Something About Nothing

This idea came to me from a friend. She wanted to know if I had any wintery pieces. After thinking about it, I remembered a snowflake piece, and another small piece of a girl in a parka. I decided I needed to make a wintery face. I searched for photos online of beautiful women, and drew a few ideas. At first I thought I wanted her to look up at the sky, but after drawing this face, I knew she was right. Winter looks you right in the eye. She is bold, not bashful, yet cool, thus she would be shades of blue. July 5, 2021 My original thought was to shade her facial features with stitches, but after embroidering the outline of her eyes on a courthouse steps block, I decided she didn't need the shading. I thought she should have curly hair so the snowflakes could be catch in her hair, but I wasn't sure what stitch to use to create the look of curly hair. I looked online to see what other people have done to embroider an afro. Most of the things I saw were a solid background, and the...

For many years my quilt guild, Quilter's Holladay, has had an annual Dye Party. It's been my pleasure to be in charge of the party for a few years now. Sadly, Covid kept us from partying last year, so we were even more excited to all be vaccinated and able to party again this year! There were 15 people participating in the dyeing, and another 5-8 people who came just to visit. One of Betty Jo's beautiful trees in her amazing backyard. I do love a good tree. The sun was shining in to the branches in an amazing way. The photo does not do it justice. Jan painting on dye Andrea showing off her spiral shirts Ruth (left) checking out the ice and Patti headed to the dye table with her rubber banded dress This is me enjoying being with people again. Behind me you can see the field which is rented out for some miniature horses, and the tennis courts. (L to R) Patti, Becky, Wendy's back, Mitzi and Barbara Shaving cream marbling Helen creating some yumminess And here are a few of ...

This certainly seems to be my blue period of art.  I have really been drawn to the blue dyed fabrics lately. They feel so much more calming, however,  that isn't entirely true with my "Blood on Our Hands" piece.  Although the background is calm, the hands reveal so much more. They are jarring. No matter how much you try to hide them, you can see them. What do these hands say to you? Who do they represent?  

While participating in Jane Dunnewold's Art Cloth Mastery program we learned about the wonder and joys of over dyeing fabric. Over dyeing is as it sounds. Dye a fabric one color, and then after processing and a washing, dye it another color. There are many joyous surprises. I took half of all of my sample strips and made blocks for a quilt. It was only big enough for a large wall hanging, or baby quilt. I want a bed quilt. More fabric needed to be made. In my opinion, this border wasn't enough, visually, or size wise. So more pieces were dyed, And over dyed. I will be cutting these 9"x WOF strips into blocks, and hoping I have enough.  I should have done the math first, but I like living on the edge of uncertainty. I can always dye more!