And the Results Are. . .

All five pieces from yesterday have been batched, rinsed, and the wax ironed out. All I have left to do is dry clean them, and then a couple of good washings in Synthrapol.

My first piece, I played with a tjanting, drawing spirals and dots. Mostly they came out ok, except for one where the wax got cool, and I tried to melt it with a butter knife. I didn't do such a hot job with the knife. Love the colors, this will find its way into a quilt.



From this I learned that unless you want all your designs in white, don't do all your waxing on undyed fabric. So then I did a little bit of waxing, dyed, waxed again, and dyed again.



I was excited to see I got CRACKLE on this one!!



This one is probably my least favorite. I dyed it a pale shade of green, then waxed, then dyed. I think I waxed again, but somehow lost track of exactly what I'd done. I do know I overdyed it first aqua, then peacock blue.



The last two, I went crazy with the wax. On this one, I waxed the white fabric, dyed it yellow. Then I waxed again, and dyed it coral. I waxed a third time, then dyed it maroon. And voila, I have a batik plaid, thanks to a potato masher and a toothbrush.



The smallest piece was first dyed yellow, then waxed with a different potato masher and a tjanting. Then I scrunch dyed it maroon. This piece actually looked pretty good after that maroon dye bath, but I decided to go one more step. I coated the entire piece in wax, scrunched it good, and left it in a baggie with navy blue dye overnight. Look at all that crackle!!



I am really happy with the results. I will use all of them in some kind of quilt. And I'm already thinking about designs I can do, and then add threadwork. Batik panels look great stretched on a frame, and if you add threadwork, I think it makes them even more special.

The only thing I think I will do differently is trying soy wax instead of parafin and sticky wax. More environmentally friendly, and much less hassle getting the wax out. My only question is about the crackle, wondering if that is achievable with soy. I have been looking out for Rayna Gillman's new book, since I know she uses soy wax exclusively, but it hasn't shown up here yet. If I don't find it in the next month, I suspect I will be ordering it online. This is just too much fun!!

Batiking!!

Oh my gosh, I am tired, my legs ached- but Saturday in Salt Lake learning to batik was FABULOUS. The group was small enough so everyone got individual attention, but big enough we could see very different ways of working and results. Anne Munoz, our teacher, is a local batik artist who has been doing this since the 1970's. Her work is gorgeous!

She had us set up in her backyard, with two separate stations. The waxing station was two long tables set up with four wax pots, and lots of tjantings and other tools to use. I never knew there were so many configurations of potato mashers! Kathleen scoured the antique shops in northern California recently, and brought some treasures for us all to try. Here's a shot of the waxing station-



You can really tell with the wax when you get it right. You don't have long with the tjanting before you have to heat it up again. If the wax is too cool, it just sits on top of the cloth rather than soaking into it.



On the other side of the yard was the dye station. Anne had lots of dye colors for us to choose from, most of which I'd never used since I tend to order the primary single shade dyes and mix my own colors. I had a ball trying colors I'd never used before. Suzanne is getting ready to dye her waxed cloth, and Kathleen is looking on.



Here's another view of the dye station, later in the day. Look at all those pieces drying!!



We batched pieces in the sun, then went to work on another. You quickly learned time management- have a piece batching, one drying, and another to work on. These four pieces are mine and Suzanne's, baking under plastic.



By the end of the day, everyone had at least one piece for show and tell. Suzanne is filling in gaps in her stash, and now has the perfect medium light orange yellow she's wanted. The marking on this piece was done with a toothbrush.




There was some wonderful work produced, and also learning about what works and what doesn't, depending on the effects you want. But I don't think there was a single dog, if a piece didn't work as a whole, it would still be great to cut up for a quilt.

I only ironed out one piece at Anne's, the rest I brought home to batch overnight. I'll post pictures of them later, after they are dried and the wax ironed out.

Two Playdays in Salt Lake--



Yesterday some of my small art quilt group (WAQ) met at the Fine Arts Museum at the University of Utah to see their special exhibit of paintings- 'From Monet to Picasso.' It was a very nice overview of painting, beginning with the Impressionists and some of their precursors, all the way through the twentieth century- Picasso and Dali. There were also a number of scuptures, Rodin and some others. Obviously, no pictures allowed.

