A Little Ice Dyeing

I've got blue fingers!

After a good two years of mulling this little project around in my mind, I finally got all of my supplies together and gave it a whirl. Soon it will be too dreary and cold outside to slog wet fabric around.

I was really pleased with the results. These cuts of fabric are a little less than a yard long. They are hanging on the clothesline at the moment and haven't been pressed as of yet.

I dyed the fabric in colanders with a pans beneath them to catch the run-off. The pans should have been deeper. I had to sop up the extra drippings with my cleaning towels to keep it running onto the bricks. Oh well, now I have fancy hand dyed cleaning towels as well!

 

After scrunching up the PFD (prepared for dyeing) fabric, I put each piece in a separate colander with a layer of ice on top. I had enough colanders to do another batch, but the seven pound bag of ice that I purchased was only enough for three.

 

Next I sprinkled Procion dyes over the ice. The hardest part was keeping the colanders covered with plastic for 24 hours while the magic was happening.

 

 

The next morning, I was so excited to see the fabrics that I forgot to put on gloves to lift them from the colanders. I hope the dye on my hands fades a bit before I show up at work tomorrow. Otherwise, my coworkers are going to know about my wild weekend.



Broken Dishes Miniature

What can I say? I told you awhile back that I was on a roll with these small blocks. Mostly I wanted to make a dent in my hoard of tiny Asian fabric scraps.There was no way I was going to toss those. Not with all that gold and glitz stamped all over them. Not to mention the price of good yardage these days.

Making forty-nine blocks that finish at 2 1/2 inches square would drive most quilters to distraction. I loved it! These are temporarily pinned to a cardboard box--a great design wall for small quilts, by the way. Once they are sewn together, the whole shebang will only be 18 inches square.

 

This is the fabric that I chose for the neutral border. Years ago, I won this as part of a bundle of Japanese prints from an online quilt fabric auction that is no longer doing business. I wasn't sure how I was going to use the fabric at the time, but now it sort of reminds me of a tablecloth for my "dishes".

 

 

Recently, I also read the sweetest story about broken dishes. In Denmark, ladies save their broken dishes throughout the year, Come New Years, they throw them at the doors of their beloved friends. So it you awake to find lots of broken dishes outside your door, you are very fortunate indeed.

Fair Time With the Girlfriends

On Friday some of my girlfriends and I headed out for an evening of fun at the Kern County Fair.

What a great group! Lynn, Teri, Cindy, and Vicky. The only thing that stopped our laughter was corn on the cob, baked potatoes, corn dogs, cinnamon rolls, funnel cakes, and Basque food. Please note that NONE of us had ALL of that. That is the cumulative group menu. I had my traditional Basque dinner and tried a fair funnel cake for the first time. That was rich! Bavarian cream and chocolate drizzle over the top. I only ate half of it.

 

Vicky took a better picture of all of us with her cell phone, so I pinched it off Facebook.

 

 

We eventually got around to dropping by the Fine Arts Building. I got a quick picture of two of my quilts which happened to be displayed on the same panel. I had to stand at an angle to take the photo since I didn't think the fair staff would think kindly of me if I perched on the display area behind me to get a straight on picture.

 

 

Before we knew it, the time had come to go home.

 

 

Until next year...

 

A Little Online Shopping

Every once in a while, I will find the best fat quarter EVER at a local quilt store or at a quilt show. But that's all it is: One fat quarter. No more. Drives me nuts.

Case in point: Check out that gorgeous Asian floral below. I found one fat quarter of it at a local quilt shop. It is part of the Satsuki collection by Robert Hoffman. I didn't have much hope of finding more since by the time a certain collection is being cut and sold as pre-cuts, it is often on it's way to being sold out or discontinued.

I got lucky on this one. I was browsing online at one of my favorite vendors and randomly entered the word "metallic" in the search box. Bingo! Up popped these two beauties.

Fort Worth Fabric Studio has always been high on my list. It doesn't hurt that they send little gifts with my order like the owl notepad and the packet of Hawaiian Punch mix.

 

In the sales section, the alphabet blocks on the left caught my eye. I wasn't sure why until I thought awhile and remembered that I had been hoarding a big chunk of a similar print in neutral tones since 2006. I had bought it to make a schoolhouse quilt but hadn't gotten to the point of having a firm idea of where I was heading to even attempt a start.

 

Schoolhouse? Yes, a schoolhouse. That awesome structure at Calico Ghost Town has my mind whirring.

