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Archive for the ‘indigo’ Category

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The Indigo Blues

Wednesday, July 1st, 2009

auditionfusingtable

I have been selecting and fusing some of my indigo fabrics for an Aspen themed landscape. In addition to the indigo blues, I am using some of the colors of Aspen leaves. Here is the palette, so far. I love how those golds and oranges look with the indigo.

aspenlandscapefabrics

I have been struggling this week, but not because of the bad sinus headache, that is gone. On Monday, I had my physical with my doctor. I had all good reports — my blood pressure was 114/68. I was given 2 vaccinations — pneumonia booster and shingles. Well, I have had a very bad reaction to the shingles vaccination. Yesterday, I could barely do a thing. I had a temp of 101 and finally went to bed quite early. I managed to start fusing some fabrics, but really didn’t get much done. Today, I finally felt better, but still have a hot, painful rash on my arm where I got the shot. Argh!

Tomorrow, I am taking care of M and M for Steph as she is updating her shop with some adorable new animals on Friday. How cute are these? You can find them here, on Friday.

plaid+party

Tomorrow, it will be in the 90s, so I think some water play will be in order!

I tried to take some photos of Scooter with my iPhone at the end of our walk today. He has grown quite a bit. We love him so much. He is gentle and funny and a wonderful addition to our life.

scooterJuly

scooterjuly2

Posted in indigo, M & M, My Brilliant Daughters, My creations | 1 Comment »

Checking Off

Wednesday, March 18th, 2009

I have a to do list in my head. I really should put it on paper, but my personality doesn’t function that way. I checked off a couple of things on my mental list.

I finished the revision of Indigo Construction for the Line Dancing show. I made some small rod pockets and hung it on a piece of green bamboo. It looks great.

indigoconstructionrevised

Here is a detail with the new stitching. These are both clickable.

indigorevdetail

I also decided it would be good to look at the supply list for my Depth of Field Shibori class. Gulp! I need “at least” 20 yards of pfd (prepared for dyeing) fabric. I went to the Dharma website and ordered 15 yards of Kona cotton. I also ordered 5 yards of organic cotton muslin, 59 inches wide. It is pricey, but I wanted to try it out. Here is what the website says:

This fabric is the one you all have been asking for. 100% pure Certified Organic cotton muslin. The cotton itself was grown on a G.O.T.S. (Global Organic Textile Standards) certified farm and certified organic by a G.O.T.S. certification firm. It was whitened with Hydrogen Peroxide, which is the only method of whitening approved by G.O.T.S. Therefore, you don’t have to worry about that natural yellowish color causing color shifts in your dye job. It is also a very nice organic fabric to tie dye or batik for that reason. 5 oz./square yard and about 59″ wide. This is a tightly woven muslin fabric, with a nice smooth hand and surface. A great flat woven organic fabric for all your needs. Organics are about double the cost and price of non-organics, that’s just the way it is. This one was actually one of the best deals we could find. So it’s time to “put your money where your mouth is” as they say.
Fabric Details
• 100% Certified Organic cotton muslin
• 5 oz per square yard, 59″ wide
• Thread count is 40 threads per inch x 40 threads per inch
• You can dye this with our Fiber Reactive Dyes
• Suggested usage; Clothing, quilting, drapes, wall hangings, home decor etc. Muslin is very versatile!
• We found that this shrinks 3% in Length and 3% in Width 
• Available in cut yardage ( bulk discounts levels at 10+ yds. and 25+ yds.)
• Machine wash in any temperature water

I have to tear the fabric into 2 yard lengths and scour it before the class.

It was a gorgeous day here in our neighborhood. I went out for a couple of walks and enjoyed the sun on my face.

I thought I would share this nice little note that I received from one of our priests at the cathedral.

I’m sitting in Kempton Hall for a lecture on labyrinths, surrounded by the lovely soft evening lights of Kempton (none of the lights that shine upon the artwork, however), and I suddenly noticed that the new exhibit has been hung.  I want yours back!  Your fabric art of Jerusalem delighted me over and over as I’ve been in Kempton these last two months.

Thanks so much for your show.  I’ve not yet been to Jerusalem, and I feel as though I’ve gained a sense of the wonderful natural light in the Holy City.  And your colors — glorious!

So thanks for your creativity.  You are SOME ARTIST!

Blessings,

Catherine

Made my day and gave me encouragement to get back to work! Tomorrow, I am meeting Terry down at the Contemporary Craft Museum for lunch and an art date. I need to get out of the house and be inspired.



Posted in Construction series, indigo, Inspiration, Stuff I Buy | 12 Comments »

A Productive Day

Thursday, August 7th, 2008

Some days, I get energized and I seem to be able to accomplish more than I think I can. It helps to have deadlines. Lisa is coming on Sunday and so I needed to revert the temporary dressing room/closet back to a guest room. Mr C got all the fixtures hung in my closet, but, Sergei was busy painting all day so I couldn’t get to the closet. I got enough done tonight to make me feel that we can be ready. Here is a peek at part of the closet before I messed it up with my stuff.

