Here Comes The Sun

While we were enjoying a leisurely week at Lake Walcott State Park, I pulled out the sewing machine and worked on my latest art quilt project.  I prepared the backing and batting before we left on our adventure, and I cut some chunks of fabrics I thought would work.  This way I kept the amount of fabric to a minimum.  I decided I would have to use whatever I took with me, so there would be no excuse to buy more fabric at my favorite quilt shop.  My favorite quilt shop is The Gathering Place in Rupert.

I was outside, under the huge Cottonwood tree, pressing my sun rays, when the gal from the next RV came over to visit.  She had notice I was pressing fabric and came to chat about quilting.  She was from Twin Falls and also a quilter.  It is amazing how we can go here and there and not even know that some of the strangers around us are also quilters, birders, or what-have-you.  I did get my project about one-third quilted before we headed home, so there was not that much left after we got back.  This is not my first landscape, however, I have not done one in about twelve years.  I really like this one, because we sure need something cheery in our lives at this moment in U.S. History.

Indigo Dye Party!

My "Ladies Club" celebrated our long friendship, today, with an indigo dye party!  It was at E's house and the weather was perfect for the first day of summer.  Most of us were smart or lucky enough to have worn or brought a jacket or sweater.  It was sunny, but a tad breezy.  There are always a couple days like this in June, and we were lucky to have it fall on our dye party day, so it was not scorching hot for us gals.  C3 (E's grandson) showed off his knowledge of chickens and he introduced us to several, which we were fortunate to pet their heads and enjoy the vision of their lovely feathers. 

Of course, everyone brought white fabric except me.  I brought some of Virginia's detestable fabric and I shared with A and R, so mine is not the only ones without white.  If you click on the photo, it will enlarge so you can see the details, including but not limited to the amazing dye jobs on the not-white fabrics.

Here is some of the pieces sitting in the settle-down juice, before the final rinse.  (the terminology escapes me)

This is about my favorite one.  I pressed all my pieces after I got home, and I hung this one on my quilt studio wall.  Everyone made such lovely pieces!

I Have Quilted Alot of Things . . .

I have quilted a lot of things, but I never would have guessed I would quilt my own shoes.  I have!  S invited me to a class, at The Quilt Crossing, last weekend.  I finished those bad girls up today.  I used Tulla Pink fabric for the uppers, and more yellow fabric with colorful buttons for the tongues.  I put bias binding on, in HOT pink.  S had ordered a sweet box of multicolored eyelets, so we did not have to use bronze or silver on our amazingly colorful one-of-a-kind shoes.  I used several different colors of eyelets to bling up my shoes.  

I topped them off with artful Monet shoestrings, I purchased last Saturday, at an art consortium store in where the A&W Market used to be in the 1960s-70s.  I am not dating myself.  I thought they may be too long, but they are just right!  

Nothing says "amazing shoes" like bright yellow and hot pink with cats and buttons!

Thursday, I Dyed!

Virginia gave me three bolts of fabric she detested.  I gave one bolt to the Tuesday Quilters, who make donation quilts exclusively.  As each one came in, last Tuesday, they touched the fabric and said, "Oh, this is really pretty."  One woman's pretty is another woman's detestable.  They were thankful for the lovely detestable fabric.

Surging, surging, surging . . .

On Thursday, I cut the remaining two bolts into one-yard pieces and surged the raw edges.  Half of them, I washed, dried, pressed and folded.  The other half, I sprayed my bleach water on each piece before placing them in the wash.  They came out with a little less of the pinkish in them.  Photo above:  left is original fabric color; right is after a little bleach spray and wash.  

I held back a couple yards so I could experiment with over-dying.  Photo above:  left is the original color; right is after I dyed it with Rit Sunshine Orange dye.  I sat in the backyard stirring my brew like an old witch.  I like how it came out.  I dyed 1/2 yard.  I, also, want to try overdying with red Dy-na-flow to see how that comes out.  All that washing, drying, pressing, and folding, then stirring plumb wore me out.  I will further cut the one-yard pieces down to half yards, so I can give a half yard of original and a half yard of bleached to each of my Unruly Quilt Artists at our 'Dying Day", in June.  

Question:  How many yards were on the two remaining bolts?

Answer: Seven on one and eight on the other.  Fifteen total.

An Actual Regular Sized Quilt Is Completed!

I have not been making many regular sized quilts these days.  I have been absorbed in art quilting and, of course, helping "the girls" with their quilt projects.   Once again, I started doing some scrap-busting about a year ago and this thing occupied my design wall for many months before I finally carved out the time to finish it.

It was quilted by Virginia Gross of Crabapple Creek Quilts.  In April, I took A on the shop-hop, as she had never been.  She is now retired and has time to do many more things.  We went to Nyssa, to visit Country Corners Quilt Shop.  Naturally, I spied a very fine old barn to take a photo of.  I asked permission and it was granted!  This is my latest quilt photographed on a barn.  

I make and create and that is what makes me happy

Tuesday evening, I discovered that some people only make a quilt when they have a reason to make one for someone.  What?  I don’t need a reason to do what makes me happy.  Also, there are plenty of people in the world that need a quilt and don’t have one, so let’s make donation quilts! 

There are people who claim to be quilters, but they won’t join the group activity/challenge, because they say they don’t know what to do with the thing once it has been created.  I am trying to be understanding, so I want to think these people are afraid of something.  Are they afraid others will find out their skill level?  We are not here to judge; we just want to engage with others while stretching ourselves to learn something new.  When we do these activities, it is fifty percent social interaction and fifty percent challenging ourselves to look at someone's work then add to it in a complimentary way.  The thing I like about group challenges, where multiple sewers add to your project, is I have a piece of each of those sewers/quilters in my project.  I can hang it on my wall and think of these people when I see it.  That gives the thing value and purpose.

I Have Been Working on Quilts, But . . .

I have been working on quilts, but I have been having friends and art quilters come over and have creative days in my quilt studio.  When I do that, I don' get much accomplished myself.  My accomplishment is growing other quilters' skills.  That is something!

A just retired, so she has come over a couple times and we made tote bags, that are not your run-of-the-mill tote bags.  

I finished my bag last evening.  I had a handle/strap problem that set me back timewise, but I persevered and got it done.  I went through all my big buttons.  It was this amazing green thing or a black one.  I wanted something bright and this fits the bill.