The Shift and more...

The ideas keep coming from Jude and my other classmates. I've wanted to learn how to do 'the shift' for a long time, ever since I saw it in one of Jude's quilts. I think that's my favorite, so far. Have I said that before??? so many favorites... I was trying to organize all the fabric that is strewn all over the house and came across these bits and pieces of wool and cotton strips, so more experimenting resulted. The fabric has yet to be organized. Click on image for a closer view.

the shift

wool and cotton strips

wool and various cotton strips

The Weavings are Multiplying

The second lesson on weaving with Jude is all about anchoring. I anchored one weaving to a quilt top that was never finished and the other to an old linen doily.

anchored weaving pieces



pieces woven







linen doily with setacolored cloth




I also played with some of the first pieces. I added a moon and stars with oil paintstiks and did a mini overlay weaving. The fun continues.



You can't do just one...

It's hard to stop doing these, especially when you see all the ideas coming from the students in Jude's cloth to cloth workshop. I guess it's time for me to stop and start stitching because I'm running out of pins.

with spaces so background shows through

lace, eco-dyes, scrim, sheers, cotton, linen

hand dyed fabric

Update on Weaving with Jude

I reworked this piece several times and this is it. I think the diagonal weaving works better with this photo on fabric. I hope to blend the hardwood floor in the photo with the weaving strips using stitching sometime in the future. I will be stitching the weaving down to make it stable and one cloth.  I always enjoy your comments and criticisms.

photo on fabric with diagonal weave

Weaving with Jude

Jude's cloth to cloth 2 class started yesterday. There's no end to her ability to inspire. Since I've done some basic weaving with cloth, I experimented with a photo on fabric. I manipulated, in photoshop, a photo of a theatre with hardwood floors and velvet seats that I took last year in Roundtop, TX. I then printed it onto fabric. I cut it into 1" strips separated by ½" eco dyed muslin. I then wove 1" strips of eco dyed silk leaving the seats without the weaving. I then decided to try it with torn pale blue muslin strips. I think I like the blue strips better but will have to look at it for a couple of days before I decide which way to go.  Unfortunately, the colors are somewhat off. All comments welcome.

manipulated photo

weaving with blue muslin



weaving with eco dyed silk



Postage Stamp Basket Block

I've been wanting to make a traditional basket quilt using my asian fabric collection. This pattern appeared in The Quilt Show newsletter last week. I did a test block with a red silk and a loose weave cotton (not the wisest of choices). The only thing I need to adjust is the handle but otherwise I think it will work. The block turns out at 4". Now I have to draw out a whole quilt pattern and it will be a good hand sewing project. I will be using only cottons. I plan to back this test block, as you can see, and make it into a card for a friend who needs cheering up.

Chenille Quilt finished

This was a fun project that started here.  It is so soft and cuddly and I hope Skye will love it as much as I do. I've got lots of scraps left over and will be making a small cloth for myself.  I managed to make the whole thing with fabric I had in my stash.  It measures 36" x 40" and is tied in places to the back. 
I guess I should also have said that the kitten pieces are cross-stitched pieces that my sister gave me. They were kits she was working on but never finished so I just used the parts that were completed.
Here are a few pics.

a bit of the reverse side

Plumeria leaf prints and Tea Dyeing

I put 2 plumeria leaves in a silk bundle yesterday and today was the unveiling.

plumeria leaves in silk
pounded to make good contact
bundled and steamed

plumeria leaf prints

I was not happy with the leaf prints I did the other day---so I tea dyed them this morning and I love the way they turned out--sort of a caramel color.

before tea dyeing

after tea dyeing.

Bobbin Lace Sampler Case

I am fairly new to bobbin lace and decided to make a sampler of some of the stitches I have learned. I also wanted to practice making leaves which I have not yet mastered.  I finally finished the sampler and stitched it onto some upholstery fabric and made a small case to hold bobbins. I decorated the back with some hand dyed scrim and some ribbon flowers. It has a yellow cotton lining which can't be seen in these pictures. I'm going to attempt some tenerriffe lace next just for the experience. I had found a tenerriffe lace pillow at the thrift store a while back so I don't need to do much preparation.

front of bobbin case

back of bobbin case

Beet dyeing and 2 more steamed bundles

I did some beet dyeing yesterday and was disappointed that only the wool really turned a dark color. All fabrics were treated with alum before dyeing. Wool always seems to do the best in picking up the dye.
I also made 2 small bundles of leaves from a small rose bush. One bundle was with dupioni silk (which turned out the best) and one with muslin. The bundles were steamed for about 90 minutes and then put in a covered jar for 24 hours. Click on the photos for close-ups.

beet dyed, alum mordant

rose leaves on muslin

rose leaves on dupioni silk

A Fun Chenille Quilt

I'm making a fun chenille, minkee, embroidery blanket for a special little girl who is about to be 6 years old. Many years ago, I collected chenille scraps and knew they would come in handy one day. This special little girl loves fabric that has a soft texture so I'm hoping she'll love what I'm making. There were some chenille pieces that were in pretty bad shape but I loved the raised flowers that could still be salvaged. I cut the flowers out and used Jude's 'halo applique' technique, that I learned in a recent online class, to apply it to another piece of chenille. Here are some pictures of the quilt in progress. I will post a picture when it is complete. Need to search out some fleece pieces for the backing.

Dye Bundle Revealed...

Kaite suggested I not wait more than 24 hours for this type of bundle and she always gives me good advice and I really couldn't wait much longer anyway---just so anxious to see what happened. The flowers don't show up at all and none of the blue color of the plumbago transferred. There are some definite leaf transfers and I'm quite pleased for my first try. Most of the pictures below will show duplicates--one is the original and one with the contrast on so you can better see the leaf shapes.

untied bundle

I even see a beast in this one...

Dyeing bundle of Plumbago flowers and leaves

I gathered some blue Plumbago flowers and leaves this morning and bundled them in some wet dupioni silk. I did some pounding while bundling with, of all things, a 5 lb. hand weight. I couldn't find my rubber mallet. I tied the bundle tightly and steamed it over boiling rain water for about 90 minutes. I then put it in a plastic bag, sunk it in a jar and put it out in the sun. We'll see how long I can hold out before unwrapping it. This is my first bundle attempt.

 bundle suspended over boiling water