The fabric is hand painted, old computer parts were used as embellishments.

Sun sets on old junk
 Volkswagen innards scattered
 Graveyard of memories

HIAKU AND QUILTING

2011-09-17T09:10:00.000-07:00

Another Quilt inspired by Haiku!

Young geisha daydreams
Koi splash and sparkle in light
Cool morning at pond

Etheree for Africa- Poetry and Quilting

2011-09-15T05:56:00.000-07:00

Click to view larger

Etheree for Africa-Poetry and Quilting

2011-09-15T05:53:00.000-07:00

More Haiku and Quilting -Waykin

2011-09-14T06:03:00.000-07:00

(Dream Catcher)

Indian brave fasts 
Moving only to face sun 
Wayakin stirs night air

Detail of stitched feather.

3-D Cubes

2011-09-13T11:32:00.000-07:00

I am on my last leg on putting my 3-D cubes together. My block sizes are 9 1/2" and 12".
Cant wait to sash them together.

Haiku and Quilting

2011-09-13T06:17:00.000-07:00

Long before I started quilting I envisioned myself a poet. This being said many of my quilts were inspired by my poetry, most from Haiku. Over the next month I will share some of these quilts with the inspiring poem.

(Spirit Dancer)
Amongst mundane chores 
Dreams and aspirations rise
Savanna dances

(Carousel Dreams)
Cantering steed bolts
Peals of laughter overhead
 Rhythmic and lilting

If you want to learn free motion quilting

2011-09-08T17:30:00.000-07:00

I have been doing free motion quilting for awhile, but if you are intimidated by the idea check out Leah's site. She has beginner and advanced quilting video's. They are very clear and simple. Best of all she is sharing her video's for free. Check out her free motion quilting. You will be glad you did.

First Stitches.

2011-09-05T18:39:00.000-07:00

My Bailey home quilter is finally set up and ready to quilt on. I honestly never thought about naming a sewing machine, but I think this one may have to be named Patience. Frame is finally level and leaders are on correctly. I modified the thread path by mounting fishing rod ends on the machine and adding a rod to lift it up higher on the side. I added some small but very strong magnets on the top to hold scissors, tweezers, or whatever else I need it to.My first few stitches:

dyeing with cherries, more 3-d cubes

2011-08-27T16:00:00.000-07:00

I've spent a lot of time this week looking for two fabrics I've miss placed. Finally found one of them and cut out the rest of the large 3-d cube blocks. I could not find any more of the light yellow nor do I have one to substitute that show up enough. I've decided just to remake the yellow cubes with a different light and different medium.

I prepared the fabric for the dye boiled down from black cherries by boiling and simmering in salt water and then rinsing. I wrapped two fat quarters of unbleached muslin on pvc pipe and put them in a tall narrow jar. Then I poured the cherry dye over them, put it in a double boiler and brought it to a boil and turned it off. Since the dye didn't cover all the fabric I added about a table spoon of ome old turquoise dye to the fabric sticking up. I let it sit over night and rinsed them this morning. They are out drying on the line. When it cools down I will rinse them again. It is a nice purple shade.

Friday Night Lock In

2011-08-22T05:14:00.000-07:00

Friday night my quilt guild, Sassy stitchers had a lock in. I only made it until 2:30 and had to go home. I finished my quilt carrier. It is embellished with applique and free-motion quilting. Spent some time cutting out and sewing cubes for the 3 -D cubes quilt.
we had a great time and lots of laughter and good food.

My New Addition

2011-08-22T03:44:00.000-07:00

My Bailey arrived on Monday! I have spent most of the week setting up the grace frame and taking it apart to do it right. I can't believe it is level, especially in our house which is over 120 years. Have not tried it out yet except to make sure it will stitch. Have a friend coming on Tuesday to help me get started. Here are a couple of pictures.

This is where I velcroed my foot to keep it up out of the way.

What I've been up to

2011-08-11T14:02:00.000-07:00

We have been cleaning out the art room. What a chore! after moving the desks and taking down one art table we spent a week organizing all the materials, books, and drawings (mostly my daughter's). It was more like digging out of an avalanche. At last we are finished and it looks great. just a box of odds and ends to sort out. Yeah!! This was all to make room for my grace frame and 13 inch Bailey that should arrive soon. Buying used, but still excited.

