More Hand Dyes

Here's the rest of what I got done this weekend.  I can't think of a better way to spend a day than getting messy with the dyes!

This piece is a yard, done (more or less) according to one of Ann Johnston's recipes in Color by Accident.  You bunch up the fabric, hold it with several rubber bands, and pour on dark green dye.  Let it sit for a bit, then unbind it, re-bunch it up and put on the rubber bands again, then pour on dark red dye.  She adds the soda ash with the second dye color, I waited again and then added the soda ash.

I was sure this one would end up like mud.  The color in the container was definitely mud!  However, as you can see- the colors are glorious and definitely NOT muddy!  Here's a detail shot showing the patterning-

I can't wait to try this again with some different complementary colors-I'm thinking turquoise and rust for starters.

I did a couple of yards with the fabric laid out flat on plastic.  On one, I was going for a value gradation, and that one didn't turn out as well as I'd hoped.  It will be fine with some patterning added, however.  With the second one, I was trying to use multiple colors and move them around the cloth.  I ended up with this rainbow which should make an interesting quilt back!

I also learned that I can't do this on my table in the wet studio.  I ended up with fuschia dye in one corner of the studio, and more on the dry wall.  If I want to do larger pieces this way, it will have to be in the yard or driveway on plastic- no chance for spills.

I roughly pleated two pieces of fabric, one yard each.  Then I rolled them up like a cinnamon roll, and stuck them in a lettuce container from Costco.  I poured yellow dye over one, and a paler value of lime green over the other.  After letting that sit for awhile, I poured dark green dye in the bottom of the container.  Here's one of those pieces--

Do those colors sing of spring or what!!

And finally, my spiral.  Here's another example of using all three primaries without getting mud.  

I probably won't be able to get back to dyeing until late in June- next weekend I have to get my June Interpret This! piece done.  Maybe I'll try some sox wax batik on the fuschia piece that needs more work, who knows.

Tomorrow, I'll try to post about my workshop with Laura Cater-Woods. 

Hot and Dyeing

The weather has been perfect for dyeing since Friday.  I started early, got the first run of a two-step overdye started.  I used bright yellow, a mixed color which is something I don't normally do.  

I am also giving up US measures when it comes to dyeing.  So I weighed my fabric, weighed the dyes, and did concentrates of my colors.  So much simpler, fewer utensils to wash.  Once you quit trying to convert back and forth between metric and US, it is a snap- metric makes a lot more sense.  The math is a ton easier, too!

Other than the overdyes, I planned to work on texture, since those are the class samples I need for my workshop in Colorado.  I stayed up til 1:30 am last night to finish all the washing out, and I am very happy with my results!

I let the first batch sit all day in the sun in our driveway.  In the past I've washed out everything before I re-sort for the second dyebath, but I decided to see what happens if I just rinse.  Here's some of the yellows, ready for the blue dyebath.  I got those going Friday night, and let them sit overnight and all day Saturday.

I've been saving some bubblewrap to use.  I wondered what would happen if I rolled up a piece of fabric in it to batch- would the circles leave any marks?  So I did three of those--

Those simple dish tubs from Wallyworld are great- I'm thinking I'll need more of them. 

I pleated, swirled, scrunched, and laid fabric flat on plastic and squirted dye on.  Dry fabric is easier (IMHO) to manipulate than wet, so that's what I did.  Then I'd just dump on hot water, let it soak for a bit, and squeeze it out without  messing up my manipulations.  Worked great.

Saturday night I started washing fabric out, after kicking up the temperature on my water heater.  I wanted to see if that made any difference in getting all the unfixed dye out of the fabric.

The overdyes came out great.  As you can tell, I just can't get enough of green!

Plenty of blues and yellows too.  I massaged these quite a bit, but there is still lots of patterning.

The bubblewrap was a mixed bag.  Mostly they came out looking like solids- nice, but not much in the way of texture.  This was the one exception-

It's kinda-sorta visible in this picture- but look at the detail!

I had two pieces of fabric in the piece of bubble wrap, so I don't know what caused the differences.  I know I used lighter value dye on this one, and I think it was in the outer part of the roll.  So this is something I'll experiment with again.

