The muse is stirring----

Must be spring.  I am starting to get some ideas.  And- I'm slowly finding the ambition to do something about them.

I've wanted to do something to serve as a memory of my trip to Cuba last March, but not something traditional or similar to any other memory of Cuba.  I have an idea, but it needed a special fabric, one that was without any realistic shape or form.  This meant that it would have to be hand dyed.  So using a Low Water Immersion (LWI) technique I actually started a dye bath--the first one in months.

I am quite pleased with the result and finished with enough fabric for the front, back, and binding of a nice size wall hanging.  I chose a deep yellow and medium blue for the dye.  My hope was that I would end up with some yellow to represent the sun, blue to represent the water and sky, and green to represent the glorious foliage.

At first I thought this might be a little dark for what I have in mind, so tried another dye bath of deep yellow and brick.  Nope, not what I wanted at all, and it was too small for more than maybe the front and binding.

But the funny thing about dye baths is that one always leads to another, so I did two more.  Staying with the brick coloured dye, I wanted to find out what the result would be if I used both brick and slate blue.

I am well pleased with this piece as well, although the brick colour, despite being added to the dye bath first, has all but disappeared during the dyeing process.

So there had to be a fourth dye bath, this time with brick and dark green.  Now these two dyes are close enough that one has to worry about complements cancelling each other out and ending up with mud. But happily this was minimal, although the brick was very much muted.  I think this may be my favourite of them all.

My process was fairly relaxed.  I try to never get too obsessive about my dyeing, preferring to be challenged by serendipity.  This may be why my favourite process is LWI.  For the first time, I soaked my fabric in soda ash before hand, and added it to the vessel wet.  Many years ago, when I took my first dyeing course, we were taught to immerse the dry fabric in the dye and then add the soda ash--dissolved in hot water-- about 20 minutes later.  I don't think the different process made any difference to the final result, although there may be fewer sharp edges to the colour changes with using wet fabric.  

Yep, gonna do some more!

Recent efforts

Since my Muse still appears to be out of the country, I have been following the advice of others and working on "something" even if it isn't original or even "arty".  I have been trying to find a way of producing plump, well-rounded feathers.  In the recent past, I have done some machine Trapunto, and not been really satisfied with the result, although the technique works fairly well.  I spend  a lot of time checking out quilt related blogs on the internet and in one, found the suggestion that working with two layers of Hobbs 80/20 batting can produce a nicely rounded feather.  This is what I have done here.  This top was pieced, including the mitred corners, of which I am quite proud.  I haven't attempted a mitred corner in at least 10 years

The only problem with using two layers of batting is that it results in a fairly heavy quilt.  This quilt is only about 42" square.  If it was larger, it might prove too heavy for actual use--not that I ever expect this to be used!
In my "arty" pieces, I usually add a false back to hide the intense quilting and hand stitching.  I have experienced some tension problems with my Horizon 7700, in the past, and while I can control this, to a certain extent,  the backs are not as good as I would like them to be.  In this quilt, the back is quite fine.  I backed the piece with a cotton sateen and quite like the effect.

The final binding will be in the green pin-dot, and I will post a picture when I finally get that done.

I am linking this with Nina Marie Sayre's blog  http://ninamariesayre.blogspot.ca

Small validations

I have mentioned over the last while that I was working on table runners that would be offered for sale at the recent quilt show.  These are a new product, so I only made six of them, just to see if there might be a market for them.  Well, 4 of the 6 sold.  I know that two sold to people who follow my work and that was wonderful, but I have no idea who might have purchased the other two.  Regardless, 66% of what was offered found a new home, which tells me that this new skill area, that I have never before offered for sale, has possibilities.

My two excursions to the quilt show were gratifying in another way.  Trudging around with my walker, with DH along for the ride, I was constantly stopped by people whom I have not seen over the past two years ( I  have found Guild meetings difficult to attend for a number of reasons, one of which is that it is just too big and too busy and too noisy for this old lady).  I had many very nice conversations, touched base with several old friends, and even ran into a woman I used to work with, and very much enjoyed catching up with things at the old job.

Today was the day

In my previous post, I mentioned saving money to buy thread at a local quilt show.  Yes, today was the day.  DH and I planned the excursion carefully.  We decided on a time of day that we thought would be less busy ( we were wrong!).  We took cash, as well as a back up credit card with just enough room on it to keep us in budget.  Knowing that there would be crowds and lots of walking and standing, we hauled out the old wheeled walker so that I could sit, if necessary.

The first booth we came to was the thread vendor I was looking for--Cotton Mill Threadworks, out of Dundas ON. I bought what I wanted.  This is not to say that I went berserk.  I had an idea of what thread I was looking for, but didn't necessarily have a colour in mind.  I also had the requirements for a couple of projects at the back of my mind.

Does this look like over $300.00?  Well, it represents $302.75.  

Now I have to find another excuse to not be busy in the studio.  But, to be fair, all of these are specialty threads, and most of the cones hold more than 2000 yds.  And there are three packages of titanium coated needles there as well.  My hope is that this will last me until the next quilt show in two years time.