I loved seeing these magnificent works of art up close. When I was in Europe in 1970- a young college student taking time off to see the world- I spent a lot of time in the art museums of London, Paris, Florence, and Amsterdam, to name only a few. That experience gave me an appreciation of great art that I have never lost.

Today, I'm off to a batik workshop, given by one of the members of the Utah Surface Design Group who does wonderful work. What could be better than a day in the dyes??

Happy Fourth of July (albeit a day late!)



We did the usual Fourth activities, including fireworks- watching the big show at the Stadium of Fire from the hills above BYU's football stadium. Earlier in the day, we went to some of the Freedom Festival activities in Provo. My favorite was a reconstructed colonial village, including people dressed in the fashions of the time, and doing everyday activities. This broommaker has an eighteenth century hearing aid!



These ladies are making baskets. They had some awesome ones they'd done on dislplay.



But my favorite was this woman, making bobbin lace. I had to laugh- four of her bobbins had metallic thread on them!! She agreed they probably weren't of colonial vintage.



And a closeup of her working--



Despite being up late last night doing fireworks, we got up and out of the house before six am for the last day of Balloon Fest. I have never ridden in one, but I think hot air balloons are magical, and I didn't want to miss the launch.

Only one balloon was being filled when we arrived. The rest were like this- basket on its side, balloon laid out on the ground in a long line.



Then they rev up the cold air fans, and start inflating the balloons.



Once they are filled with cold air, then the fire blowers go to work. I'm sure they have an official name, but I haven't a clue what it is. I was just glad of their warmth when you were near, the morning air was a little nippy with just a tee shirt on.



A little bit with the hot air, and we are close to liftoff!! I loved being on the field right with the balloons.



In addition to the colorful 'round' balloons, there were a couple of unusual ones. This balloon, sponsored by a bank, is a giant piggy bank!



And a character from my childhood, Smokey the Bear--



We hung around until they were all airborn.



A lovely, magical way to start a Saturday morning!

Got a Name??

I finished my piece for the June Take it Further challenge this morning, and for once I have not a clue what to title it. With these challenges,you have a choice- do the theme, do the color scheme, or both. I chose to do just the color scheme.

I've figured out that I don't do well with coming up with visual images for 'word' suggestions- unless it's one I come up with myself. I just don't think that way. So, instead of struggling to come up with something, I decided to play with shapes, line, color, and texture. I knew I wanted to do hand embroidery, and once that was done, knew I'd be adding beads. I sized it intending to mount it on foam core, and then frame it.

The full piece-



And a detail--



No matter what I do, I always seem to come back to this way of creating- cut simple shapes, play with them on a background, and use stitching (hand or machine) to add texture and interest. At least for now, this seems to be a learning process I need to work through to its end. Fortunately, I like both the process and the results!

More TIF--

I've started on the handwork, and am pleased with how it is looking. I think I am going to have to figure out a way to always have some handwork to do, I find it relaxing and energizing at the same time!!

Hopefully in the next day or so, the handwork will be completed,and the beadwork begun. I'll post a picture when I'm further along--

We are wilting with the heat. It has been in the 90's for over a week. First it seemed like summer would never get here, now we'd love a break from this intense heat. It is supposed to be up to 100 for the Fourth!

Why do we NEVER seem to get lovely stretches in the 80's????

June TIF Challenge, and some extras!!

I haven't blogged a lot about the TIF challenge recently. After a couple months of not being particularly inspired by the theme or the colors, June's piqued my interest. I liked the theme, but nothing visual jumped to mind- so I went with the colors. They are not ones I would normally put together, but they intrigued me. I started with embroidery floss, because I've had a yen to do something with handwork, something more portable than I usually do. Then I just rooted through the stash to find fabrics of similar colors.

When I don't have a specific image in mind, I like just playing with shapes and colors. This came together in fairly short order--



I have several more design elements in mind to add with embroidery and beading. DJ and I are going to an outdoor concert tomorrow night- think I will be taking this to work on while we wait, since I can count on it being light until 9 pm.

Shannon and I went out for a bit this afternoon, to see if we could get any good pictures of flowers to add to my design files. She had better luck with her camera than I did, and she seems to have a knack for getting flowers from unusual angles. But I was happy with a few, like this one of a red lily. I have played with the brightness and contrast in Elements.