And here's what I ended up with, all washed and ironed--

All told, I think I dyed between twelve and fifteen yards of fabric.  I am very happy with my results!  As you can see, the studio is a mess, and the wet studio a bigger mess. I'll have to get that cleaned up today, since I need to pack for a two day workshop with Laura Cater-Woods in Salt Lake tomorrow.  So a closer look at some of those yummy pieces will have to wait for another post.

Hope your weekend is a creative one!

I knew it!

We had a cold, wet spring- then today, wham!!  It's hot, and the weather report says we'll be in the 80's for the next week.  No spring in Utah!

One good thing about the heat, it is perfect for dyeing.  So I'm doing  nine yards of gradated overdyes today, using recipes I'm developing, nothing from a book.  And I'm trying something new to see what kind of texture it gives me.  Hopefully pictures of beautiful fabric tomorrow.

We have the new picture for June's Interpret This!  I have to jump on it, June is a crazy month for me.  I've already dinked around in PSE with the picture--

Love all the green, don't think I will ever tire of the color.  And the gradated overdyes I'm doing will be greens, so some might work for this.  I also see a chance for embellishment with those flower spikes .

I also have to pick my picture and send it to Libby by mid-month.  Sean and Marly posted some cool photos from Colombia, so I may use one of them.  We'll see.  With 6000- plus photos on my hard drive, I don't lack for choices.

That's it for now, time to start dinner.  Hopefully more tomorrow.

Moab

Shannon and I had a wonderful time in Moab, visiting my friend Phyllis and just enjoying the sun and warmth.  The weather was perfect- sunny but not too hot, and just enough of a breeze to feel good.  DJ missed all this- he's been fighting off a sinus infection, and just didn't feel good enough to come.

You could tell it has been a wet spring here- there were wildflowers and green in the desert on the drive down in places that are usually bone dry.  It made it very easy to just relax and not rush while we drove, let the other holiday maniacs pass and leave us behind.

Saturday morning we went to the art festival.  It was nice, we had fun walking around the different vendors- but I did not take any pictures.  There was the same lady with tie dye clothes from last year (she needs to learn about values, everything she makes is intense or dark colors), and another pair who did some nice discharge on black clothing from Dharma.  There was lots of jewelry, none of which jumped into my hands, and a few painters.  I ended up buying a picture from a young lady who does layered photography that was quite cool, and another photograph from a glass artist who has macro photos of his process.  That's it.

Sunday we drove out to Red Cliffs Lodge, fifteen miles off the highway next to the Colorado River.  The drive is spectacular, and the ranch is spectacular too.  We had their barbecue lunch, the walked around some.  They also have a winery, so we sampled a fews and each came home with a bottle.

We had lunch just to the right of the teepees- this picture is taken from the deck of the lodge restaurant, which has fantastic food to go with this view.

This is the wine tasting building, with vines next to it.  That building is new since we were last here two years ago; they used to have the wine tasting in the lodge.

After the wine, we walked down to the river and watched some people take off in kayaks or inflatable rafts.

Can you think of a better way to spend a sunny afternoon?  Although I wouldn't have wanted to end up in the water, it was cold.

I couldn't resist getting a picture of this cactus in bloom next to the lodge.

Even something as dangerous looking as this cactus can have beautiful flowers!  And how about this globe mallow- they were growing all along the side of the road.

Just a wonderful, relaxing two days.  Today, I've been trying to get started on a sewing project, and get the last bit of laundry done.  The insanity that my June schedule is begins tomorrow.

My May Interpret This! Piece

was posted this morning, so now I can show it here--

'In the Pink'- 18" X 17.5"

Wholecloth, painted with Setacolor transparent paints and bleeding tissue paper, fusible applique

I really had fun with this one.  I've used the tissue paper before, and enjoyed the results.  I was hoping that the tissue paper would stick to the fabric so I could just quilt through it, but no such luck- it started peeling off while it was drying outside.

A couple of detail shots so you can see the neat effects the tissue paper gives-

I had fun with this one, the colors make me happy, and I succeeded in getting the sense of movement with the quilting lines.  And I love the fact that I finally did an abstraction that definitely references the photo without being literal- without strip piecing!

Now go take a look at the Interpret This! blog and look at the others that have been posted.  The reveals go on all this week- it's always such fun to see how different the finished works are.