 

It will take me a long while to figure out how to incorporate traditional fabrics into a pictorial art quilt, so I am not expecting to start on this any time soon. Not to mention that I am pretty obsessed with piecing blocks with Asian fabrics right now. It's definitely a project to anticipate and ponder for the future.

 

 



Calico Ghost Town, California

Calico Ghost Town has been on my radar for many, many years. I can't recall how I first heard of it, but I do remember pondering the name and wondering just what that place would look like. With "calico" meaning a tri-colored cat or a humble cotton print fabric, it just had to be the place for me.

Finally, I got on the internet and took a peek. That was about fifteen years ago. I found out that Calico Ghost Town was located in the barren desert surrounding Barstow, California. If that name brings visions of a hot, parched land to mind, you are right. It is not all that far from Death Valley.

Just the desolate location of Calico Ghost Town made me a little hesitant about making the trip. I love ghost towns and was really curious about that one, but...that desert was a little disconcerting.

After a time, I let the whole idea slip from my mind.

Then on my way to Utah last month, I saw an unexpected sign along the highway, announcing that Calico Ghost Town could be reached by turning off at the very next exit. Wow! I had to think fast. I was on a tight schedule and needed to reach the southwest corner of Utah before sunset. Drat! The ghost town was on the opposite side of the freeway, which generally spells "inconvenience". I decided to stop by the ghost town on my way back home from Utah.

As it turned out, Calico Ghost Town was several miles from the freeway, but the roads were well marked and I knew I was going in the right direction because the word "Calico" was spelled out on the nearby mountainside in white.

This giant miner was greeting guests at the front gate

 

 The short road up a canyon into town was flanked by some awesome rock formations.

 

 

 

 It was a tiny bit steep but was paved and accessible by regular passenger cars.

 

 

 The main street looked like any typical wild west town.

 

 

Historical marker No. 782 tells the story of Calico.

 

 

Most of the current buildings either housed the ghost town's artifacts or are small shops for the tourists.

 

The Dr. A. R. Rhea Drug Store.

 

This business doubled as an undertaker and a furniture store. 

 

 

At first glance, I couldn't figure this one out. It was called "The Dog House" and was made almost entirely with glass bottles.

 

 

One look inside, and the mystery was solved. The store catered to dogs--and cats. There were all sorts of pet parents in there buying leashes, collars, and souvenirs for Fido and Fluffy. It was the busiest store in the town. I understand that.

 

 

Hyena House Hotel was a four story structure built into the side of a cliff in the 1870s of early 1880s. The underground tunnel entrances can be seen but the interior is closed off to visitors.

 

A plaque outside tells some of the history.

 

 

Not much is left of the other early stone structures.

 

 

A small railroad takes tourists through the town.

 

 

I loved the curvy route.

 

 

At the uppermost end of town was the schoolhouse, which reminded me that I was due back at school in two days. Sigh. Time to go home.

 

 

I headed back down the hill toward the parking lot. On the way, I stopped and got a cold soda from a vendor at an old fashioned popcorn stand. I was a little sad to leave and wished that my stay could have been longer.

 

Maybe sometime...

Asian Indulgence

Ever since I got back from Utah, I have been piecing little tiny Asian fabric blocks like a maniac. I think I went through a severe withdrawal up in the north country since there were almost no Asian prints to be found.

Most of the fabrics in these blocks were already in my stash. Some were scraps left over from earlier quilts. I just can't bear to throw away those exquisite little bits and pieces of that richly colored and gold stamped fabric.

These paper pieced blocks are 2 1/2 inches square finished.

 

I happened to see this block design painted on a piece of plywood and fell in love with it. I converted it to a paper pieced pattern and went to town piecing my heart out. If anyone knows the proper name of this block, please let me know. I love it! My version is 7 1/2 inches square.

 

So what am I doing with all of this? Well, many, many years ago when I began quilting, I knew that I eventually wanted to make a quilt with applique bamboo. The pieced blocks are just going to be supportive parts of the overall design.

 

Here are some of the other components waiting to be assembled. I also have a small bag of real silk that I am going to use for some of the leaves. I am really loving playing with my little hoard of fancy stuff. I have been waiting a long time for this.

 

And then there is my stash of even smaller pieces of Asian fabrics. Perfect for Broken Dishes blocks.

 

Also 2 1/2 inch squares. I think I see a miniature quilt in my future.

I have also done a few other things since I got home from Utah. Like go to work and get that school year started.

 

Yesterday I met some dear former classmates for lunch. It's hard to believe that I have known these ladies since elementary school.

 

Hope you are having a great holiday today.