Now I'm doing the chore I always dread. Washing all my fabrics and ironing them.

Newest Messenger Bag

2011-07-26T16:27:00.000-07:00

I can now post pictures of my newest messenger bag, as it has been presented to my daughter in law. This bag is padded, and has an invisible zipper pocket on the outside of the bag, and two pockets inside as well as a key fob with a brass hook.

A miracle ---i can see

2011-07-20T21:46:00.000-07:00

A miracle - well for me anyway. I can see the top of my cutting table.

(I love how the sunlight through the curtain makes shadows on the table)
I actually got it cleaned off today. Only out of necessity though. Had to make room to square up the star block quilt I've been working on. I finished all the quilting today. ( I am so in the market for a mid arm machine and frame - 6 inches and shoving the quilt through that spec is driving me crazy) I did some free motion single line stars across the top bottom of the quilt. I also came up with a quick easy way to bind. I left one inch of fabric extra on the back. Then I folded the fabric in half and then again and finally pushed it over the from and topstitched it down. Very nice 1/8 inch binding.

Quilt label to be added tomorrow and then packing it up to leave for Florida on Friday. It is a gift fro my son. Actually he got the top last May for graduation from college and then I took it back to quilt.

3-d cube & EQ7

2011-07-19T13:02:00.000-07:00

I've been playing around with my EQ7 and the 3-d cube. Here is a picture of the quilt I designed. It will be 50 by 78 inches when finished.

3-D Cubes -yet another project

2011-07-18T07:06:00.000-07:00

Okay so I have at least 7 different quilt projects going, I couldn't resist this one. I am working on 3-D cubes. I have been playing around with EQ7 to try different arrangements. I even printed out the blocks in two sizes to play with. I changed the black corner to white to save on ink and so it would match my white board.
Here is picture of my completed blocks.

Here is a picture of a design made from playing with the printed squares.

Now off to our quilt guild's UFO day to try and finish the quilting on the star quilt from my son. If I finish it leaves 3 days to hand tack the binding. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Stack dyeing - amazing clear colors

2011-07-15T21:15:00.000-07:00

This third technique used 4 pieces of fabric. The bottom layer was bathed in golden yellow, soda ash was added, then a new cloth and a new dye color, my second color was turquoise. Next was fushia and then golden yellow. The hardest thing about this technique is all the waiting. Each new cloth is added and a new color poured in. This technique results in great colors of cloth in a total surprise.

bottom layer

layer 2

layer 3

top layer

Color evaluation - low temp dyeing

2011-07-15T20:58:00.000-07:00

The second session of the dying workshop was on color gradation. This time I used turquoise blue. The first cotton fabric was put into the dye and left to sit 15 minutes. Next a 1/4 cup of soda ash water is added and a new piece of cotton cloth. After another 15 minutes another 1/4 cup of soda ash is added and a third piece of cloth is added.

Low water dye work shop - day 1

2011-07-14T05:35:00.000-07:00

I never expected to get to attend a fabric dye workshop while at the Cornerstone Music Festival.
Day 1 was using a single color and 3 different fabrics in a low-water immersion dye. We used Procion MX. I chose indigo for my color.

Since I folded my cloth in different ways, it is a bit hard to see the fabric differences. The edges of the white stripe fabric took up extra dye. The flannel is the lightest.

Individual shots.

All one line

2011-07-09T10:14:00.000-07:00

Just finished a baby quilt for a friends daughter. The quilt started with crazy quilt blocks, then sashing. The back is 2 layers of flannel, no batting. Was not shire how to quilt this , but inspired by a video online and a new book, I drew my first one line drawing.

Then I drew the deign on the quilt with a washable fabric marker and quilted it on my home sewing machine. I used double thread, one rayon and one glow in the dark. The feed dogs were down and I used a darning foot.

Now off to a baby shower!

The Bead Lady's Loose

2011-06-26T03:17:00.000-07:00

I finally took my small mixed media piece that I liked and sewed it to a painted canvas and added more mixed media. You can't tell a lot from the picture but the background is painted silver and zentangles with a gray marker. The entire piece except the canvas was made from scraps, leftovers and found objects.

Not sure if I got too carried away. While I was working, my daughter was drawing up funny fashion designs and adding funny signs. My favorite was the shoe in solitary confinement and the wanted poster.