Weekend Musings

Well, the garage sale went off less spectacularly than in past years, largely due to our decidedly un-springlike weather.  I woke at 5:30 am to the sound of rain- and it didn't let up much until 10 am or so.  We'd already planned ahead to set up in the garage instead of the driveway, so that's what I did. It was COLD- I brought a little space heater into the garage to keep from freezing, and had a coat on until afternoon. I think lots of folks in the neighborhood just didn't bother because of the weather.

I still had earlybirds at 7:15 am, though.  And, I was happy that I sold almost all my 'big ticket' items- a desktop computer, a couple pieces of exercise equipment- in addition to a lot of smaller items.  I had my Electric Quilt 5 software program and books out- they didn't sell, but I listed them on KSL classifieds, and heard from a buyer this morning.  We're meeting tomorrow to close the deal.

The HOA board may decide to have another one later this summer since the weather didn't cooperate- but I took all the leftover clothes and the two sets of golf clubs DJ wanted to sell to DI yesterday afternoon.  It felt good to get all that cleaned out!

We're going to Moab next weekend to visit a friend, and to see the arts festival there.  Moab this time of year is gorgeous, and with all the rain we've had, should be really green.  Can't wait.  Then it will be the homestretch preparation for my class in Grand Junction in mid-June.

The Interpret This! reveals start tomorrow.  Mine is Tuesday morning.  I got the photography done this morning, and have it all ready to go.  Now I'm going to get the stacks of ironing I have accumulated done, while I watch another couple episodes of Upstairs, Downstairs.  Hope your weekend was a good one!

Done!!!

I finished my IT! piece last night, while I enjoyed my Mother's Day present- the complete set of 'Upstairs Downstairs' on DVD.  Let's see, 24 discs, 80- some epidodes.  I think it will take me awhile!

Saturday we have a huge community wide garage sale, so I will be getting ready for that Friday.  What a relief to not have to worry about getting it done on time.

Grandma Update  (and the last of HMQS)

They have their luggage- got it this morning.  So now they are off to the mountains, where Sean is looking forward to some cooler weather while he enjoys getting to know the 'real' Colombia.

He posted some pictures on FB from their first day- it is so neat to be able to see some of what they are doing while it is happening.

I am excited- I found the dyeing book that explains metric in a way I can both understand and use.  Who would have thought that book would be 24 years old, and long out of print?  I got it through interlibrary loan, and then decided to heck with it, and ordered it off Amazon used books.  They got here on the same day.  Interestingly, the library book is the 1982 edition, my copy is the revised 1986 edition- so I've been looking to see what changes the author made.  What book is it?  Linda Knutson's Synthetic Dyes for Natural Fibers.  I now GET how to make a stock solution, and determine how much to use depending on the depth of shade wanted and how much my fabric weighs.  So now I am planning a whole new round of dyeing this summer, trying to develop a system that works for me for low water immersion with reproducible colors. 

As promised, here are the last of my photos from HMQS.  These are the 12 by 12 Project exhibit, one of several special exhibits at the show.  It was fun seeing my three pieces up there with the others.

The 'Blue' quilts are on the left, and mine is on the far left center.

These are 'Cold' and 'Frog'.  I don't have one in 'Cold'; my 'Frog' is on the bottom left.  Definitely different than the other interpretations!

And my favorite, Chaos'.  Mine is in the center, hard to see because it is so dark.

Since I actually got work hours on Saturday, I'm coming home early tomorrow.  I hope to get my IT! piece faced and done.

Grandma Worries (and a few more HMQS)

My son and his family flew to Colombia yesterday- his first trip there to meet Marly's family, and their first chance to meet baby Michelle.  Judging from the last 24 hours, this is not going to be an uneventful trip.  My first clue was the phone call I got yesterday morning asking me to access some information online.  The issue with Marly's ticket got straightened out, since I know they all got there late last night.  No thanks to me, I might add, since I never did figure out what Sean wanted me to see in this email.  Dumb mother.

Today (yes, Saturday) I was at a workshop related to my job.  Hey, it was very cheap CEU's, and I need them to keep my license current.  I got two phone calls from Shannon, which I did not answer.  Then on break I had a voice mail from someone I did not know, but who said she works with Sean- needing me to get on Facebook.  Ah, can't do that until afternoon when I am home.  At least she said she would try to get that message to Sean.  Apparently their luggage did not make it to Colombia with them- and one of the bags had all the baby's formula.  She has acid reflux, so it's not just any formula, I think.  Yikes!!

