Sunday, May 14, 2006

It has been a beautiful, sunny and warm weekend- the kind that tells me we are going right to summer, no long springtime here. We had our granddaughter Bentlee with us Friday afternoon until this morning, and she and I did some dyeing- a swimsuit and sundress for her, a tank top for me. Here she is proudly modeling the swimsuit--

I tied off a heart with stitching, bound it with rubber bands, and dyed the heart in a deep shade of red, the rest of the suit in a slightly lighter shade. Both of us were pleased with the result.
Of course, she had to try out the new suit in water- so grandpa rigged up a homemade slip and slide on the hill by the basketball court behind our home. Both Bentlee and Jaden had a ball with it!!

I've also managed to try some fabric painting- now that it's warmer, I've been wanting to try sunprinting again. I have an idea in my head, and after five tries I still don't have it right!! I did get one piece that I really like, the dandelion heads show up like little ghosts, just like I wanted. When I went to heat-set the paints, however-- argh!! I'd laid it on a piece of insulation foamboard in the sun- and the printing on the board showed up on the bottom of the piece---
I have four panels with pretty much the same colors on them. Only this one got the dandelion heads like I wanted. So, I think I will be cutting them up, and making a patchwork collage. I love the colors, I have really been in a lime green and yellow mood. (My tank top was done in lime green, twisted pattern with lots of white showing- very springy.) Hopefully I will be able to come up with something I like for my May JQ, I only have a week left before I have to send pictures to Houston. I did manage to finish my April JQ today- nature based again, and I really like how it came out.
The next week will be busy. Shannon walks for her high school graduation on May 23, and my brother Paul will be coming up from St. George for that. Then the week after Memorial Day my friend Judy will be here to run the Salt Lake marathon. As to that one, all I can say is better her than me.

2 comments:

Nellie's Needles said...

What fun results you've gotten from your dying and sun printing. I very much like your African quilt. I have an ongoing African series. It took me quite a while to give myself permission to create them. If white women can sing jazz, it was okay for me to do so. Afterall, there is much in our American culture that has roots deep into Africa. Besides, isn't Africa where we all came from?

Beverly said...

Thanks for the feedback! Do you have your African quilts posted? I'm always interested in how others interpret a "theme". I didn't much worry about permission, I lived there for a year (with Peace Corps)- so creating something that spoke both of my experience and to me was fun. And, I've collected enough fabric to make more one of these days.