On The Road to California 2015

So excited! Just got word that my funky little quilt, "Peace, Love & Haight Ashbury" was juried into Road to California's Quilters Conference & Showcase, which takes place in January 2015. Really surprised since it is becoming increasingly difficult to even get into this show. Also amused since there seems to be no middle ground on this quilt: Some folks really like it, and some folks don't.

This picture was taken at the Best of the Valley Quilt Show in April.

Worth the Effort

This weekend was mostly spent over-dying fabrics and correcting some piecing. Nothing like saturated colors and very sharp points!

The piece of hand-dyed fabric that I over-dyed with ice and maroon Procion powder made me happy.

 

Another piece of fabric that I had previously dyed a pale blue had turned out to be nondescript. I pleated it lengthwise, folded it in quarters, then tied it tightly every couple inches with cotton twine. I laid the bundle on its side in a very shallow puddle of fuchsia dye, then twelve hours later, turned then bundle over and set it in a shallow puddle of turquoise dye.

 

 

Finally, I tackled that set of points that refused to meet in the center of this little quilt with a hand needle and thread. Nailed it!!!.

 

 

Now it is sandwiched and ready for quilting. 

The Dye-Over

 

 

I wasn't completely satisfied with the results when I dyed this piece of cloth the first time around, so I thought I would spring for a dye-over. Sort of like Donald Trump's comb-over, but hopefully the outcome will be a little bit prettier.

 

 

You can see the results of the first round of dyeing at the bottom of the colander. I know, it does look pretty when it is wet after a soaking in soda ash, but it looks really washed out and chalky when it is dry. So I threw some ice cubes and maroon dye over it all and will hope for the best.

 

Meanwhile, I spent several hours picking the paper off the back of my Broken Dishes miniature quilt. There were a couple of points that needed a touch up before I sandwich the quilt and get busy quilting. One point is being particularly grumpy. I am going to have to get my needle and thread out and wrestle it with some hand sewing.

 

Thanks for visiting!

Three Hundred and Four Pieces

Whew! I finally have this miniature top pieced together. It is 18 inches square. Now I get to quilt it.

 

I am still not sure about a name. Maybe "Danish New Year" or "My Girlfriends' China". The link below will refresh your memory in regards to the story behind this little quilt.

 

http://quiltedtimeposts.blogspot.com/2014/09/broken-dishes-miniature.html

Hand Dyed Tee Shirts

As promised, I am sharing a picture of my hand dyed tee shirts. The one on the left was ice dyed, using primarily turquoise and a tiny sprinkling of sapphire blue and teal. The shirt on the right was dyed in a big pickle jar using a solution of sapphire blue. Both turned out with soft hints of purple, so I guess that is coming from the sapphire blue.

I bought five of these shirts at WalMart at the end of the summer for $3.00 each. Of course, they were white at the time. I was thrilled to find v-neck shirts since I look terrible in crew necks. These are a bit on the large side but will be fine for yoga as long as I make sure and tuck them in before doing any inversions. Oops! Hopefully, they will shrink a little in the wash.

On Friday I ordered some more containers of dye from the Dharma Trading Company. I am excited to receive the new colors!

Reprieve

We were finally blessed with rain last night. Only .20 inches, but an additional .46 inches of drizzle today. We are grateful.

This morning I puttered about the garden, clipping this and that. So much foliage needs to be tamed and thrown into the compost barrel.

Among the felled cannas, I found this sweet praying mantis, heavy with eggs. I gently rescued her from the compost bin and placed her in a rose bush. That should give her a safe place to lay her eggs.

I look forward to seeing her progeny in the spring.

Before heading out to the garden this morning, I set two tee shirts in dye. One is in a big, lovely pickle jar I bought at the Dollar Tree--mainly for the jar. The other is ice-dyeing in a colander. I am excited to see the results.

More to come...