The problem is, I won’t be home from Seattle until after she arrives. Terry, Linda and I (part of STASH) are taking the train tomorrow to attend the APNQ show at the convention center. I am looking forward to lots of laughs and critiquing of quilts. The show only happens every two years so it is a big deal. The show is juried and the work is usually top notch. Not to mention all the vendors who will be there. I’ll take my computer and hope to blog about it.

Speaking of Lisa, she was invited to submit a piece of art for a show at the Democratic National Convention. The theme is Manifest Hope. You can see her beautiful piece here. Needless to say, I am very proud.

Thanks for the nice comments about my rust dyed shibori scarf. I decided that the scarf needs another layer of rust. I went through the basement storage area and Mr C’s workbench, looking for rusty things. I have the scarf in a plastic bin with a bunch of metal stuff, some vinegar water and bottles to hold every thing down, after I covered it with plastic. This is what it looked like before I covered it.

I will just leave it out on the patio while I am away and let the water and resulting rust do it’s magic.

My other accomplishment was to finish cleaning and organizing my desk and cleaning up the studio. Mr C is going to wash the floors while I am gone. I know, I am a very lucky lady!! I also mastered editing a new area of the SDA website today — they love to keep me busy.

Posted in Bathroom Renovation, indigo, My Brilliant Daughters, Quilt Shows, Quilting Friends, rusting fabric | 1 Comment »

A Whirlwind Wednesday

Wednesday, August 6th, 2008

OK, before I blather on about my life, I know you want pretty pictures. I decided the indigo scarf that I was rust dyeing was done. Here it is:

I love how that bamboo looking motif that emerged. I am very happy with my first attempt at rust dyeing. It really took a somewhat boring scarf to a new level. I am definitely addicted.

I seem to have very busy Wednesdays. I have to get up and out of the house for my 9:30 WW weigh-in. I usually do some grocery shopping on my way home. Every other Wednesday, Maryama is here to clean up after me. Which means, I have to do some uncluttering before she gets here. During the summer, I have to get to the farmer’s market around 3:30. Once a month I have a Trinity Website meeting at 5:30. So, it is always difficult to sandwich in the things I want to do or need to do in my office and studio.

Today, I finished some reorganizing in my office. My desk was driving me nuts. Too much stufff. I was losing things — like bills that needed to be paid. I was trying to keep too many files on the desk and decided that I would not be so lazy and put them in a file drawer in the credenza. We moved the Grand’s toy stuff to the other end of the room. I was tired of looking down and seeing and tripping over the legos, etc on the floor, left from their last visit. Tomorrow, I am going to finish spiffing up the studio. I also need to move my clothes into my new closet from the guest room because Lisa is coming for a week. I don’t think she would appreciate my using her bedroom as my dressing room. Vladimir and his son Sergi painted it today. Mr C is installing the components as I sit here blogging and enjoying Project Runway.

Here are some photos of the gorgeous cabinets that our son-in-law, Jack designed and Tom, the hippy dippy cabinet maker crafted. Notice the beautiful grain in the rift sawn white oak. Tom says it is his new favorite wood. This is the tall cabinet in the corner, just inside the door. It was difficult to photograph.

This is the base of the cabinet in the entry to the bathroom and closet. Notice how the grain matches all the way down. Tomorrow, we have to go out to the granite place and make sure we are happy with the piece we reserved so that it can be cut. It will go on top of these drawers.

It was such a pretty day, I thought I would take some photos at the farmer’s market. These are clickable for a larger view.

Oh, just to be honest, I gained a pound this week. I am in one of those plateaus where clothes are getting to big, but I am not losing weight. That’s my diet life!!

Posted in Bathroom Renovation, indigo, Out and About in Portland, rusting fabric, weight loss/gain | 7 Comments »

This and That

Monday, August 4th, 2008

Today, I attended my first Columbia Stitchery Guild Board meeting. I am now the president elect. I realized today that one of my big jobs this year is to cement some relationships with worker bees who will serve on the board when I am president. Reva and I drove together; she will be doing the newsletter, with another person. It is a very nice group of women. We had a nice lunch prepared by the old board.

I arrived home to find the new cabinets in the bathroom almost finished. They are so gorgeous. It was too dark to take a photo by the time our incredible cabinet maker left for the day. In the tall cabinet in the bathroom, there is a large door, two small drawers and another large door on the bottom. He cut these from the rift sawn white oak so that the grain matches just perfectly as you scan down the piece. It is really a work of art.

One of my Coupeville classmates sent this photo of the class, today. We had the maintenance guy take the photo. I think it is a great photo of all of us.

From the left, Judy, Nita (our fabulous class assistant) Teresa, Moi, Akemi, Patricia and Elaine. I can’t believe Judy was wearing a plain white t-shirt because most days, she wore one of her fabulous Complexitees.

My rusting experiment of the indigo scarf is really looking good. I am not sure how long I need to leave it. It is so hot and dry that I have to keep pouring water over it. My rusting source said not to put plastic on it because you want to have oxygen available to create rust.

Tomorrow, I have to clean up my studio, again!! I have started working on a design for my 3-D fabric teapot for a High Fiber Diet Challenge. I do not work in 3D very often so this will be a real challenge for me.

Posted in Bathroom Renovation, High Fiber Diet, indigo, Quilting Friends, Quilting Organizations, rusting fabric, This and that, workshop | 6 Comments »

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