I also like this pansy-



Shannon got some awesome ones of other lilies, which I will keep in the back of my mind for a design I've been thinking about for awhile. AFTER I finish some of the other projects I have going!!

On a totally different note, my church had a huge garage sale on Saturday, to raise funds to buy a church building in Uganda for an organization that works with orphans. I wasn't on the lookout for anything, but scored these items for my studio--



I now have a studio microwave,so I can warm up dye solutions, and even play with silk dyeing in the microwave. The nice litle table also holds several storage containers with various dye powders. I also got an overhead projector!! So now enlarging drawings will be a snap. It works, just needs a new bulb, which I've already ordered online.

I am looking forward to a short work week. I'm taking Thursday off, hopefully to play in the studio since I will be the only one home. Friday we'll probably go to Provo to partake of all the July 4 celebrations. If this weekend is any foretaste, it will be a HOT holiday weekend!

Winding down. . .

The weekend is about over, I'm just playing on the computer waiting for dinner to finish cooking. The ironing of the work clothes is done, my hair colored for another six weeks, even the dog is freshly bathed!!

I do have some sewing content, just not quilt related. I had TWO coupons for JoAnn's that had to be used this weekend, so I got some cottons to make a couple of shirts. One of them is almost done, just need to do the hems, buttonholes, and buttons. Shannon snapped my picture trying it on- all with a look on her face that said "I can't believe you are going to wear that in public!!"



I love red, I love batiks- so why not a red batik shirt? It will go great with a red necklace and earrings my daughter-in-law Marly made.

Our friend Patty, the wildlife rehabber, invited us to a barbeque at her house last night. DJ couldn't go, so Shannon and I went, with Sadie in tow. She love playing with Patty's dog Jackson, and feels right at home with all the animals.

Ben was there with his new golden eagle. This one is young, and only a month out of the wild. He handled all the people around him very well. I never cease to be amazed at how magnificent eagles are when you have the opportunity to see them up close.



Ben also brought out the ring tail cat, as they are commonly known- don't ask me the official name. These are actually native to Utah, unlike racoons.



But the best of all was the fawn, brought in from a small town to the south after she was found on the side of the road, a dead doe not too far away. She is less than a month old, and smaller than Sadie, our border collie.



She was a little skittish of all the attention she got, but took to the bottle with relish. I'd never heard a deer make any kind of noise, but she was making little squeaking noises while she nursed on the bottle. I'm not sure what will happen to her, but it doesn't seem likely she'll be able to be released.

And it's not just the animals at Patty's that are interesting, I also learn a ton just by listening. Never a dull moment there, and good food to boot.

After a long, cool spring, summer has finally hit here with a vengeance. We had 90 degree days most of last week, and the same for the coming week. What I would love, a long stretch of 80 degree days. Not too likely now.

Three-Day Weekend Doings!!

It was a nice weekend, made even better by the lovely weather. It is finally starting to seem like summer- warm weather and sunshine. All the green we have is balm for my eyes, I never tire of looking at all the wonderful shades and variations of that color. It's no accident that green is a large portion of my fabric stash!

Friday I got together with my small group, the Wasatch Art Quilters. We just had a nice, relaxing workday. I started on a thread embroidery with water soluble stabilizer, Sidney played with Shiva paintstiks, Jalaine and Kathleen worked on projects, and Suzanne has a piece on the design wall. We encourage, critique, laugh, and just enjoy being with others who share the same passion. Here's three of the group, playing or working away--



Saturday night DJ and I went to a concert here in Spanish Fork- classic country. Here is an example of the cultural divide that exists between us at times. I grew up in southern California, and listened almost exclusively to rock and roll. I loved the Beatles and all the others that performed in the sixties and early seventies. Country? I'm not even sure I knew it existed, and would have blown it off as music for hicks.

He, on the other hand, grew up in Utah, and listened to country a LOT. He didn't like most of the rock and roll then, and still doesn't now. Tanya Tucker has been the love of his life for years and years.

Clearly, we come from two very different musical paradigms. My musical world has expanded greatly since my teen years, but I've only had occasional flirtations with country, none that lasted any length of time. He has remained a steadfast fan of the country music from the 60's, 70's, and maybe 80's. So when the classic country radio station puts together a show of performers from that era, he's there. Me, I'm along for the ride.

