Something About Nothing

The Fruit Trees are blooming so that must mean. . .  It's time to Clean! I posted a photo of my very dirty 9'x10' studio on social media and Cheryl Sleboda over at Muppin.com  immediately invited me to be a part of her Spring Clean Your Studio Blog Hop 2016 .  It's so nice to have supportive friends that encourage you to get your rear in gear and start cleaning! I could have ignored her request and kept making messes, after all I could still see most of the floor, but when all the table and ironing board surfaces get covered I start itching to clean. Of course cleaning creates all kinds of new messes. Items must be moved, cleaned (the fan was full of cat fur!), or tossed, before finally making their way back home.   (Some day I'll have a naming contest for my mannequin.   It seems a shame that she is nameless.) Anyway - one of the studio assistants decided I cleared this spot out just for him. Of course that stalled progress ...

Another month of great inspiration at my local quilt guild meeting. Florence completed another great UFO. Anne shared that her daughter is pregnant with her first grandchild! This is a quilt Anne made with hand dyed fabric and fabric discharged after a layer of potato dextrine. Helen's beautiful cathedral windows quilt. Ann made a fabulous coat for a middle school production of Joseph and The Technicolor Dream coat.  This is the logo of the city of Holladay. Nanette does beautiful faux chenille. Butterfly Garden is on it's way to France to be in a show! This is Alice. She is 99 years old and she quilts everyday. I want to be Alice when I grow up. Look at all the beautiful quilts she makes and gives away. She inspires me. Our program for the evening was a trunk show from Cindy Hutchinson. She makes beautiful, and very LARGE quilts. She had many beautiful quilts but one of my favorites was this house quil...

I'm making samples for my Shibori Scarf Dyeing class coming up this fall at Art Access . This first scarf was created with folding and tying (Itajime and Miura). The dyes were mixed last July.   They still worked but were no where near as saturated as freshly mixed dyes. The other scarf sample was created using Maki-nui - oversewn stitching. The stitch creates a resist that resembles little chevrons. I used a combination of Indigo Blue and Orange Sherbet dye, which mixed to create lots of lovely browns and greens in addition to the blue and orange.  I think it is a perfect fall color combination. The stitching of the entire scarf took a lot longer than we will have in class but it will be a nice option for future reference. The class will be held on October 15th from 1 to 4 p.m. Call 801-328-0703 to sign up.

My husband LOVES to wear bowties. I've been thinking about making him a tie from my hand dyed fabrics for over a year.  I worried and fretted, but finally took the plunge and ordered  raw silk  from Dharma Trading.  It is a sturdy fabric that will hold up well. I dyed a third of a yard with  indigo blue (pr-168)  procion mx dye.   Click here  for instructions on dyeing silk.  Use the instructions for Immersion dyeing for protein fibers on page 5. I found this post online and used it for inspiration and direction.   I used an old tie to create a pattern. After folding the dyed fabric in half I placed the pattern along the fabric's bias (at a 45 degree angle) and traced it twice.  The tie will lay nicer when tied by being cut on the bias.  I also traced the pattern twice on to a double layer of lightweight interfacing. After cutting out all four pieces, I ironed the interfacing to the wrong side ...

I had the opportunity to do a trunk show and teach about prayer flags at the Greater Salt Lake Quilt Guild Meeting this month.  The quilt I am holding is my first hand pieced, hand quilted piece made about 25 years ago.  It is yet to be finished.  Maybe someday I will feel the need. I did a lot of applique before I discovered art quilting. After the trunk show I told the ladies all about prayer quilts and then gave them each a flag to embroider.  Some of the flags had images I stamped on them from my hand carved stamps.   These ladies are so talented!   I encouraged them to hang the flags in their yard or give them to someone in need.

I'm pretty new to the washi tape scene.   I've seen other people use it and be obsessed with it  but I didn't buy in to the craz because I didn't want to get in to something new. Famous last words. A month or so ago, I had a play date with my friend, Dana, a book artist, and the next thing I know I am the proud owner of 17 rolls of washi tape. Oh my!  However it's a good thing I bought all this tape because Quarto Publishing asked me to review a book for them: Paper + Tape: Craft & Create by Marisa Edghill. There are 75 projects in this book and they are pretty creative, like the paper beads pictured on the front of the book. One of my favorite things is this simple gift box made from scrapbook or washi paper, and washi tape.  Where was this idea when the kids were in school and needed clever containers to give Valentines candy in?! There are 15 templates in the back of the book.  One of the things I like most about these templates...