Well, here's a look! Constructive criticism welcome.

Compost dyeing Results.

2011-06-24T11:01:00.000-07:00

Does anyone remember my composting experiment in April. If not here is a picture of the fabric wrap ready for the ground.

I finally decided to dig it up today. First I had a hard time finding it. I knew where it was buried. Finally i sorted though the dirt with my hands and found this...

there was hardly any fabric left.

So i gathered my results and washed them and set them on a per towel to dry.

Any ideas on how to make a quilt out of this? Maybe something on deconstruction.

kaleidoscope

2011-06-15T18:11:00.000-07:00

I am finally back on line. My first laptop and new operating system have taken time to learn. Still need to find a MAC program to replace my paint shop pro.

Been working on many projects. Am trying my first kaleidoscope, here are the 1st pictures of it getting started on my design wall.

I Have A Notion: Friends Don't Let Friends.....

2011-05-29T12:24:00.000-07:00

I Have A Notion: Friends Don't Let Friends.....

Long Day

2011-05-17T09:00:00.000-07:00

It's been a long day. More MRI's at 6:45, then quilt guild at 10:00. Got the center mariners compass quilted on my son's star quilt. Just didn't want to get started, but was not too bad once I came up with a plan. (I really need a mid arm or along arm quilting machine.)
Here are a few hand dyes hanging out to dry.

Iris Delight

2011-05-14T02:28:00.000-07:00

Roses are in full bloom as the iris are fading, here are some pics of my iris.

My Iris

Everythings coming up roses!

2011-05-09T06:15:00.000-07:00

Vegetable garden planted. Iris on full bloom, but I'm excited over all the roses in the garden.

The storms 2 weeks ago damaged my Stars and Stripes rose bush. Two large branches were damaged. I cut them off and was able to take cuttings from them. Ten are still alive in my fishtank makeshift green house on the front porch. Not sure if this will be the same rose from the cuttings or not. Depends on if it was grafted and lots of other things. I will just experiment and see. If I don't like the results I can always dig them up later on.

For more of my rose photos check out My Roses

Dinner and Quilted Table Runners for the Mom's

2011-05-08T02:15:00.000-07:00

Had a very lovely dinner with the Moms (and the Pops too.)
Each received a table runner for mother's day.

Front

back

front

back

Still Digging Out!

2011-04-30T03:30:00.000-07:00

My studio organization has become an eternal WIP

With so many projects going on, I am still digging out from Christmas. I have actually cleaned out from under the studio table and organized stuff in clear boxes.

Nice and cleared out, right. But now what do I do with the rest of this stuff that was lurking under the table.

Okay so you can see as I clean I leave a new path of destruction in my wake.

Not willing to tackle this at the moment, i moved on to dusting, cleaning, sorting and reorganizing the closet. Here is my reorganization, before I started moving other things around an had to borrow some of the boxes.

Before and after, with dye materials organized on the bottom shelf, and large fabric pieces wrapped around empty cardboard that holds fabric bolts in the store. (Free, if you just ask, they usually throw them away)

So I spent the rest of the evening watching Close Encounters with the family. They had the couch while I began to tackle the dreaded box that has begun oozing strings and fabric. I am sorting scraps into 3 sizes and also by color. I have taken over a good portion of the living-room. with my piles and haven't made a dent in the box. Just how much fabric could be stuffed into one file box. It is sort of like the clowns at the circus coming out of the tiny cat, and just as colorful.

Interesting Mushrooms

2011-04-28T19:37:00.000-07:00

Today while checking on my rose bushes I found some unusual egg shaped mushrooms. One was split and had an oozy looking eye. Then I found a tall red mushroom. These were different stages of the Elegant Stinkhorn mushroom.(Mutius elegans) Normally they are found July through September. (Off course this was the first one I've ever seen outside of a book.) Naturally I had to dissect one. If squeezed lots of clear fluid shoots out. Inside was a slimy army green layer of spores coating a thick pinkish red layer that was empty.

Wild Week -UFo's and WIP's

2011-04-22T12:50:00.000-07:00

It's been a wild week with lots of projects and doctors' appointments and Easter Programs. Last night we had a wonderful sedar meal with lots of lamb and horseradish. Tonight will be our Good Friday service.