This year we had six or seven different singers. One has been around so long, he talked about performing at a dance at BYU in Provo in 1954!!!! I'd never heard of any of them, except for one who was at the concert last year.

One really caught my eye, however. He definitely did NOT look like your typical country singer, more reminded me of Doc from the Back to the Future movies. And he could sing!! Click on the picture, you'll see what I mean--



I think his name is T. Graham Brown. DJ knew him, he's done some duets with his beloved Tanya. His singing has a rough edge to it that I like, not a smooth crooner. All in all, it was a nice evening of music under the stars and moon.

And I'll end this with a family pet picture. Annabelle is our cat, who can be alternately psychocat running around the house, and lovey-dovey sit in your lap cat. She also has a fondness for strange sleeping surfaces, including human.



I couldn't resist snapping this picture of Ana sleeping on Shannon, happily perched on her side. Can't speak to how comfortable Shannon finds it!

I'll be working on the threadwork embroidery more this week. Hope yours is creative and productive also!

It's almost Friday!!

And for me, that means my weekend is starting, since I work 4 ten hour days. Hopefully, I will get the blouse sewn that I cut out last night. It's a summer blouse, and we haven't had a lot of summer weather yet. We are waiting impatiently, it is late in the spring to be so cool. And I'm sure we'll wish for these temperatures when we get the 90's for days on end.

I got my most recent quilt project done- I decided I didn't like one set of beads I'd put on, so I ripped them out and found others in colors I think look better. This quilt is going in a book, so I won't post an entire picture- but here's a detail shot of a small portion of it.



The fabrics are my hand-dyes. I have rarely used satin stitching on applique quilts, preferring raw edge most of the time- but I like the crisp look it gives on this piece. So, overall I am happy with it.

And, how about some family pictures? Our cat sheds horribly, and we've found that bathing her helps the problem. We use the laundry sink in my dye room. For a cat, Anabelle is relatively cooperative- but the look on her face tells all.



All Shannon has to do is pick her up and carry her downstairs, and she knows what is coming. She doesn't yowl, she doesn't use her back claws to scratch, but you know it isn't her favorite thing. And, she does let us know with her body language that she is not happy with us, for awhile at least! For all her looks and attitude afterwards, Anabelle is easier than Sadie, who weighs 60-plus pounds and barely fits in the laundry tub. We noticed a new business going up in Provo- a "doggie wash", where they have the tub and tools just for dog washing without breaking your back. I think we will be checking it out.

Meanwhile, the weekend is here, so let the sewing begin!!

Take It Further Challenge- May



The last two months have not been conducive to doing much artwork- but I did not want to skip two months of the challenge. And, I had an idea of what I wanted to do this month (unlike April)- it was just finding the time to do it. So, what I have here is incomplete- I want to add machine quilting- but didn't want to leave it any longer, since who knows when I will be able to get to that.

I have read more discussions than I care to remember on the Quiltart list about quilters, and fiber artists, and can you be an artist if you are a traditional quilter, and what makes an artist. I've wearied of it all, and just decided to call myself, and others like me who find joy (and therapy!) in the process- ARTISTS. I show infrequently, I have yet to make my first sale- so, I think that puts me and many others in the same company as Vincent Van Gogh, who never made a dime off his art.

I admire the work of several artists who use words and letters, such as Rayna Gillman and Rosemary Claus Gray. I'm not pretending that this is on their level, but wanted to experiment with words. I created the words in Elements, printed them on my laser printer, and transferred them to my hand-dyed cotton with Citrasolv.

So here's my declaration to all, I'm an ARTIST!! Learning, growing, creating plenty for my crap quota- but an artist nonetheless. I think I'll hang this on the wall of my studio, something to remind myself when the discouragement hits.

I love it. . .

when I can look back and check off tasks and projects completed. This weekend has been a good one- I not only finished the small quilts I've been working on, but my studio is cleaned out and re-organized. And I still have Sunday left!!

The small work will be in a book- I won't say any more until publication, and I don't know when that's scheduled. This project already has me looking around my home figuring out where I could hang a similar piece, and what colors would work. Might even try my stash of metallic threads, which look spectacular with this type of quilting.

