Experimenting

I have been intrigued by the Confetti Dyeing of my friend , Carol Eaton, and while I had the makings for Iced Parfait out,  I thought I would finally give it a try. Of course with a few variations.

I searched for my strainer and found I must have tossed it out onto the great beyond in my last kitchen cleanout. Having thought about what to use to spread the dye , I decided to see if a salt/pepper shaker would work. I'm not so crazy of spraying the soda ash on and drip drying and  decided to layer with crushed ice and plastic and see what happens.

A little to heavy on the red here ( will I ever learn )and not enough yellow. But I can see using it somewhere.






So on I go to the next layer. I can see the speckling but I might still be a little heavy handed here with the shaker. I also scrunched the fabric slightly.

And the final piece. I do have to say, being summer and hot does really make the process go much faster than in the cooler/cold months.

 That ice melts way fast!!

I might be getting the hang of this but I still feel I need remedial lessons. Or at least a little direction but it was a fun experiment.
.

Dyeing in the Shade

My art group, Sisters in Cloth,  held an Iced Parfait dyeing sessions at Diane Wright's home recently. Of course it was warm and a touch humid, but the shade from the trees made it delightful! Here are some of the results from my containers. I do have to say it was different than dyeing during the much cooler (colder, indoor) months and the results are interesting and different..

I'm thinking a lighter hand on the dyes, more ice to the layer, and watch out for the red and darker colors......very light on them. And watch your color combinations.

This last group looks a little better in person. I also think the weight of the fabric has played a part in this. I used a cotton silk blend on some of these which may have caused the dye to take faster. I do have some really nice ones I love that I will save for the reveal this coming Friday!!

It's Finally Here!!

I am so excited to be featured in the June/July issue of Quilting Arts Magazine !! My Iced Parfait Dyeing is one of the featured "Staycation' activities for this summer. A fun and unique way to get great one-of-a-kind fabric.  I hope you check it out and create some of your own Iced Parfaits!

Here are a few other pieces I have
 made. I can't seem to stop once I start!!



I hope you try this fun dyeing technique and send me your pictures, links  and/or comments. I'd love to see your work.

More Iced Dyeing

I"m happy the Easter holiday went so well, with all my children and grand children coming for dinner. But the planning and executing of dinner left me longing for my dye pots and a little creative time.

I finally was able to do some more iced dyeing on a few pieces. It felt like I'd  been away for ever, but  I perservered and created some interesting pieces.

This is a little softer in color than my usual, but I like the movement of the dye. It reminds me of spring and approaching summer. Blue skies, warm sun, and my flowers starting to bloom. Hmm, I think I'm ready for the seasons to change.

I have another piece I also like, more in my color palette. Scrunched fabric is becoming my new favorite. It has a lot of surprises and great ice movement. Although my absolute favorite is still the diagonal folded fabric.  Kind of reminds me of shibori, but without the stitching.

You can see a few more pieces over at Sisters In Cloth, a group I belong to. I plan on doing more today.

A Little Ice With That DYE Please!



Fan-folded Diagonal

It's been a while since I last visited here having had an 'interesting' and busy year.  I am finally back into the swing of things and my creative juices are perking along.

I had the itch to do some snow dyeing, but there wasn't any snow this year in the North East. Horrors!!! It certainly is strange to have winter with no snow when I was ready to dye.
So I decided I needed to play in the dyes and produce something and found my  August/September issue of Quilting Arts and the article on ice dyeing. Ice is related to snow, right , so why not?

I did enjoy the process and found waiting for the dye and melting ice to do its thing the hardest part.  My first few pieces were exciting to watch as I rinsed out the fabrics.

Fan-folded Long edge

 And ironing them after they dried left me amazed. Who knew I could get such bright colors and those little ice cubes would produce glorious blends of color. Each piece was so different than the next and just as beautiful. I am hooked!!!

I couldn't stop and did some more, loving every minute spent getting the fabric covered in ice and dye.  And then I spotted an empty vase on my counter and parfait dyeing came to mind.



Could this work???? Well, let's just see how it goes. It went even better than I thought possible.  Five pieces stacked in one place, all the ice and dye scattered and  I'm a happy dyer!! I believe I have found my new favorite ice treats.

Parfait Diagonal Fold

Bloggers Quilt Festival

   It's time for the Bloggers Quilt Festival where we get to see so many beautiful quilts from the comfort of home!

   This quilt was made for my youngest daughter for her 'new' apartment. She has always loved the colors of brown and limey green and / or brown and turquoise. Since she had purchased a couch in a rich chocolate brown and used a pillow with both green and turquoise to accent it, I just had to go with the same theme.  We both love the warmer weather and being outside amidst the greenery of summer so the leaf branch came into play.
   The blues are reminders of the tropical oceans we have  been lucky to dip in.
   I had fun finally finishing it and giving it to her. I hope it helps with her decorating in  her living space.

Time Flies......

Where have I been and what have I been doing???? I can't believe it has been sooo long since I last posted. It has been a busy few months abut all not quilty related. Gardening, planting, dodging the multiple heat waves on the East Coast, finding an apartment for my aunt, packing and moving her, unpacking and apartment set up, trying to harvest the veges, many doctors visits with both my mother and aunt, attempting to make sense of the sewing room ( I couldn't find the iron) , etc 'm .....whew, I tried just typing it.

Needless to say, I haven't been very productive in the quilting department and the creative muse has been  hiding somewhere, probably in the sewing room under one of the piles that has spilled over and the dog has tried to make a bed out of. But I was able to do a few quickie type things to try and get back in the grove.

Here is a pincushion made of wool and stuffed with wool roving. Easy, no heavy thinking..right???? It only took 2 days to finish it. I was really off the beam.

And then I had this crazy yarn  made of multiple pieces of different threads and  started to made a drop stitch scarf. It was all I could handle at the time, due to heat and distractions. I really enjoyed the process, but now I need a little more yarn to finish it to my desired length and have to hunt out some scraps or overdye some strings to blend in. You see my UFO pile getting larger???


And of course there are a few deadlines in my future. Things I really want to get to........so I have made an effort  ( struggle is more like it) to get back on track. ( I wonder if there is a 12 step for the overwhelmed/unfocused/empty of ideas art quilter??)

Here is a quilt I played with adding stitches in all kinds of threads and yarns. I finished the edges, put a hanger on the back, put it up on the wall. Hmmm, it did nothing for me. No singing, just a low humming. I needed something but I couldn't think what at the time. Fast forward to two months later...inspiration finally hits!!! Along with some gentle prodding (a guilt laddened, nice memo that worked!) it will be going to the Identity: SAQA  for CT members show in January. It should be standing up right with the  big circles on the left. I have three squares more to sew on but have I finished it??? Oh,  no.  I have  plenty of time and it's only three, what's the big deal???

I have another fairly big quilt I was asked to make and thought I was halfway done. Until I noticed the borders weren't sitting quite right and have since taken it apart, re-squared it and put the borders back on,.  and I am now in the race to finish the bottom half and put it together.

Another project is still in the infant stage but it's due by December, with another due by January. But instead I have to make this hobo bag but not follow the directions.  It looked and read like it was easy, so in I jump , thinking it will be a snap. This has actually been good for me, because it's making me think ahead, plan appropriately and be disciplined in my work. I even have finished seams inside the bag, added another set of pockets and have hand quilted the outside. I just need to close the opening, put on the handles and I can use it. I may be ready to tackle that project for the first of the year yet.

I'm noticing a theme here. I think it's called avoidance. I may have mastered the technique. More next time.