Thank you cards to mount on card stock, postage to add to envelopes to send my son tomorrow. Card drawn by my daughter.

On to this weeks works: A rust dyed journal cover to hand stitch while waiting in doctors offices

Pieced some new book marks. Still have lots of embellishment and stitches to add.

Bo Pee's lambs gone astray is coming along.

And of course garden work, or rather photographing it lots of wild weather and windfall. Terrific green lichen for dye, lots and lots of old branches covered in it. Yeah!

Linden and honey suckle starting to bloom. They smell so sweet and delightful.
And our last batch of caterpillars overwintered and hatched this week

One top of all this fabric dyeing and slowly working on uninstalling all the malware on my computer. Found a great sight that helps you for free, one on one also, lots of down loading, scans and uploading logs, but my computer is running much better. Yeah!!!!

1st compost dye project

2011-04-19T03:25:00.000-07:00

Not wanting to waste anything I decided to do a compost project with the grape hyacinth flowers strained from the dye. Picked leaves and flowers from outside and placed them on a piece of fabric soaked in soda ash.

Then I sprinkled the grape hyacinth over it in clumps. Next I sprinkled a bit of tealeaves. I also added a rusty circle. ( had to bend it in half to roll up)

It was already turning a lovely shade of green. I dug a hole next to one of my rose bushes and covered with leaf litter and dirt. Now how long can I wait to dig it up. (Hopefully til fall)

Photographed so I would remember where I buried it -( in front of orange roses and paper whites)

dyeing with grape hyacinth part 1

2011-04-18T20:18:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I took my grape hyacinth flowers out of the freezer and crushed then up. I added water in a 2:1 ratio and brought the mix to a boil and let simmer for an hour. Next I added a tsp of Alum to the pail mixture and it turned a very nice purple. This was let to sit for 24 hours.

This morning the mixture was strained for dyeing. I wet the fabric I had previously soaked in soda ash and allowed to dry and used a pole wrap to create patterns. Here is a picture of it dipped for just a minute. It has more of a green shade than i was wanting.

I wet fabric, not soaked in soda ashed, in water and vinegar,twisted it and dipped it in some extra dye. It instantly took on this lovely purple shade.

I splashed some vinegar on the other cloth and where it touched it became purple. So I added about a tablespoon of vinegar to the solution. I like the two colors together. Will see the results in a few days.

After checking this evening the fabric looked more of a solid blue.

Baby Quilts

2011-04-17T02:04:00.000-07:00

I am currently working on a couple of flannel baby quilts using Crazy quilt blocks. Here are two sample blocks. I have finished 24, enough for two quilts. I used 12 different fabrics.

Florida Flowers & Fauna

2011-04-17T02:00:00.000-07:00

Took these photos at the hotel in Florida. It was nice and warm! Wedding was exceptional!

Wedding Wallhanging

2011-04-04T03:27:00.000-07:00

I finished my son's wedding quilt Sunday with a wedding message and quilt info label on the back. Yeah! just in time to drop it off at my parent's house before the drive to Florida.

This little quilt was a lot of work for me. First I was trying to use each one's favorite color, red and teal. Found some red scraps with teal batik. I used this as a starter fabric after many other tries and pulled colors from it.

The other problem was just me. One of the side effects of my medicine is dropping off to sleep while doing ordinary things such as talking. This effect can take up to a year to start. I've been on it a year with great results until now. It's very dangerous dropping off to sleep while using a sewing machine not mention all the frog chorus afterward. (Rip it, Rip it)

I started with piecing the quilt and then used raw edge and needle turn applique. The lettering under the house was done with the feeddogs dropped and a zigzag stitch.

The Distelfink bird was the good luck and happiness bird of the early Pennsylvania German settlers. Overall, the design symbolized "good luck and happiness" for all. I used my own stylized version as this is where my heritage starts.

Next I used Shiva paint sticks for the first time. I put leaves the tree and stones for the walk. I cut a stencil out of paper and laid it on the quilt to protect the rest of the fabric. I could see these being a very fun and useful addition to my art. The leaves didn't show up quite as much as I would have liked. Great fortune!I amidst the small scraps people gave me at quilt guild were two 2 by 3 inch floral scraps with leaves I hadn't noticed. Just a perfect size.