My stash closet is done- I got the shelves from Ikea, cut them down, and even had enough of the uprights left to make another long, low shelf just by buying a 1 X 12 and the hardware. I've gone through my big bins, pulled out stuff that I'm not likely to use,and designated for the garage sale. My church is holding a series of garage sales to raise money to buy a building for a congregation in Uganda, and we've been slowly sorting through our home to collect for it. The dye room table is still stacked with all the items I'll be donating.



Anyway, here's the closet, cleaned out with everything accessible and easy to get. I LOVE being able to see all my fabric at a glance!



I took my cone threads out of a drawer, and mounted them on the wall by my Bernina. My growing stash of threads required another thread holder, so that was mounted on the right wall. I have some room for more thread, but not a ton!!



And look what I found for my beads! It's a simple little carousel with six bins that attach around the side. There's another bin for beads on top, and more storage under that. I was able to get almost all my beads in it, nicely sorted by color. Shows immediately where my holes are (purples), and makes it easy to see at a glance what you have. The only downside is the single lid on the bins instead of individual lids on the compartments. The little stacking containers to the right are the only ones I couldn't get in the new system.



Even with all the de-cluttering and 'stuff' reduction, I did get some goodies for surface design. Our subdivision had a lot of garage sales this weekend, and I found these stamps at one. Too cool to resist!



I also entered the 21st century- I now own an iPod, purchased at the same garage sale that had the stamps. A nice little iPod Shuffle that I can wear around my neck or clip to my belt. I'm still a techno-dummy when it comes to music, so Shannon downloaded some of my CD's to iTunes and loaded the iPod for me. We'll see if having the music improves my free motion quilting!

And, I'm finishing the final steps to getting my small private practice off the ground. I have space, my LLC is registered with the state, I got my business license with the city, and my business cards arrived. The last step is getting the malpractice insurance, also in progress. Scary but exciting!

Take It Further Challenge

I realized it is almost June, and I haven't mentioned much of anything about this in awhile. I opted out of the April challenge- just too much going on that month. And while I haven't started on the May challenge, I do have my design in my head- simple, direct, and to the point. If all goes as hoped, it will be done this weekend. Now, I'm off to play with Photoshop Elements to play with my design.

If you haven't used Elements as a design tool, grab yourself a copy of the latest Quilting Arts magazine. Gloria Hansen has the first of two articles on design with Photoshop and Elements that even a beginner can put to good use. Gloria is generous with her expertise on the Quiltart list, I almost always flag her posts for future reference.

More this weekend. . .

I haven't disappeared. . .

I've just been on a business trip for the past week down in southern Utah. Tried to post before I left, but our internet connection decided to go on the fritz Sunday, so I couldn't.

I have been dinking around with my fabric storage again. My space is limited, but with the right setup, I think is adequate for my stash. I've used different sizes and makes of plastic bins- which I have now outgrown. And, I'm tired of having to remove lids to see what's inside.

I recently found these cheap, no-lid bins at Walmart, and decided to give them a try. I bought just enough to try out the idea, and decided that it would work fine. I love being able to see the fabrics!



I needed to find a way to manage all the large bins I have sitting on the floor. There is enough space there to put more shelves, if I could find something low enough. At Ikea yesterday, while shopping for a desk for Shannon, we found a set of wooden shelves that was perfect. They show it tall, but I'll just cut it down, to make two sets of low shelves. So that should take care of that. I'll post the final result when I get it done.

I did take a quilt-related trip while down south. I had some free time Thursday, so I visited Superior Threads, which is headquartered in St. George. I was happy to find out they welcome visitors, and even sell from their inventory! I have access to Superior at a couple of local shops, but nobody carries the entire line. I had fun wandering the aisles of the warehouse, picking a few spools and even some hand-dyed silk ribbon. I love their threads, and tried to pick a variety. So I ended up with a spool of King Tut, several of Hollis Chatelain's Nature Colors, some Rainbows, and one spools of Caryl Bryer's Brytes. Bryte's are a 30 weight thread (the rest are 40 weight), which means it is heavier and will show up more. I wanted to try it out before buying any more. So here are the additions to my thread stash--



I'm actually working on something, but I can't post it. And, I need to begin working on my Journal Quilt- another project I can't post. Guess the blog will be limited to my work on the tree quilt, which is still going on.

