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Archive for the ‘rusting fabric’ Category

A Day for Dallying

Wednesday, September 22nd, 2010

Today was one of those days that is broken up into bits and pieces. You know, an errand here, a dog walk there. So, I didn’t have much time for studio work.

This morning I had to go back to have more blood drawn because they forgot one of my important follow-up tests. Then, I went to pick up a quilt from a patron. It is having some fading problems. It is this piece. I used a dye-painted silk for the water. I cut it in strips and then put tulle over it and quilted it. The fading is in certain spots on the water. I think there were too many white areas and so I colored in those areas with fabric pens. I am not sure, but it is the only way I can explain the fading. Anyway, I am going to touch it up with fabric paint and then spray it with a UV protectant.

Scooter is having an intestinal problem so I have had to deal with that. I cooked up some plain chicken and white rice for him. He seems to be better today.

I slipped down to the studio and screen printed some fabric. Tonight, I cut the fabric up and made the fiber sketch at the top. I quite like it.

I also unwrapped and washed out the turquoise silk that I rust dyed.

Here is a detail:

Then, I ran off to the farmer’s market and bought copious amounts of peaches and Italian plums and strawberries and a few veggies. This is my favorite. It is so beautiful, I may just look at it instead of cooking and eating it. It is a Romanesco cauliflower. One of my FB friends named it: fibonnacioccoliflower!

Moving On

Tuesday, September 21st, 2010

Allegro is done. I am thinking about entering it into the SAQA show, Beyond Comfort.

This exhibit challenges each artist to venture into uncharted territories of creative expression by turning away from the comfort zones of their established body of work. It provides a “permission slip” to experiment fearlessly with radically new conceptual and narrative agendas; to employ techniques, technologies, or materials new to the artist. The artistic goal of the exhibition is to encourage reaching beyond comfort to make new and unexpected works of art.

I think it meets the criteria, but I am not sure it is visually compelling enough to make the cut.

Here is a detail. I love the painted surfaces of these little pieces of organza.

Fall arrives  Wednesday night at 8:59 pm and here is my fiber sketch – an homage to fall.

The rusted white piece of silk that I dyed turquoise is now getting rusted again. Now that Allegro is done, I am looking forward to moving on to something new. First, I have to do that clean-up that comes when you finish a project. We are having some nice weather so I hope I can do some messy work outside.


Got Rust?

Monday, September 20th, 2010

I used some of my fused skinny bits to create this fiber sketch of a forest. I like it. I think it has possibilities for a larger version.

Here are the results of my rust dyeing. A caveat – the pole was so corroded that I could not scrunch the fabric for traditional shibori.

I did the blue-green fabric and a plain white.

Tonight, I overdyed  the white silk with a paler shade of blue-green. I think I will like it a lot. I hope I can combine the two fabrics in the challenge piece.

I spent a lot of time stitching down the pojagi pockets on Allegro. I am getting to close to this piece and am starting to have a love/hate relationship with it. I must finish it – tomorrow, I hope. I first basted the pockets and then zigzagged them down to prevent fraying.

The SAQA auction started today. My piece, Entwined Roots is in the first group of quilts.

The price today was $750.   Tomorrow, the price goes down to $550, then $350, $250, $150 and $75.  Unsold work will be placed on the SAQA website for a month and then returned to the artist. Here is a link to the quilts, if you are interested in supporting SAQA and getting a nice piece of art.

You might notice the new buttons that I have in my sidebar. I got an e-mail from Wikio telling me that I could show my overall ranking for my blog. They have me in the craft category. I don’t know if there is a quilting category. There is a needlearts category. The buttons will change as my ranking changes. It will be embarrassing if it goes down! LOL

Rust, Quilt Show Swag and Gratuitous Cute Puppy Pics

Monday, August 11th, 2008

Let’s start with the puppy. Lisa is visiting with Wilfredo, her adorable Chihuahua.

We had a family BBQ tonight, and he enjoyed the sweet corn, seasoned with chile powder and cumin — he even has Mexican taste buds.

My only problem with Wilfredo is his penchant for doing his poops right under my design wall. I don’t know if it is the large open space or his opinion of my work!

Last night, I took my rust dyed scarf out of its most recent dye bath. It got some really great marks. Lisa loves it and I am afraid she may abscond with it.

Details

I had some fun shopping at APNQ. Here are some Japanese textiles that I love.

New thread is always a treat. Notice the turquoise and brown thread. I am planning a quilt for our bedroom to go with that thread.

And, I look forward to checking in with Elin Noble and buying some of her hand-dyed perle cotton.

I also found lutradur and beautiful cheese cloth for dyeing. I have to figure out what one does with lutradur.

I have thought about buying Jeanne Williamson’s book, and after I thumbed through it, I knew I had to have it for the inspiration she offers for doing the work.

M & M are sleeping over so they can spend more time with Aunt Lisa. Steph brought a copy of her book for me to see. It is really beautiful and well written. They have a section where comments from some readers of their blog are listed. I was thrilled to find a comment that I had made.

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.