I'm home, I've been on Facebook.  There is a message about their luggage, but not much else.  And nobody there is online- so I have not a clue how all this is turning out.  I'm sure Marly had a lot of clothes and stuff for her and the baby, since they are staying til the end of June.

So while I sit here and worry and wonder, I will post more quilts.  Then I can make the frosting for DJ's birthday cake- we're celebrating tonight, although his birthday was two days ago.  And hopefully by then I will get some information.

This was my favorite of the two Barbara Barrick McKie quilts at the show.  The combination of the printed flower and the shiboried fabric just sang!

This one was part of an exhibit.  It's called Circling the Drain, and is her take on what is happening to printed newspapers.  I love the graphic quality of the red, white, and black.  Unfortunately, I don't have the artist's name.

Cynthia England (she of the incredibly intricate pieced quilts) had this in the show.  The detail is just amazing.

The rest of my photos are from the 12 by 12 project exhibit, the only thing I had at the show.  But I'll save that for the next post.  Time to frost a cake.

More HMQS

Happy Mother's Day!  I had a nice relaxing day, capped with a salmon dinner and strawberry shortcake.  Yum!

So I finally got the pictures from Shannon's camera to my computer.  Here's some from HMQS--

Best of Show, by Anna VandeMark.  And that lighter stripe going down the quilt is not the camera, it is the quilt.

My friend Suzanne won second place in the Art/Innovative category with this quilt.  

Another USDG member, Ann Munoz, entered this in the same category.  Ann does wonderful batik.

Some of these I don't have the name of the artist.  I was floored to see this Obama quilt, with a ribbon no less.  

Just down from the Obama quilt was this double portrait.  I loved it!

I got more photos, but that's enough for tonight.  It's getting late, and the workweek starts tomorrow.

Dyeing and HMQS

I am always on the lookout for fabric I can purchase locally that is suitable for dyeing.  I got a belated (very!) birthday present not long ago- a gift card to Joann's.  I went up to the larger Draper store last weekend, and must have walked the entire place 3-4 times.  But in the end, I decided to go with a bolt of cotton-bamboo fabric.  It's bleached, 200 thread count, and looked and felt as good as the Kona muslin I've dyed in the past.

I scoured it, and then tore off two half-yard pieces to dye in shallow trays.  I was also using up the last of the dye solutions I've had in my little studio frig since late last fall- at least five months old, and probably older.  Here's what I got-

The fabric on the left was roughly pleated in the middle, then scrunched on each end.  I turned my leftover lemon yellow dye into lime green with the addition of turquoise, then poured on stripes of the lime green, turquoise, and cerulean blue.  To make sure the bottom of the fabric was in contact with the dye dregs, I tilted the tray.

The second one was just scrunched in to the tray.  First I dumped light red and a bit of fire red over it, and waited a few minutes.  Then I poured charcoal gray dye into the bottom of the tray, and around the edges.  I tilted this tray also, then covered both with plastic and left them to batch overnight under the heat lamps.

The colors were a lot darker when the fabric was wet, but given the age of these dye solutions, I'm pleased with how they came out. I'm also pleased with the fabric.  It has a nice hand, nicer than the muslin.  So I think I will be getting this again.  I'm going to have to figure out some smaller shallow trays- I rarely do pieces larger than a yard, and even the little dishpans I was using here could have taken two yards easy.

Yesterday I was at the Home Machine Quilting Show in Salt Lake.  I did a two hour volunteer stint, walking the quilt exhibit with gloves.  So I got to see everything in the judged competition, and the exhibits too.  My 12 by 12 Project had and exhibit of our pieces, which was nice and drew some good comments.

There were some good entries in the art/innovative category, and my friend Suzanne was very happy to get a second place ribbon with her quilt.  I also saw some names I recognized- Barbara Barrick McKie had two quilts, and Cynthia England had one also.  Anna Vandemark from Wisconsin took Best of Show.  We must be coming up in the world to attract quilters from that far away.

My feet were aching after my two hours, but I spent another hour or so walking the vendor mall.  In the end, I didn't get much.  I renewed my subscription to Machine Quilting Unlimited, I bought Magic Genie Bobbin Washers from Sharon Schamber, and I got a black Hobbs Heirloom batt.  I tried Sharon's Quilt Halo on her Juki, then tried another similar gadget that a local fabric store had- on their sit-down HQ16.  In the end, I got the gadget from the fabric store.  I liked the way it handled better, and it was cheaper and discounted to boot.  Bottom line, I did not go crazy.  No thread, no fabric, no surface design stuff.