Finished with lots and lots of quilting, a bit of hand stitching, beads and buttons. and finally mitered binding and tabs. Hope the like it!

Double Wedding Ring

2011-04-03T21:25:00.000-07:00

Finished my double wedding ring table runner yesterday. It's a house warming gift for my son and new Daughter in law (well in 4 more days). Anyway I thought it was pretty. The quilting is unmarked freemotion quilting.

Zentangled Cane

2011-03-09T21:09:00.000-08:00

Okay - so if you have to have one it ought to make a statement! Especially for an artist.
Here is my zentangled cane.

Picture of the Day!

2011-03-09T20:28:00.000-08:00

New rabbits in yard!

Gurney Journey: Three Years of Daily Doodles

2011-03-07T16:22:00.000-08:00

Gurney Journey: Three Years of Daily Doodles: "Larry Roibal has been doodling portraits of famous people on his newspaper for three years now, and posting the results on his blog. ..."

My shoes aren't quite so boring now!

2011-03-03T13:02:00.000-08:00

Having way to much to do this morning, and not knowing whether to start with my studio and clean so I could get my sewing done, or scrub the fish tanks, I started a new project Here are some pictures of my zentangle tennis shoes.

right shoe

Left shoe

Back

front

Now, I'm scrapping down my cane again. I might do zentangles on it too!

Sunrise Photos

2011-03-02T19:03:00.000-08:00

Just getting around to posting my other sunrise photos. These were also taken at about five minute intervals n a beautiful but chilly February morning.

Look what I found

2011-03-02T16:34:00.000-08:00

Well after finding the crocus Monday, a tornado Tuesday, today I decided to scrap off some of my leaf mulch in case something else was starting to grow. I found two anemic yet hearty hyacinths under about 5 inches of wet leaves. I think with a little sunlight they should green up and bloom nicely.

Under all the leaves - spring

2011-03-02T16:16:00.000-08:00

under the leaf mulch
green shoots raise their heads
first heralds of spring

Spring came sooner than I thought. I found fully bloomed crocus under the leaf mulch I had not yet cleared off my garden.

February's Scrap Challenge

2011-03-01T15:29:00.000-08:00

February's scrap challenge color was red. First I choose a photo of one of my roses. I decides to select a portion of it and make a kaleidoscope.

I started with looking through my large and small scraps for lights and darks.

Next I sorted thread for various red shades. It is unfortunate that as soon as white is added to fed you get pink or if yellow a peachy shade. I decided to only use the reds.

Here is my pizza slice wedge based on the flower contours from a small section. I started with red satin, but scored it. I found a darker cotton and utilized what I could of the satin scrape for the applique pieces.

Below is my finished piece. After lots of applique and then quilting I finished the piece off by going around the edges twice with yarn and a zigzag stitch.

You may be able to see some of the free hand quilting by clicking on the close up.
Unfortunately, i was not happy with my results. I think when i have time I will do a realistic read rose.

Studio Pictures

2011-02-24T18:30:00.000-08:00

Since my 1st studio on a budget design two years ago. I have added more storage and rearranged things. Since I am always misplacing tools under fabric etc. I put up a larger peg board and traced where my tools go. Whenever I glance that direction I can tell what is missing and try to put them back right away. Oops! My favorite ruler and blue rotary cutter are nowhere to be seen.

When our Goodies Store was closing last spring, I was able to pick up 5 clear plexiglass cubicles. They are a bit scratched, but very durable and perfect for all my quilting magazines, idea notebooks and embellishment boxes.

Studio Design on a Shoestring

2011-02-24T18:12:00.000-08:00

This is a post about when I first set up my studio. I will post more recent pictures later.

I know a lot of people have been posting pictures of their quilt studios. My ideas may help those of you who don't have a lot of money to spend. I have been lucky enough to take over my college son's bedroom. Just a little bit of muscle changes my cutting table area back into a bed. I have use the headboard and two saw horses to make my cutting table. A 4ft by 7ft piece of marker board was glued to the same size piece of plywood. This makes a great top to draw on or for working with paint. For Christmas I had a mat-board custom cut to fit over this. My tools are kept on the wall on scrap pieces of peg board. I didn't even have to throw out my son's teddy bear collection or gymnastic medals

My storage system has been plastic stack drawers that I try to get when I can find them on sale. (Usually at Big lots) I use them as the base for my pressing table. The top is again plywood with cotton batting and muslin stretched over it and stapled on the back.

