Creative Statements: Ohio Art Quilts 2012

Mindy Marik and "Darwin's Dutch Daydream"

I feel privileged to be in the company of so many great quilters at the show in Zanesville Museum of Art. The opening reception was held April 21st. I thought the show was great! Here I am standing next to my quilt "Darwin's Dutch Daydream." Thanks for the phone David Bentley!

There are many great artists involved with this show. Katherine Loomis (Louisville, KY)  jured the show. This  is the first statewide show of SAQA (Studio Art Quilt Associates.) This show runs through July 6, 2012. I hope you will visit if you are traveling that area. The Zanesville Museum of Art is located at 620 Military Road. The hours of operation are Wednesday, Friday, Saturday 10:00 - 5:00 PM, Thursday 10:00 - 7:30 PM. Closed Sunday - Tuesday. For more information call (740) 452-0741.

TAST - Running Stitch WIP

TAST Work in Progress!

Take A Stitch Tuesday - Week 10 was the Running Stitch. If you don't know about Sharon B's TAST challenge,  go to her website at  http://www.pintangle.com and click on challenges. She has some great tutorials, and I am inspired by the things I see there. I used an ultra-suede for rabbit, and my thumb is so sore from pulling the DMC floss through the batting, linen background, and ultra-suede that I had to take a break from the project. I plan to finish. The hill will have tan running stitches. in a sort of semi-circular fashion embellishment. I also will quilt the background. I am planning a black outline stitch around the rabbit and hill and I will also add more stitches to the linen background. This is mostly in a monochromatic browns/tans/white color scheme. This little piece will finish about 11inches square. The blue thread basting the rabbit and the hill will be removed. Any comments are appreciated. Next time I will NOT use a fabric as dense as ultra suede! I also only started the challenge on Friday Night, so you can see I am was late getting started. It was fun!

Round Robin Step 2

I've been experimenting with shibori so I could add it to my dyeing skills. As mentioned before I belong to a Yahoo Surface Design Group and we are working on a Round Robin Surface Design. Here is Michelle Lasker's fabric after I added my arashi shibori to her yellow and orange tie dyed fabric. You can still see the original design, because the shibori pattern is a very subtle green. I was afraid to alter her fabric, but finally got the nerve. The color I used is "Avocado" from Dharma Procion Fiber Reactive Dyes. I tested the color on a piece of PFD I had, and then went for it. I was a little disappointed that her fabric didn't seem to take the dye as well. as my sample, but I still think the pattern is good. I'm showing a detail and the whole fabric in the pictures. I like what the avocado color did to the orange and red she started with. I hope she will like it too.

Surface Design Challenge

I belong to a Surface Design Group on Yahoo, and they have a challenge that I found interesting. The challenge  was open to members and limited to 4 people per group. Each group was to hand dye a piece of fabric and then send it to the next person in the group who will apply some sort of surface design or embellishment. The next embellishment can be painting, more dyeing, stitching, stamping, foiling... you get the idea. Then it is passed to the next person in the group until it gets back to the owner. This is called a Round Robin, and this is the first time I have participated.

In the end, the owner divides her piece when it has gone around into Fat Quarters and each member of the group gets a piece. I love the concept!

I've been holding on to several yards of Radiance PDF which is 45% silk and 55% cotton. I have been waiting for warmer weather to dye it, but last time it was warm, was, well, I can't remember. So I gave it a try last night and did some immersion dyeing with Dharma's Fiber Reactive Dye #47 Chartreuse. I dyed two yards, and stepped them into the bath to see what gradation I would get. I actually liked the second piece that didn't get as much dye, but they both turned out very nice.

I'm sending it off today - which wouldn't have been possible if it hadn't been for my friend Lisa. I misplaced my Soda Ash, and everyone knows you can't dye fabric without it. Any way, it was fun and I love petting my new fabric.

Here are some pictures. It is very hard to capture the sheen, when laying flat, so I have it folded and you can see the depth of the fabric and sheen. It really looks like silk. Love depth of color in the piece. It is very rich looking. I can't wait to see what will be done when I get this back.

Winter Quiltette Challenge

Finally finished working on the challenge for the Miami Valley Art Quilt Network Winter Quiltette Challenge. I'm giving it away today, so had to delay the posting so no one knows what it looks like. I had fun with this little quilt.

It is 6.75" x 8.75" and is made from fabrics in my stash (mostly Ginny Beyer fabrics.) I have also added raw edge applique using a new technique that I am loving. More about that later. I've also embellished it with beads. It has a little southwest flavor to me, but I think that is because of the fabric I chose for the vase. I also use my new couching foot that I just got for my new Bernina 820. (Wonder when a machine quits being new?) This is quilted with Rayon and Cotton thread on my machine also. I decided to bind it with a couched yarn, since this quilt has an irregular shape. I hope you like it.