Something About Nothing

If at first you don't succeed, try, try again: I'm attempting another reverse appliqué piece. No products to keep the edges from fraying this time. Wish me luck! In the meantime, I've also been helping my daughters get ready for school and more importantly Comic Con. haha  My daughter Ann loves Cosplay and so I am making a Batman corset for her. . . . . .as well as doing a lot of alterations to this dress that is almost perfect for her biggest Cosplay, and I wish I could remember what the character is! I'll blog more about them once I am done so if you don't hear from me for awhile you know why.  In the meantime tell me what you are up to!

The Happy Flag Project is a celebration of the Dalai Lama's visit to Birmingham, Alabama, through handmade prayer flags from around the world.  I made a couple sets of flags (which I forgot to photograph) and put them in a decorated envelope. It's a simple design on the front and back but I had such a fun time that I decided I need to do some type of doodle or zentangle on everything I mail! If you are interested in creating flags for The Happy Flag Project you still have a little time! The flags need to arrive in Phoenix by August 30th.   Click here for the complete instructions!

This was the greatest success I had in the studio this week. I put an empty tub on the table in hopes that someone would choose to sit there instead of on my project and. . . SUCCESS! At a recent quilt guild meeting a friend demonstrated this product: I was so excited to give it a try on a reverse appliqué project.  I followed the directions by putting it under hot water for 3 minutes, shook it for 30 seconds, poked a tiny hole in the top, put the nozzle cap back on and then tried to apply it to the stitching around the parts I wanted to cut out.  The liquid was so THIN that I found it hard to control.  It would drip out as I turned the tube toward the fabric and I would get blobs where I didn't want them to be.  I didn't worry too much because when my friend demonstrated it the liquid didn't show on the fabric once it was dried. So basically, my first real mistake was not TESTING it on my fabric! Once the fray block was applied, I cut and cut an...

Which quilt would you love to win? One randomly selected quilter will get to choose their prize, whether it's the starry True Blue Quilt Kit OR the elegant Blue Garden Quilt Kit. (Psst ... the prize also comes with the coordinated backing for the quilt!)  **Only residents of the U.S. and Canada are eligible to enter.**  Enter to win here:  Enter to Win a Quilt Kit from Craftsy   Prize Photos:   

My friend Lynn Dell Swapp is a wonderful fiber artist. Back in the day, she sold tie dyed t-shirts and tapestries out of the back of her van along Highway 101 in Oregon. This past weekend Lynn Dell (center), Diane (left), Bev and I went up to our friend, Timmy's studio to learn a few of Lynn Dell's tricks. With Lynn Dell's help, Diane folded two large 100% cotton sheets. Here is the critter she ended up making with the first one. We thought it looked like a mutant turtle - it just wasn't very ninja. ;) Diane used a dish drainer turned upside down in a tray as a base while she added the dyes to her fabric. I took an awkward selfie to prove that I was really there. I only folded some smaller pieces of fabric. Deformed camel? Dog with an excessively large tail as well as a small tail? What do you see? This the folded chevron snake - the backside is about to get more dye. The next day we put all the creatures onto the ground and spr...

I took an unexpected adventure last week up to Heber, Utah.  My friend Timmy has a beautiful property with a wonderful studio. Timmy allowed us to use her studio to learn some tie dye techniques. I'll put up a post about the tie dyeing on Thursday. While we were dyeing, Timmy was preparing cucumbers for pickling.  They were soooo good!  I walked past this feather and thought it needed it's picture taken. Just before I left I received a package filled with Artist Trading Card's from an Artist Cellar exchange I participated in.  I love looking at each little piece and enjoying the work each artist created with the Artist Cellar Stencils.