I removed the closet doors and added boards for shelves and more storage bins. An empty dresser and two night stands stacked serve as extra storage.

My biggest challenge was for a sewing table. I had a folding table just the right height, but I wanted my machine set down in like a "real" sewing table. We went to Lowes to find some 1/2 inch thick smooth wood. We couldn't find anything suitable, but it was suggested that we look in floor tiles because the boxes had smooth boards in the top for shipping that are thrown away. We found two that were perfect size. ( and free) My husband traced my machine and cut a hole in both boards. Then we glued them with wood glue. A frame was made using 2' by 1" wood. Finally a notch was cut in the frame so I could load the bobin without lifting my machine. It may not be fancy, but it sure works great.

My design wall was made with white flannel over fiber board.

The last wall of my studio is where my daughter's sewing machine is and of course a few more storage boxes. You can see the corner of my pressing table on the left.

The Art of African Grandmothers | Bonnie Samuel Blog

2011-02-23T15:06:00.000-08:00

Art for Social commentary

"This is a story of African women who when faced with the devastation of AIDS in their families, turned to textile design skills of their culture to raise funds to support of their own grandchildren. " The Art of African Grandmothers | Bonnie Samuel Blog

Sneak Peak

2011-02-20T17:46:00.000-08:00

Just a sneak peak of the double wedding ring table runner for my son's wedding. The black corner triangles have to be added to each block. The corners will be the background fabric. The boarder will match the black triangles.

Black History Month Art Contest

2011-02-19T13:46:00.000-08:00

Support UNCF with your votes and see some beautiful art work. You can vote daily.

Contest Details

LAY'S® Potato Chips and DORITOS® Tortilla Chips are sponsoring an art contest in honor of Black History Month to recognize artists in your community.

Please take time to browse our gallery of artwork and vote on your favorite piece. Frito-Lay will donate $1 to the UNCF for every vote you make and if you enter your LAY'S® or DORITOS® Bag Code, we will donate another $1 (up to a maximum of $35,000). Each person can vote once per day, so make sure to visit daily between February 1-28 and spread the word to your friends. The artists with the top 5 voted pieces will each win $1,000! Click here to learn more about our scholarship opportunity.

If you are an artist, please upload a picture of your original artwork between January 17th and February 28th here and you can win up to $5,000 to advance your creativity and a gallery showing, hosted by Frito-Lay, in your hometown. Artwork can be created using any medium should be inspired by Black History Month. Frito-Lay will select (1) grand prize winner based on 40% Artistic Talent, 20% Creativity, 20% Black History Month Theme Cohesion, and 20% Desire for Community Gallery.

Zentangles days 14-17

2011-02-18T03:50:00.000-08:00

Been tangling but haven't posted.
Day 17
This tangle was drawn while watching my daughter get new wires in her braces.

Day 16 This is redemption

Day 15 - Enjoying the warm weather and thinking about spring. The right side looks like grub worms in the soil.

Day 14
A rose for Valentine's Day

Tissue Paper Challenge With KARLAS001

2011-02-17T05:16:00.000-08:00

My Valentine's Project

2011-02-15T17:32:00.000-08:00

Here's my free motion valentine's day project and Haiku I made for my husband.

Last of the Snow Dyes

2011-02-15T02:10:00.000-08:00

Here are all the scrap pieces I dyed. I had lots of fun dyeing, but my fingers froze.

Looks like a snow cone, but don't eat!

Fushia and Black Dye

close-up

Mixture of dyes -mainly black

mixture - blue, yellow, black, and a fushia spill

Fushia, Turquoise, and Black

Snow dyeing - interesting surprise

2011-02-15T01:54:00.000-08:00

Okay, so I only had two racks - improvise when you are too impatient!

here is the result. This was on a scrap of PFD fabric.

Close up of surprise in corner: A butterfly (may be from South America)

Snow dyeing - more results

2011-02-15T01:44:00.000-08:00

Here are some pictures of my synthetic silk piece. The finished piece looked pretty good until I rinsed it, It did not retain much of the dye.