Twice before in my life, I have had a somewhat similar experience.  Both times came after receiving an inheritance.  When you read advice to people who come into money, they are always told to take a little bit of it and do something frivolous.  Well, this wasn't "found" money, I worked hard for every bit of it, and then I enjoyed every minute of spending it.

Hello Again

As you might guess, nothing in the blog means no action in the studio.  Health issues have really been at the for front over the past month or so, and studio time has been quite limited.  A basement studio isn't readily accessible when stairs are difficult.  And some of the drugs seem to suck the creativity right out of your soul.

But--experts say that when the Muse is on vacation, do something.  Sort fabric, paint or dye fabric, or just tidy the studio--but do something.  On those days when I can get into the studio, I can sit and piece scraps just fine--especially when DH is willing to do some cutting for me.  ( I think he just wants me to get into the studio and out of his hair, so is willing to facilitate)

In December, I made a bit of money selling my art.  I have saved it for two things.  Firstly, to pay a long armer to quilt the scrappy tops I have been making, and secondly, to buy good thread at the upcoming quilt show in my area.  I got two of the quilts back this week.

The first one has been waiting almost two years to be quilted.  The colour, in the photograph, is poor, as there is not a lot of value difference in the quilt, and the colours are relatively pastel, and all of a similar hue.  I have no idea what the pattern is, as it is a block I was given at a gathering quite some time ago.  I plan to use it one the bed in the spare room--if I can convince DH to let me remove the Cat Quilt that has been on there for about 15 years. The quilting is a very curvy pantograph, done in a pale green

The next one was developed as part of an informal quilt group I attend at my local senior's Centre.  One of the ladies was having difficulty with value and colour, so we looked for a pattern that didn't worry about either.  It is a very traditional 16 patch, which looks wonderful sashed with black.  The quilting is swirling free motion design, and done in a fairly dark grey.

The last one is the most recent, and is not yet fully pieced.  I had made twelve blocks when experimenting with a "Mile-a'Minute" piecing technique, and finally put them together with a dark brown sashing.  I love the colour blending.  I had hoped to be able to quilt this myself, but we'll wait and see how much money is left after I buy thread, at the end of the month.

I have now started piecing yet another one, this time in more "Modern" colours. I.E. very bright pure colours with large stretches of white or grey background.  I had been collecting fat quarters of "Modern" fabrics since last fall and only now had a chance to use them.  This is another pattern found on the internet, with no identified creator, so no way to give credit.  Since I do not plan to exhibit or sell it, I am comfortable with that.  While all of the cutting is done, I only have two blocks pieced out of 24, so you'll have to wait for a picture.

Where have I been?

Yes,it's been quite awhile.  I have been working on one main project since early December.  It is supposed to be a secret, but I'm not sure anyone is reading this anyway.  My small fibre art support group has issued a challenge.  We are to make "something", incorporating Celtic imagery or Symbols.

I decided to make another reliquary.  I haven't done one in a few years, I had all of the supplies on hand, and had been hoping to re-visit some of the techniques I have used over the years.  I re-read the book  Beginners' Guide to Embroidered Boxes"  by Janet Edmonds, as I have found many of her techniques useful over the years, but be assured, that the patterns and designs are my own.  I selected purple from my supply of Duippionni silk, given its symbolic use for richness, and power, and gold as the complement, for the same reason.

 An internet search of "Celtic Crosses" gave me some ideas on my decoration. The consistent image of the Celtic Cross is the circle behind a cross, in which the arms become large as you move away from the centre. An open circle or rounded square can represent the rune for God, and the oldest known religious image--the triple spiral, is found on Celtic tombs.  I have always tried to incorporate some form of spiral in my recent work, so this works well.

The circles and crosses were worked separately,and appliqued.  I used Flexi-Firm, which is quite similar in feel and use, as Timtex.  This is about 1/8" thick, so shapes must be cut out before painting, in order to colour the edges.  I used Lumiere True Gold paint, but from an older bottle.  It was quite thick and had to be diluted with a bit of water.  Once the painted pieces had dried, I noticed that there were areas that hadn't been adequately covered by the paint.  When re-painting, I realized that the diluted paint has sealed the surface, somewhat, and the second layer of paint didn't sink in, so was richer, resulting in a much more antique look, that I quite liked.

As much of thew work as possible was done by machine.  Quite a workout for the machine, but also a chance to use some of those fancy stitches.  I was worried about the top metallic thread fraying terribly  when doing the applique,but a strong Titanium coated, #90, top stitch needle did the work quite nicely.

So everything was done, about  60 hours of intense labour,  and yesterday, I was ready to finally stitch it all together. Well, despite constant measuring during the process, THE BASE DIDN'T FIT THE TOP!!

Well lots of tears and bad words--some with four letters--I tackled it again this morning, and now have all of the pieces fitting properly.  The rest of the work is by hand,and will be a slow process, but I can give you a preview.  I really can't reveal the finished product until the challenge is presented to the group February 3rd.

Wow!!

Got a phone call late today asking if I would be willing to have the show extended another week.  Oh gosh, let me think about that----Ye-e-e-s!!!  Two more pieces sold today, bringing the total up to 9. Needless to say I am thrilled.