I did take pictures, but I borrowed Shannon's camera and can't download them to my computer because the camera is a Fuji and I don't have the right software.  So I'm waiting for her to burn them to a CD.

My package from Dick Blick arrived today, so I am working on my IT! piece.  I really hope what is in my head looks good in fabric, because I don't have the luxury of time and redoes this month.  Two members are already done with theirs!

More Book Reviews

I got a package from Amazon yesterday, with one book I've been dying (ha! pun intended!) to lay my hands on ever since I read the description online, and another I got just to get to $25 for free shipping.  And, I lucked out at Costco and found a book that has been on my wishlist for awhile.

The book I've been lusting after?  Fabric Dyer's Dictionary, by Linda Johansen.  I won't be sending it back, but I was disappointed.  I've about decided that the dyeing book of my dreams doesn't exist- except in my head.

The dictionary does have a nice set of colors with recipes for them.  What do I think it lacks?  First, a solid background in dye chemistry.  I've been dyeing my own fabric for about eight years now, and I've learned just how important this background is.  I can't think of a single dye book that details the differences between soda soaking, soda ash after dye solution, or soda ash with dye solution.  She doesn't explain the difference between single shade and mixed dye colors.  She doesn't talk about differing strike rates.

She does have lots of colors with recipes, but even those could have been better.  There are value gradations of each color, and gradations between complements.  There's also some with black added to the color.  But what about gradations between analogous colors?  What about using gray or brown to shade colors?

It's a book that will work for those who want recipes, and don't want to venture out on their own.  I'm pretty sure that anyone could dye decent cloth with this book.  But they would be a cook, not a chef with the tools and knowledge to cook without the book.

While I was disappointed in the Fabric Dyer's Dictionary, I got another book that turned out to be a pleasant surprise.  Malka Dubrawsky's Color Your Cloth has good information about using wax resists, and some wonderful ideas for making your own stamping tools out of cardboard and other common household items.  I wouldn't use her recommendations for neutralizing bleach after discharging, but at least she acknowledges that her use of vinegar is contrary to what others recommend.  Malka's batik designs are bold and graphic, and remind me of designs from the 50's.  I'm looking forward to trying out some of her ideas this summer.

All this has got me thinking that I have probably moved beyond any of the dyeing books out there- and trust me, after re-acquiring Adriene Buffington's book, I have 'em all.  And I use most of them- a bit from this book, another bit from that.  I pull out Ann Johnston's book when I want to do parfaits, or Holly Brackman's book when I want to vat dye a solid shade.  But I find myself more and more relying on my own hard-earned expertise, and less on the books.

I'm going to start with some new experimentation- using weight instead of volume measure in low water dyeing.  I have scoured the internet and all my books for anything I can find on this- and it's not much.  So I'll play, and keep records.  Who knows, maybe I'll be the one to write the dye book in my head!

Oh, yeah, the book I found at Costco?  It was Bryan Peterson's Understanding Shutter Speed.  I already have Understanding Exposure, Understanding Close Up Photography, and Learning to See Creatively.  Bryan is able to explain photographic concepts in a way I can understand, with lots of cool pictures in the bargain.  I'm sure that's a relief to my brother, who got tired of me calling him with camera questions.  I'd recommend any of his books.

May Challenge

Since it doesn't seem I'm going to get much spring at home, I'll take it in this beautiful photo.  I've already done some playing with filters in PSE, and started drawing.  I'm aiming for abstracted, but not non-representational.  I will have fun delving into my stash of greens, my favorite color.  And those pinks and blues make the greens sing. 

I'm hoping I can settle on a design rather quickly, and then figure out construction quickly.  In my list of stuff I have going on this month, I forgot to add the community wide garage sale on Saturday the 22nd.  We actually have stuff to try to sell, so there's another weekend morning I won't be in the studio.  If I can get over the hump of figuring out what I'm doing, hopefully I can break it down into bits I can do for an hour or so at night.

I have chicken-vegetable stew on the stove, ready to go over couscous.  All those spices in the stew are making me hungry!

^%#@/_$% Snow!!!

