FOREVER A FAN!

Enuff said.....  GO PACK GO!!!!

"The husband" and Sooty, the rescue lab, will be holding down the fort as Judy and I head to Folly Beach to Kate's place.  We'll spend time dyeing everything we can get our hands on. Check back won't you.....I will return with lots of photos.
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FIBER JUNKIES - SEPT. MEETING - PART 4

In conclusion......this is how I spent my time....followed by Val's eco-dyed paper masterpieces!

 Of course I forgot to take a before photo.....this hunk of previously ice-dyed bamboo/rayon felt actually wasn't ugly....just sort of, well....not remarkable.

 After a dip in the indigo-dye pot.  Nice right?!?

 I needed to add to my inventory of image enhanced fabric for the fold-manipulated felt baskets I make for our space at Woolworth Walk. This piece of National Nonwoven Woolfelt is being printed with circles created with acrylic paint from the edge of a small plastic cup.

 The result.

 As is always the case with every Fiber Junkie.....WE SHARE.  This is a stamp that Gen carved....which she allowed me to use for the very first time!

 The result.

A small foam star stamp is being used to add elements to another piece of Woolfelt.

 Look at these last three photos.......gorgeous eco-dyed images on paper made by Val.

Next month we move back inside and we plan to do gelli-printing.  

FIBER JUNKIES - SEPT. MEETING - PART 3

 Last month I had a lot of success over-dyeing previous surface design 'failures' with indigo....

This month it was Kate's turn to fall in love with indigo as a rescue medium.

 Here's her first piece - right out of the dye pot. It's piece of cotton that had been decorated with wax (ala batik).

Look at this masterpiece as it dries.

 This is a piece of cotton homespun that was a result of our decolorant play day that I made sometime ago. It was sprinkled with powdered bleach. Pretty awful. But Kate, who loves to rescue failures, accepted it at that time.....and it's being brought back to a FJ meeting to get transformed.

 She folded it on the diagonal....

 Here's another one of my pieces I foisted off on Kate, AFTER at least two surface design attempts.  It started as an ugly grey pin dot print.

 One of the techniques was mono-printing with acrylic paint using this lace/ribbon frame.

Look how great they turned out after Kate indigo dyed them.  AND....gave them back to me!!!

 She got so enthused....she took of her white cover-up shirt, knotted and secured with rubber bands.......

 And dyed!!  We all started examining what we were wearing to see what else could be dipped!!

 She did so much dyeing.....these community gloves fell apart when she took them off.

This is my favorite....another piece I turned over to Kate....which was once a white on white table cloth....that had been ice-dyed (I think....not really sure but it was ugly).  Now...look at this gem after indigo-dyeing!

Stay with me.....one more post to go.....

Linking to:  Nina-Marie's Off The Wall Friday, Sarah's Whoop, Whoop Friday, and Crazy Mom Quilts.

FIBER JUNKIES - SEPT. MEETING - PART 2

Even though I took a zillion photos, I totally missed items created by both Judy and Denny...next time I'll do better because both will inspire you!

As the months ticked by this summer, instead of selecting one specific technique to explore as we've always done, each of us sort of did our own thing with all the options made available to us by the saintly Val and Skip....and I don't say that lightly!!

Here's what Gen played with.

 She's came all set to gelli print.....only....oops she forgot her gelli plate.  Well...not surprising....Val came to the rescue and lent Gen hers!

 There's a lot of info on the internet about gelli printing, so there's no need to provide a complete tutorial here....just an overview.  Gen used a brayer to apply acrylic paint to the gelli plate.  Then she arranged some paper cutouts to act as resists.

 She's now pressing a piece of sandwich paper over the composition.

 Ta Da!! (And isn't she just the cutest?  I've said this over and over....we all want to be like Gen when we grow up...she excels at everything!)

 Now she's taken those resists and placed them onto a page torn from an old tattered book.

 Again...Ta Da!