Off to enjoy my long weekend. Hope yours is as enjoyable!!

Happy Mother's Day!!

I hope your special day is filled with family, love, and laughter. And, if you don't get flowers, here's some from Shannon and me, 'picked' yesterday on a photo excursion around town.







I had fun with Elements on the last one, intensifying the contrast and trying for a more 'artistic' photo. One day I will make a tulip quilt!!

We will be 'celebrating' later today, when Lance gets home from the Jazz game in Salt Lake. I haven't been watching, so haven't a clue if they are beating the Lakers or not.

I had a lovely half day Friday at the only quilt show close to home, the Home Machine Quilting Show in Salt Lake. I got there an hour before my 'shift', and ran into a friend just when I got there. So we walked the vendor mall- decent, but not huge, about 150 I think. I figured I'd scope out what I wanted, then go back after my shift. When I went to get my volunteer assignment- I was to wander the vendor area and provide any assistance they needed! So I ended up walking it for another hour and a half, by that time I knew REALLY well where I would return. And, my feet and legs were killing me.

I got two more irridescent Shiva paintstiks, three colors of Tsukineko inks that I don't have, some print paste, and Libby Lehman's Threadplay book. I'd been wanting it for ages, and there aren't many books any more that I'm dying to add to my collection.

The quilt exhibits were ok- very little jumped out at me. I didn't even enter anything, since the theme was Traditions, and nothing I have even remotely comes near that. The Best of Show was wonderful, a wholecloth quilted in a non-traditional set of motifs. But nothing that took my breath away.

Then, this morning I decided I HAD to get back into the studio, inspiration accompanying or not. I put some stuff away, ironed my batting tree after my last go-round with the paints on the edges, and pinned it back up on the design wall.
I rumaged through my stash of hand dyes, and found a piece I thought would work well for a background. Found some other hand dyes that played well with it, and started cutting with my little rotary cutter.

I came up with several different designs, taking picures along the way so I could compare. Here's one, although not the one I eventually decided on. I have had success with this method in the past, so figured I'd go there again- and, quilting and other elements will add quite a bit.



My goal for several nights this week is to get the quilting done, so I can take it with me on my business trip next week and have hand-work to do- probably beading, but who knows. That design decision will be made when the machine quilting is done. But at least I've got something I'm working on!

I must have spring fever. . .

of one sort or another. No blogging, because not much to post. I was gone or too busy in April to do the TIF challenge. Had a couple of ideas, but nothing that grabbed me enough to head down to the studio.

I have, however, managed to finish the puzzle that was designed by sadists, and needs a masochist to complete it.



Multiple times I swore I had the right piece in place , to find out when I tried to find the next piece that I really didn't. Look at this detail, I had to learn to quit focusing on color and sort the pieces by shape.



But, last weekend, Shannon and I got it done. It's still on the table, til I can get a piece of foam core and gel medium. Ain't no way I'm taking this apart and putting it back in the box!!

Hopefully some planned outings in the next two weeks will help drag me out of this hole I seem to be in. I'm volunteering at the Home Machine Quilting Show in Salt Lake on Friday,and will have plenty of time to wander the vendors and exhibits. Not taking any classes, nothing jumped out at me. Any my small art quilt group meets the next Friday.

I will also be serving as the next president of the Surface Design group in Utah. I love the group, and after some thinking decided it was just my turn to serve on the board. Since I don't have a lot of time to do stuff after work, presiding over the meetings and conducting board meetings seems doable. Unfortunately, I will miss my first meeting since I am out of town the entire week on another business trip!

I did spend time in the studio last weekend, painting the edges of my batting tree. Lesson learned- paint it AFTER you cut out the shape,not after- then you can get the edges at the same time, with the same paint!! Mostly I'm happy with it, just hoping I didn't botch one limb. I keep telling myself that it won't be noticeable once I get the leaves I'm planning.

That's it, I'm going to watch the rest of the election returns, and hope that Obama comes close in Indiana after winning North Carolina. Yes, he has taken his hits the past month. But nothing in my research on the issues and non-issues raised by the media has changed my mind. Also hoping for an inspirational boost from the show- but in any case, I should have pictures to post.