Snow dyeing - my favorite piece

2011-02-15T01:35:00.000-08:00

Okay so I never shared the rest of my snow dye results. Here are step by step pictures of my next piece. Same process as in my 1st post Snow dyeing.

melting

whole cloth

This is my favorite section

Moving Zentangle Posts

2011-02-14T09:06:00.000-08:00

I am moving my Zentangle posts to their own blog. Be sure to click the link below and follow me their for anything related to tangles.

Zentangle Journey Day 13 - bird of paradise

2011-02-13T18:09:00.000-08:00

Something simple but intricate, today.

Zentangle Journey Day 12 - Hearts

2011-02-13T11:51:00.000-08:00

I missed posting yesterday, but I did do a simple zentangle just before going to sleep last night. Had a great day at my pen and ink class. The oil paint is wet so it is put way up out of reach of little hands. My grandson spent 2 days with us last week and might be coming for a whole week. Need to childproof.

Zentangle Journey Day 11 -

2011-02-11T13:46:00.000-08:00

I decided today's drawing should be a little more fluid. was thinking about spring due to the cold, and drew this unplanned plant.

Zentangle journey Day 10 - repetition

2011-02-11T10:16:00.000-08:00

I was not quite happy with this zentangle. i put it into paint shop and did some patterns, and kaleidoscopes.

Beautiful Minds: Stephen Wiltshire

2011-02-10T14:10:00.000-08:00

Zentangle - Grandma's Flower Garden

2011-02-09T20:11:00.000-08:00

Day 9 of my zentangle journey. I used the hexagon shape from "Grandma's Flower Garden" for this tangle. I didn't have quite enough room on my 6x9 bound journal page. Each hexagon is approximately 5/8"

Some of My Favorite Artists

2011-02-09T04:07:00.000-08:00

People always want to know who is your favorite artist, or which artist inspires you the most. I have always said there are way too many to list. Well, here is a list of some of my favorite artists, mostly famous ones. This is by no means an exclusive list. It does not even touch on fiber artists, but I will say the first fiber artist to inspire me was Hollis Chapman. I learned about pen and ink from books by Claudia Nice and about 3-D drawling from Mark Kistler. Okay admit it, how many of you watched his Secret City series growing up.

I just love art. You can always find beauty, inspiration or truth in most works. You may not like a piece but can admire the colors, the texture, the brush strokes, the movement etc.

Anyway here is my partial list

Claude Monet - French Impressionist Painter, 1840-1926
Vincent van Gogh - Dutch Post-Impressionist Painter, 1853-1890
Yaacov Agam.- A pioneer of kinetic art in the 50s,
Salvador Dali - Spanish Surrealist Painter, 1904-1989
            Growing up we had his painting of the last supper in our kitchen
Georgia O'Keeffe -American Painter, 1887-1986
Edgar Degas -French Realist/Impressionist Painter and Sculptor, 1834-1917
Pierre-Auguste Renoir -French Impressionist Painter, 1841-1919
Janet Fish -American Contemporary Realist Painter, born in 1938
            (especially Raspberries and Gold Fish)
Paul Cézanne - French Post-Impressionist Painter, 1839-1906
Ansel Adams – American Photographer , 1982-1984
Patssi Valdez – Hispanic California Artist born in 1951
Henri Matisse -The French painter and sculptor 1869-1954
Edward Hopper -American Scene Painter, 1882-1967
                Love the simplicity of his lines yet how realistic they are.
Wassily Kandinsky - Russian-born French Expressionist Painter, 1866-1944
Childe Hassam - American painter, 1859-1935
Mary Cassatt -American Impressionist Painter, 1844-1926
Paul Gauguin - French Post-Impressionist Painter, 1848-1903
Yves Tanguy - French American painter, 1900-1955
Jeff Fiorvanti -American Painter, 1958
       Girl with a Watering Can – my earliest memory of a painting - still love it.
Andrew Wyeth - American Contemporary Realist Painter, 1917-2009
Andy Goldsworthy - British Environmental Artist, born in 1956
Red Grooms -American Pop Artist, born in 1937
Jacob Lawrence - African-American Harlem Renaissance Painter, 1917-2000
Joan Miró - Spanish Surrealist Painter and Sculptor, 1893-1983
Pablo Picasso -Spanish Cubist Painter and Sculptor, 1881-1973
Paul Klee - Swiss Expressionist Painter, 1879-1940
Ito Jakuchu -Japanese Painter, 1715-1800
James Amos Porter - African American painter, 1905-1970
Préfète Duffaut - Haitian painter, born in 1923

