Once again, here I am, trying to make sense of geek language, otherwise known as html. I participated in the last FFAC sale in Chicago, and am planning to do so again, maybe with more than the two I donated this spring. But, given my family's history with cancer- grandmother, mother, cousin, uncle and mother-in-law deceased due to the disease, and my 18 year old daughter a survivor (leukemia at age 6)- I'm pleased and proud to be able to display the link.
And, no, I'm not posting any finished pieces from yesterday's Shibori class. Only one scarf came out well- clearly, I have a lot to learn about dyeing small pieces of silk. You just don't get the variegation as easily as with cotton. I still have some of the habotai yardage- maybe when DJ isn't home I'll try it in the microwave!! And, one comfort, the scarves are cheap. Next time I'll get some of the long skinny ones. So, now, it's on to Marilyn's Art for Quilter's class. Shibori II coming up this summer!!

Finally, a couple of warm days!! Yesterday, did the necessary housecleaning stuff (get it out of the way before the weekend), then Sadie and I went for a walk on the golf course. Perfect temperature, slight breeze- couldn't ask for better- just ask Sadie!

Started early this morning on the last of four Shibori lessons through Quilt University. These have been fun, especially the silk. Most of what I did will have to wait until tomorrow for pictures, since I used turquoise which needs to batch the full 24 hours. But here's the setup I devised for this round of Shibori. . .


Tomorrow I'll post pictures of the results.
I did finish one other project today, a Journal Quilt size composition I'll send to my aunt on Whidbey Island. The picture is of my great-grandmother Laura, the text is her high school graduation essay, and the leaves are some I scanned, and then printed onto silk organza. Overall I like it, I just keep debating if I should do some outline quilting on Laura. It is minimally quilted, the picture is transparent (as I intended), so I worry that more quilting will take away from that effect. Maybe I'll try it on another copy, I don't want to goof up this one.

It's Monday night, winter has returned, and I will ignore it by finally posting pictures of my dyeing over the weekend. And, I have a quilt up on the design wall- while I consider how to quilt it. This was a group project, six of us chose a picture or design, sliced it six ways, and each person did one slice of all the quilts. We did not see them until they were done- so you had no idea how others were interpreting their slice. You can definitely tell there were multiple minds working on mine, but I am pleased with the result. Now, to get it quilted in time for the Springville Art Museum Quilt show this summer.
I dyed four pieces total this weekend, two are here. The fuschia and lime is anther piece of glorious silk. I love how this fabric just eats up the dyes!! The second is muslin, the process was something I've never done before. There's also a picture of the fabric tied up, but before dyeing- making the little pouches filled with beans was time-consuming! But, I think the results were worth it.
One more lesson this weekend- but Shibori II is in June. And, my class with Marilyn Belford starts this week. Hopefully it will help me with the structure of the canyon quilt that is floating through my mind. . .

Who says old dogs can't learn new tricks? I managed to figure out enough of the coding to get the link for the Artful Quilters webring installed on my blog. Whopee!! Now to post the pictures of my latest dyeing adventures!

The third weekend in a row I've spent dyeing, more Shibori. So far I have loved this- even the mess up I had today will be useful somewhere, somehow! Didn't believe Marjie when she said don't brush the dye up close to the binding cords- I did, so a lot of the detail on the stitching lines got dyed. Oh, well, the color looks good- even if I did get green instead of lime to go with my fuschia. Maybe I'll make some kind of a demented Christmas quilt out of this!
I'll post pictures tomorrow when I've rinsed out the cottons, too. Got to go finish dinner, we have company coming for food and Scrabble--