Can I just say I have had enough, I am sick of the white stuff??  This is what I stepped out to this morning when Shannon and I went to the gym--

It's cold, it's windy- after the gym, a perfect day to stay inside in the studio.  I managed to get two holsters made for a couple of massage therapists at Shannon's work.  Her's tore, and wasn't fixable, so I took it apart to use as a pattern and made her one with hand-dyed fabric.  She came home with three or four requests for more.  Once we got through the pricing issue (no, I am not willing to make and sell them for five bucks, sorry), I had orders.  So now they are done.

I'm waiting for the photo reveal tomorrow for Interpret This!, I'm thinking about how I want to be thoughtful with this one, try to move a little slower and more in the sketchbook.  We'll see how that works.  I'm in Salt Lake next Friday volunteering at the Home Machine Quilting Show.  Two hours volunteer work, and I get in free for the day.  On Saturday the 15th, I'm at a workshop for CEU's.  So I already know that my weekend time this month is limited.  And I know that June will be even worse.  Maybe I will just have to punch through the fatigue at the end of a ten hour workday and spend an hour or two at night during the week in the studio.  Or take a mental health day off work- I like that idea!

It has been a good week for the gym- I made every day except Wednesday.  I love it when my work schedule is free enough that I can do it during the afternoon instead of after work!  I've learned that the gym is pretty empty then.  I'm just trying to approach this as healthy, not weight loss- although that would be nice too.

I think I'll dredge up some energy and get some housework done so I don't have to worry about it tomorrow.  Hope your weekend is a creative one.

Shifting Sands

20" X 31", commercial and hand dyed cottons, hand dyed cheesecloth, beads

Here's my completed piece for the April Interpret This! challenge.  If you want to know more about my thoughts during design and execution, head over to the challenge blog for a look.  Look at the other pieces while you are at it- this group does amazing work.

I'm glad we get the next photo Saturday.  I'll feel lost over the weekend without a piece of art to work on!

April Reveals, and a Book Review

The reveals for April's Interpret This! challenge started Monday, and there is some amazing work posted already.  If you haven't already, head over to the blog and have a look.  Mine goes up tomorrow morning.

I've gone on a mini-book buying binge the last couple of weeks.  Now that I have a lot more dyeing experience under my belt, I decided  I wanted to look again at Adriene Buffington's book.  I found it cheap from a seller on Amazon, and got it Monday.  I'm also waiting impatiently for Linda Johansen's Fabric Dyer's Dictionary, along with Malka Dubrowsky's book on dyeing.

 I was in Barnes and Noble Sunday, and spotted Traci Bunkers' Print and Stamp Lab.  She has 52 ideas for stamps and stencils using items you have at home, or repurposed, inexpensive items.  She has some fabulous ideas, including how to make your own roller stamps!  If you like to print your own fabric, this book is a wonderful resource.  I can't wait to start playing with it.

Back tomorrow with my Interpret This! reveal!

Twelve by Twelve

I can now show the twelve by twelve piece I completed for the theme Green.  This is the one I actually did two iterations of, since I wasn't happy with the composition of the first.

I wanted to use a fabric I'd dyed, discharged, and screen printed with an image of the wind farm that is close to my home.  It started out as a 'butt ugly' fabric I took to the workshop with Rayna Gillman a year ago- and it became a raving beauty after that week!  I grabbed other hand dyes from my stash, and completed this--

I liked how the colors played together, but the piecing was just so- predictable.  And I wasn't entirely happy with the programmed stitch, it was a bit tighter than I'd envisioned.

So I looked at my stash again, and decided to add some printing to some fabrics.  I also eliminated some, and chose others.  Here's the second version-

I do miss how the dark green adds a nice border to the piece, but overall, I prefer this version.  I like the repetition of the windmill image, and the programmed stitch looks better stretched out.

I have my Interpret This! piece photographed and ready to post.  It feels good to have that one done as well!

Spring Colors

I love this time of year.  It is balm for my eyes to see color after a long Utah winter where all you see is shades of brown and gray.

I made my annual trek to photograph Paul and Marjan's garden.  Paul was my boss years ago, and lives just a couple of miles down the road from me.  Marjan loves to garden, and it shows.

You can also tell it's spring in Utah when there's snow on the mountains, and green below the snow line.  We had more snow on Wednesday morning- thankfully, it was gone by afternoon.  But there's still plenty on the mountains.