            I love the light captured in the work of the Hudson River School artists
Robert W. Weir -American Hudson River School Painter, 1803-1889
Albert Bierstadt - German-born American Hudson River School Painter, 1830-1902
Paul Weber - German-born American Hudson River School Painter, 1823-1916
Thomas Cole - English-born American Hudson River School Painter, 1801-1848

Day 8 -Zentangle Journey

2011-02-08T17:05:00.000-08:00

Today is my 8th day for exploring Zentangles. I think this Mandela tangle is better than the first one. It has some shading that gives it dimension, but other parts are still too flat.

I think tomorrow I will use some quilt squares for the base.

Duck Tape Manikin and New Dress

2011-02-08T16:47:00.000-08:00

My duck tape manikin has worked out great. The only hit was the top of the mic stand is bendable. I asked my husband to make a new stand. He just pulled the torso of the stand, adjusted the height and removed the bendable part. Who knew? Now it is just right. Well, I really should tape up the lower arms to hid the hideous T- shirt from a very old dye mishap.

I thought the dress looked a little plain after adding a zipper so I put an insert of a batik in the front, then i thought about a belt. Not to sure, what do you think?

I had a second idea, I would use the batik for the godets that have not yet been added. I barely had enough fabric to make all seven and then accidentally cut a chunk from both ends of the front panel. Thank goodness for 5/8" seems. It worked.

Will have to finish another day, am out of interfacing. Will line the bodice, add cap sleeves and finish all the edges. Does it still need a belt or sash?

Snow Dyeing -silk scarf

2011-02-08T16:23:00.000-08:00

So yesterday told about the predye process. Today I will show you pictures of my silk scarf from start to finish. I used the same soaking for the silk as I did for all my fabric. I only had two racks so i squished this piece up on a Styrofoam bowl set it in a leftover cover from McD's and packed snow on top.

Waiting

Pouring on fuchsia , then the turquoise

snow melting

These pictures did not turn out that well, the scarf is transparent. I 'd get better pictures but I gave it to my son's fiancee and it is now in Florida. Tomorrow I'll post about my favorite piece.

Snow Dyeing

2011-02-07T18:09:00.000-08:00

I tried snow dyeing with the last snow we had. It wasn't much but managed to scrape some up.
I first soaked my fabric in soda ash water. I used PFD cotton, synthetic satin, a silk scarf, pale eco dyed pieces, scape white with stains.

I used 1/2 tsp. of powdered dye, 1 tsp salt dissolved in 6oz of water for my dye bases.

I placed my fabric on a wire rack over a plastic tray and packed on the snow. Next step was squirting on the dye.
I will show the before and after pictures for each fabric step by step in the next couple of posts.

The Wonders of Duck Tape - upcycling

2011-02-07T10:30:00.000-08:00

Duck tape : you gotta love this stuff!
Here is my money saving up-cycled dress manikin, and yes it is made of duck tape. My husband put in a movie Friday night and wrapped me in duck tape. Then he cut the back in a zigzag and after removing it we taped up the back. I used cardboard to close the neck ( from a the box our heated came in.. I started to stuff it with plastic bags, but alas I remembered to return all my plastic bags and took my reusable cloth bags with me to the store. :0( New idea, I'd stuff it with the paper in the shredder. Not quite enough so I stole the bag of shredded paper my daughter was saving for her guinea pigs. To finish off I cut cardboard to seal the bottom and duck taped it in place. Then I cut a small hole in the bottom and slowly Tugged my manikin over an extra mic stand. Yeah, it worked!

Now off to design some patterns!

Zentangle Tiles

2011-02-07T10:05:00.000-08:00

A Zentangle tile is 3 1/2 inches square (which, with respect to Fibonacci proportions, is equivalent to 89 millimeters}.
Here is a zentangle tile and a foot print with zentangle doodling.

Zentangle Art - leaf

2011-02-07T10:00:00.000-08:00

leaf gently swaying
caterpillar chewing stalk
too soon both will fly

Zentangle Mandala

2011-02-07T09:58:00.000-08:00

Here is a mandala filled with zentangle doodles.