Tilting At Windmills

More windmills cut out and sent to friend Jaye. Sorry about the title of this post, but I promised last time I posted about this project.

I don't know why it's so fun to take pictures of these stacked-up pieces.

Obviously it's the colors primarily.

 Or maybe the amount of work involved in cutting all that fabric that this tidy stack represents and I'm just glad to have done it. 

Or maybe it's just that I can see the potential for this awesome quilt being created.

Or all of the above.

Spoonflower, Why Not?

So here's my first Spoonflower fabric,which I had produced using the image I photoshopped from the End of Anise.   I just really liked how the image turned into something so different than what it started as.  I was curious to see what it would look like in a tiled fabric, and I've been curious to use Spoonflower for a while now.

The interface is very easy to use and there are many tools and choices to use as you specify what you want printed.  The fabric itself is lovely and very usable.

This is probably what it feels like to self-publish a book, that thrill that you created this physical thing, and you're very happy with it, but it's not like it's official success or anything, something you've bought for yourself, just to please yourself.  Just leave me to wallow in my selfish pride for a moment.Spoonflower includes this cute little fabric label, which I'm not sure what I'd use it for, maybe to specify on the back of the quilt or whatever I make with the fabric that the fabric was printed by them.

The main reason I was even at Spoonflower in the first place was for the purpose of buying this fabric so that I can participate in the Exquisite Uterus project.  If you're interested, there's still time for you, work isn't due until 8/31.  By the way this fabric is a linen-cotton canvas with a nice thick hand., which is great because I'll be embellishing it (probably with beads and paint).

Wandering Wednesday - Patterns of India

 Last year my husband got to travel to India for his work, and he took a lot of pictures, especially of patterns that he noticed.  I thought you might enjoy seeing some of these, mostly mosaics, but some stonework as well as wood.  Many of them are from the inside of various domes which make them even more extraordinary.  See any quilt design inspirations?

First Try at Ice Dyeing

 I finally got to try out ice dyeing this weekend, thanks to my friend Debbie Wambaugh.  We did some outdoor dyeing with a couple of her friends.  This first picture show many of the containers we were using to contain the dyeing fabric, and the dye dripping out as the ice slowly melts.
What is ice dyeing? Another way of applying dye to fabric, we soaked our fabric in soda ash water, then scrunched or folded it, placed it containers, added ice and then sprinkled dye powder on top (wearing safety masks and gloves of course).  As the ice melts it brings the dye particles along with the melting water through the fabric mixing and  separating if it's a compound dye into the component dye colors.
You just don't know what you're going to get as far as color combinations, patterns, and overall coverage of the base fabric, you have to wait until all the ice melts.

I only had one issue with the dye not following the path of the melting ice into the fabric fibers, this one just didn't want to go anywhere, the dyes were just clumped there even as the ice melted around it.
Here's how it looked after adding more ice, but even when the ice was gone for the second time, the blobs of orangey yellow dye still sat on the top of the fabric.  This is the one that was the lightest, green/yellow folded, second from the bottom of this post.
For the most part though, the dyes and fabrics played pretty nicely together.  And then it was just a night of waiting until I could wash them out and see what happened...

Here are all the fabrics hanging up to dry on my clothesline.  It was pretty colorful that day.  You can click these pictures to see them a little larger so that the details are visible.  I tried to keep track of the dye combinations that I used as I went along, but a few of these are unfortunately guesses.

 I believe this one is Black Cherry/Mulberry Pink

 I think this one was Plum/Peacock Blue

Eggplant/Cerulean Blue

 Eggplant/Cerulean Blue, These were both in the same bag folded and scrunched up together because I didn't notice there were two pieces. Interesting that they don't match a little more in the patterning.

Fire Red/Charcoal Grey

Raspberry/Sky Blue/

This one was folded and then rolled up with ice inside the roll, dye place on top with more dye, 

Camel/Bright Green

 Emerald Green/Golden Yellow.

This was super fun, and I'm ready to try it again.  Thanks Debbie!

Wandering Wednesday - Death Valley

 Happy Wandering Wednesday, this time it's Death Valley.
Spring Break in Death Valley seemed like a good idea when I booked the campsite.  But then I got really sick two days before, (fever and everything) and there was a very early heat wave, so I didn't get to go.  So these are not my pictures, but my dear husband's.  It's a tremendous place, and I was sorry to not get to visit again (we went there on our honeymoon all those years ago).

 See that little white rectangle? This is looking up from Badwater at the sea-level sign. It is really weird to think of being below sea-level.

Pretty good zoom on this camera.

View across the salt-flats.

It really does look like dirty snow close up.

 This picture shows some of the amazing colors that you see in the mountains of Death Valley.

 The new walkways out to the Badwater ponds.

 This is why they film other planet movies here in Death Valley.

It all starts looking like a painting at some point.

June Roses

 Just because it's been awhile, here's some of the recent roses out in my garden.