I've been in the studio quite a bit.  My Interpret This! piece is done for all intents and purposes.  I'm just trying to decide on the edge finish.

This monthly challenge has been interesting.  I have ended up changing my design almost every month, and April was no exception.  It doesn't look anything like my initial ideas, and probably strays the furthest from the photo of any we've done thus far.  There's part of me that likes what I've done, and part that is not so sure.  I'm obviously at the point where I can no longer be objective about my own work- I'll be interested in the feedback I get.

I'm also struggling in the Elizabeth Barton online class I'm taking.  Part of it is just lack of time- but part of it has to do with her design system, which is radically different than how I've worked up to this point.  My friend Sidney plans to take the class in June- I may wait until then, and do the exercises again along with her.  I still think I can learn a lot from her, but I need to be in a place where I can slow down and just focus on the drawings and value exercises.

It's getting close to dinner time, we are having steaks and artichokes.  Yum- off to the kitchen!

Busy Week-

and now I'm wondering where the weekend went.  At least the allergy attacks have gone for now, I feel much better than I did last weekend.

Shannon and I joined a gym last week.  We'd been spinning two evenings a week through a community education program since late last summer.  Then in April they canceled the 7 pm class we'd been attending since a lot of people dropped out.  I knew I couldn't handle spinning at the 8 pm class- I'd be laying in bed awake for three hours trying to wind down.  So we joined the gym, which has a lot more options for just a little more money.  In addition to using the cardio machines, I'm hoping to find a stress relief kind of class I can do. I tried yoga last Thursday night, and it about kicked my butt.  A couple of times I honestly thought I was going to heave my dinner right up on the floor.  So I'm not so sure about that.  They have Pilates on Monday and Wednesday nights, I'm going to try that out this week.  Another nice thing- it is one block from my office, and I can spend half an hour exercising three days a week and count it as work.

I am trying to NOT approach this as a weight loss venture, but as a healthy choice.  If I lose some weight, great- but it's not my primary motivation.

I dyed a couple of shirts for Michelle, I will get those off in the mail tomorrow.  I got both the blanks from Dharma- I sure hope they fit her, she is growing like a weed!  Here they are--

Yeah, I bit the bullet and stirred the dyepots I had these in.  The parents are more conservative than me when it comes to Michelle's clothes.  The yellow one has ruffles, and I stamped the flowers across the front with Tsukineko inks.  The other one is a polo, specially for my son, who loves to golf.  I asked him what color he wanted one shirt, and he said Chicago Cubbie blue.  This is probably too light, but it's blue.  Then I took it to an embroidery place in town, and had them do this.  I love it!

Put a headband on her, she already has pierced ears- everyone will know it's daddy's darling daughter in the golf cart with him.

I got more done on my Interpret This! piece.  I've changed directions again, that seems to be par for the course for me.  I like how it looks, but I'm not getting the sense that it's a masterpiece or anything.

I've also been trying to work with some photos for the design class I'm doing online with Elizabeth Barton.  She has some good ideas, I just wonder if I've found the right photo to work with.  I started out with Marly's flower from Colombia.  I got some good drawings, but some just didn't work.  Then I found some pictures from the Moab car show last year, and played with them.

I thought this one would work great for one idea, but it didn't pan out at all.  So now I'm trying this one--

Couldn't resist the Oldies sign over the car!  I'm going to try different crop options and see if anything develops.

Finally, I had a nice surprise when I walked out onto our patio tonight- my daffodils are finally starting to bloom.  So I'll leave you with this bit of spring color- hope your week is a healthy and creative one!

Teaser

 

The sneezing has lessened, which is a good thing.  I still feel drained from all this- don't think I've ever had allergies affect me so strongly.  Whatever I'm allergic to, I hope it goes away soon.

In between lazing on the couch, I did audition fabric for April's IT piece.  If I'm feeling any better tomorrow, maybe I can start some sewing.  I'm taking a page out of Nellie's book, we'll see how successful I am.  I have pieces of tulle in lots of different colors, and it was interesting seeing how the different colors affected the fabric underneath.

I also printed on a onesie I dyed for Michelle.  I won't show the whole thing until her parents get it- but here's a detail.  

I'll also be trying to develop more designs for my QU class with Elizabeth Barton this week- so I have plenty to keep me busy.  Hope your week is a good one!