Monday- I'm still recuperating from the weekend. Most of Friday and Saturday was spent at HMQS, then yesterday we had son Lance's birthday dinner at our home. Quite a crowd, thank goodness I only did the rolls!! DH took care of all the dinner, and Shannon made the cake.
After the high of the HM at the show, I got my judging sheet back Saturday evening. Few surprises- my quilting needs to improve, but I knew and expected that. Heck, this is the first larger-size quilt I've done myself!! The one comment that did cause me to sit back and go "hmmm" was one about my design- that the raw edge applique did not add to it. (That would be the two lizards and two masks.) I'm not sure if she meant the applique period, or the fact that it was raw edge- I think I've assumed the former.
I did most of the design work at least three years ago- I spent months creating the blocks, and then moving them around the surface in EQ5. I vaguely remember thinking that it was boring with only the pieced blocks, so I went with the applique elements. And, I know that I have looked at this quilt for so long that I'm hardly an objective viewer. So, I think I will hang the quilt up in its intended room, move on to the next project (quilting the manatee quilt, and designing/making an abstract to hang above the fireplace). Maybe a few months down the road I can look again with new eyes, and learn that either 1- the judge's taste isn't mine, or 2- she had a point to keep in mind with future projects. Regardless, this show has been a good learning experience!
I did squeeze in a morning of dyeing yesterday- like my Shades of the Sixties? I think I will have to design a psychedelic quilt to go on the front of this!!

Found this link on Rayna Gilman's blog- interesting!! Although, I do not like my coffee black, gotta have a touch of Splenda and cream!

You are a Black Coffee

At your best, you are: low maintenance, friendly, and adaptable At your worst, you are: cheap and angsty You drink coffee when: you can get your hands on it Your caffeine addiction level: high

What Kind of Coffee Are You?

Another glorious red-letter day- the second in less than a month!! Last night I had a call from Patsy, who's over the quilt show at HMQS (the only "big" quilt show we get in Salt Lake). She invited me to the awards ceremony today- 'Shannon's Serengeti' was awarded an Honorable Mention in the Themed category!! She assured me (I was literally speechless) that winning any kind of ribbon in this show is a big deal- as if I didn't know!!
So, today daughter Shannon and I drove up to Salt Lake in pouring rain and slushy snow to South Town Expo center, had to park across the street and get drenched making our way to the show- but it was worth it!! I was even more awestruck that I'd won any kind of ribbon when I saw the competition- there are some awesome quilts there!! I will be going back tomorrow and Saturday, taking two classes- and I will have more time to cruise the quilt show. I am thrilled, excited beyond belief-- and did I say there was prize money, even for HM?? My first!! So, as DJ said this evening at dinner out to celebrate, "Now you'll be even more driven to do this, won't you?" YES, YES, YES!! This adrenalin rush feels good!!
I'll be starting the quilting on my manatee group challenge quilt, I got the OK from the artist whose painting I interpreted to show it. And, I have an idea percolating for a small quilt, maybe to enter into the art show at the Freedom Festival this summer. I'll need to dye some gradations for that one. . .
Life is good!!

It's a good day- despite the gray clouds and rain!! Although I've been dyeing fabric for my quilts for the past four years, I'm taking an online class on Shibori dyeing that starts today. Couldn't wait to get going, skipped the elliptical after I got up (promising myself that I'd take Sadie for a walk when I was done).
We dyed three pieces for this lesson: a rainbow on silk velvet (which is FABULOUS!), two colors on dry silk habotai, and whatever trips your trigger on cotton. I'll get to see the silk later today, it doesn't cure as long apparently. I managed to pull this off with only minimal mess, although I love having space dedicated to dyeing and painting fabric. The funny stripes on the velvet are purple, which teacher Marjie assures us will be the spark to make the rainbow sing. The other picture shows my work area, with the three pieces in the background. Those extra large ziploc baggies are great for curing!! Now I'm going to try to figure out how to get our heatlamp in there. . .
And, I kept my promise to Sadie. We went walking on the nearby golf course, which fortunately only had a very few hardy golfers out. We got sprinkled on some, but it wasn't that cold, and the wind not bad at all. It is wonderful to see- the grass is greening up, new growth is on the trees, and even the sage has tiny silver-green leaves coming. The birds were singing- we passed one tree with a woodpecker hammering away. I walked all around that tree, trying to get a glimpse of him- never did see him, but you could hear him for quite a distance! After close to an hour, Sadie was pooped, so we headed home.
I have a quilt of Dead Horse Point incubating in my head. I have some good pictures taken when we were there a few years ago, and some ideas from the machine embellishment class I just finished. And, I want this one to be abstracted- emphasize the sinuousnous of the river, and all the rock layers. I think I am going to try to freehand draw it from my photos- something I've never had much confidence at. I'll post my ongoing processess.