 Here she's printing with sections cut from tissue paper garment patterns!

 She also dabbled with eco-dyeing too.....printing foliage onto one side of a map.

Interestingly this page from a National Geographic magazine didn't print at all.  They are known for their unusual yet quality paper.

Come back again when I'll share what Kate did.

FIBER JUNKIES - SEPT. MEETING - PART 1

I've labeled this post 'part 1'.....knowing that given our busy Sept. Fiber Junkies meeting......I could just about write a book....so part 2 will not be far behind.

We had a very historical moment......we've bestowed an honorary Fiber Junkie membership to Val's husband, Skip.  We are so very, very fortunate to meet at their home from late spring to early fall....where we take over her garage studio and outdoor space PLUS their home!  Both Val and Skip spend hours (we are sure it takes hours) to have everything set up for our arrival.....including a table for each of us!  

Most of what we do is wet work so there's a lot of preparation: silk screen supplies, MX dyes, indigo dye pot, vinegar/water cooking station, all the necessary tools like clamps, rusted items, even fresh eucalyptus!!  AND.....they put all this stuff away and store it for the next time.  Seriously we totally appreciate their generosity and loving spirits.

I thought this homage to both Val and Skip deserved it's very own post.

Thanks to Denny for creating this wonderful certificate!

WOOLWORTH WALK - NEW ADDITION

Our welcome quilts at the entrance to Woolworth Walk are doing their job.....helping to alert shoppers to venture down to the lower level where they will find quilts by Judy Simmons, Kate Weston, and myself in space 235.

I just hung "Scrap Bag Star" 72" x 72" (center) to replace another big one of mine that just sold.  Happy, happy! 

GO PACK GO!!

Watch out Atlanta Falcon......here comes THE PACK!!

GO PACK GO!!!!

PINE BOUGH

Yes, I'm still here.....thank you to the many followers who emailed me.  Things have been a bit crazy in our household but all will be well.  Our hearts go out to all those suffering the aftermath of the hurricanes. Realizing what those folks are facing, certainly puts one's little bumps in the road in perspective.

Okay....let's talk fabric!  The purple discharge motifs I blogged about recently are still on my design wall and I'm NO closer to a design solution.  So, in the meantime, another one of my rust-dyed vintage linens got my attention. 

The embroidery design was kept quite simple to avoid over-powering the lovely lacey motifs.  It was mounted on mottled hand-dyed silk noil.

PINE BOUGH  18" X 15.5"

AVAILABLE HERE

Vintage linen, hand embroidered/dyed with iron water, hand-dyed silk noil.

FALL COMES TO WOOLWORTH WALK

We have been lulled by our previously tame and mild winter, followed by a lovely temperate summer with sufficient rain....but yikes.....the acorns are now falling, ground foliage die back....oh my winter can't be far away.

Looking on the bright side, the spectacle of fall color attracts a lot of tourist whose impact is very positive for Asheville and our surrounding communities.  So in preparation, my pal Judy Simmons and I headed off to Woolwork Walk in Asheville to refresh our walls with visions of the season.

If you are in the area, please stop by and visit us #235 - lower level.

BLOOD, SWEAT, & SIGNATURES - EXCITING NEWS

"Blood, Sweat, & Signatures", a celebrity signature quilt I made way back in 1992, has been acquired by the International Quilt Study Center & Museum Quilt House, University of Nebraska-Lincoln. I'm honored and thrilled that this special quilt will be cared for, studied, and enjoyed by their visitors. Hopefully the names of the celebrities who grace this quilt will continue to be fondly remembered for years to come.

BLOOD, SWEAT and SIGNATURES 66.5" X 66.5" © 1992

Commercial cottons, hand quilted, original design featuring 96 quilt celebrity signatures. Click here to view more photos and learn the back story.

Linking to these inspiring blogs:  Nina-Marie's Off The Wall Friday, Sarah's Whoop Whoop Friday, Crazy Mom Quilts.

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