My head

feels two sizes too large, my nose is alternately plugged or running like a fountain, and I am spending an inordinate amount of time sneezing- loudly, I might add.  I do not know what pollen count is off the charts, but it is making me miserable.  Can I find any allergy medication in this house?  I cannot, not a single stinking pill.

Before it got really bad this afternoon, I managed to get the cheesecloth, scrim, silk organza, and hemp cloth I dyed yesterday washed out.  And, I picked up my first lesson in Elizabeth Barton's design class at QU, and did some of the exercises.  I'm working with the picture Marly took of an anthurium on her last trip to Colombia.  I still want to make a quilt inspired by that photo.  And, speaking of Colombia- Sean and Marly are traveling there in May so her family can meet their son-in-law and their new granddaughter/niece/cousin/whatever.  I expect Sean to take lots of interesting photos for his mother.  Hopefully I will travel there myself with them in the next couple years.

I think I know where I am going with my Interpret This! piece.  I hope it is not trite or pedantic or predictable or any of those other adjectives.  It's what I keep coming back to, and my time is running out.  Lots of handwork with this one, which I actually will enjoy- at least if my thumbs don't give me a lot of grief.

More sneezing- signing off.  Here's hoping your weekend is allergy free--

Good Grief!!

We are officially sick of winter, but he doesn't seem to care.  We woke up to this Easter morning-

and now this is what I'm looking at out that same window.

The only good thing about spring snowstorms is the snow melts quickly.  We're supposed to be in the 60's by Friday- I sure hope the weatherman is right!

I have been doing some drawing for the April Interpret This! challenge.  I've set myself some challenges with this one- I will not trace off the photo, I will choose one design element and work with that.  I do have some ideas percolating, I just hope they aren't obvious, trite, or banal.  Being not literal does not come naturally to me when it comes to visual design!

Elizabeth Barton has a wonderful blog, mostly about design.  She really makes me think, and her recent post about working in a series resonated with me.  So I'm trying to take that approach with this photo.  Repeat after me- I do not need to tell the whole story in one piece.  I do not need to throw every technique I know or want to know into this piece.  It is ok to tell one part of the story.  I'm signed up for her Quilt University class which starts this Friday, I'm really looking forward to it.

In the meantime, I'm ignoring Old Man Winter who doesn't want to head for the southern hemisphere, and picking up my sketchbook.

Sneak Peek

I got two 12 X 12 pieces done today, which frees my mind up for the rest of the month for the photo challenge.  It was worth the time to quilt both pieces, I learned something from each.  Here's a detail of the first one I did--

This one is evidence that I've gotten much braver with color- a few years ago, I wouldn't have dreamed of pairing the gold print with the turquoise.  Look at the stitching- I decided to try a programmed stitch on my Bernina, and I'm thinking I could use this again.  

Here's a detail from the second one I did today--

 Similar fabrics, although if you look at the green and blue, you can see what I was doing before I started sewing.  I screen printed the same image on the green, and discharged the dark blue fabric.  It's the same thread and stitch for the quilting, only on this piece I elongated it.  I think I like this version better.

I also used a satin stitch finish on both quilts- the same one Terry Grant wrote about in Quilting Arts a year or two ago.  It works really well, the best looking satin stitch edge I've ever done.  I will definitely use her method again.

The sneak peek is all I'll post of these until late in the month, when the others reveal theirs.  But it does feel good to have them done.

I hope your Easter is blessed.  We'll be celebrating double, the Easter holiday and Lance's big 30th birthday.

Two Challenges This Month,

so I started working on one yesterday.  I actually got it to the point of sandwiching when I decided it was just too boring and predictable.  I think I will go ahead and quilt it, since I can experiment with threads and maybe a programmed stitch.  But I've already been printing some of my handdyes this morning, since I decided one of the things that made the first piece boring was my use of plain handdyes.  We'll see.

We have our first 'outdoor' photo this month, one Nellie took in the Tetons.  I'm not in a panic like I was with March's photo- and don't know if that's a good thing or not.  Here it is--

I am still staring at it, and I think I will make a viewer to try to find an area that interests me.  I'm sure hoping I can make this one play to my strengths!

I'm going down to heat set the prints I made earlier- maybe some pictures tonight.  It is cold, gray, and cloudy outside, so playing in the studio sounds good.