It’s always fun for me to learn and to fine tune techniques and skills that can be used in art quilts. Today it was all about trying different manipulations of paint on the viscose surface of a carrageenan and water mixture and then transferring to …
Remember those linen towels picked up as souvenirs from your travels? I pick them up in “trash” boxes at auctions, dye them in appropriate or related color schemes and then……And then they become something stitched, like this tote bag. What fun!!
Evidence is gathered, clues are being followed and soon we’ll see the first block. What fun and diligent detectives!
Care and Conservation of Heirloom Textiles Excerpted from University of Nebraska publication G1682 in cooperation with International Quilt Study Center, Lincoln, NE (full publication available online at extension.unl.edu/publications) Light—low levels for display and darkness for storage. Humidity-moist air, warmth, and lack of air circulation cause …
Ragged, tattered, faded and torn but still holding memories of my growing years. This quilt was hand stitched, hand quilted and then turned and buttonhole stitched around each hexagon with lots of love by my grandmother. I surely did not appreciate the workmanship at the …
Today I am reminded that we are halfway through another year. Have I started the projects I had hoped to? Have I finished any projects I had hoped to? What shall I pack into totes for the winter trip south? As I contemplate, I most certainly will just continue to enjoy the present.
The 2018 Hoffman Challenge set my mind to wandering and wondering. The result, “Midnight at the Ritz”, or I just call her “the lady”. It has been a creative journey that I have certainly enjoyed so have chosen to post some photos that give a …
I have been dyeing vintage linens for several years and love every color that results. We’ll, almost every color, but that’s why over dyeing was invented wasn’t it? This summer I have been trying to master the dyeing of wool but am finding it a …
Dyeing fabric has been one of the most rewarding creative endeavors I attempt in relation to my passion for quilting. Up to the present I have dyed the cellulose fibers of cotton, linen, bamboo and rayon. Now the wool dye bug has bitten. While my first attempt is not what I would call successful, neither is it a failure. Results were a surprise because I based my anticipated results on a comparison with the cellulose formulas I used. I wanted the mottled effect I love so followed the oven method for wool dyeing which required little manipulation. I do love the use of the oven to dye rather than stirring over a hot stove. I did get a mottled effect but the colors were much more intense for the amount of dye used and didn’t rinse out—my first pleasant surprise! (Note to self: use less dye concentrate to get the softer colors I prefer.) My second surprise was just how much, or actually, how little dye was left in the dyebath water so you could tell the dye had been exhausted in bonding with the wool fibers. My third positive was the time factor. I kept the dyebath in the oven for only an hour as opposed to multiple hours for the cellulose. And on the downside, fresh from the oven does not have a pleasant odor. Wet wool does not have quite the same aroma as that loaf of fresh baked bread or cookies but the odor dissipates quickly by running the vent fan—and the results are just as yummy! The photos show the “fresh out of the oven” results and the rinsed and dried finished pieces from simple folding and simply scrunching.
As I continue to master this oven method for my desired results I will continue to share.
