Parfait Dyeing in the Yard

Barb Adams, following Parfait Dyer Impresario Carol Ludington's guidance, is layering her ice cubes with dye.  Yvette Howard works in the background.

L-R  Linda Zimmerman borrows dye from Impresario Carol whilst Gail Kotowski gets a call from the office and Marie Shepherd looks on.

The layering:  squished (that's a technical term) or scrunched (another) or folded fabric that has been soda ash soaked is topped with ice cubes.  Then scant amounts of dry dye is sprinkled over the top.  Repeat.  Repeat.  Repeat.  Repeat until the container is filled.

Notice how neat Yvette's table, layers and dyes are...we expect nothing less :^)

You may not be able to guess whose work station this is....MINE!....that was a surprise, right?

Yvette...again

Next week we will reveal the results....

Little Brown Bag Challenge

Barb Adams work of Gail's stuff

Debbie Bento challenged us all to fill small brown bags with  "stuff".  Those bags were drawn randomly by other members who were tasked to create something.  There were really no rules.  It was to be spontaneous and fun....inspired by our talk at Extravaganza by Jane Davila.

Today was reveal day.  Eight were in attendance.  The completed pieces were returned in anonymous brown paper bags so that no one knew whose work was whose.  Spread out on a table, it was a real challenge to identify the maker of each piece.  Heck, some of us had a hard time identifying what we had contributed initially!  No names mentioned.

We were, indeed, challenged AND, more importantly, we all had fun in the meanwhile.

Thank you, Debbie!  Great idea.

Carol Ludington's work made from Yvette's stuff

Deb Bento's remaking of Barb's stuff

Diane's working of Ruth Anne's stuff

Janine's work from Diane's stuff

Yvette Howard's efforts with Carol's stuff

Ruth Anne Olson's work from Janine's stuff

Gail Kotowski's work from Debbie's stuff

Another Fun Fabric Event

Our group was able to  secure a spot on Cultured Expressions' calendar.  Lisa Shepard, Ms. Cultured Expressions, was presenting another workshop in the state and was kind enough to agree to continue her stay another day.  The batiks from Ghana were truly gorgeous, and, of course, many found homes here in CT.  The other items she acquainted us with were facinating:  Adinkra symbols in brass, several sorts of mud cloth, cowrie shells, her own patterns, the several books that she's authored, and much, much more.  It was an informative and entertaining time for us all!

Lisa Shepard

She also talked about her trips to Ghana over the years....those that she has developed into tours and her buying tours.  Her next tour is scheduled for 2013 and bodes to be a wonderful adventure.

Aurelle Locke helping Judy Ross at Show and Tell

Judy Ross with Katie Pasquini workshop result

Kate Themel with her Viewpoint9 Challenge, with Betty Warner looking on

Betty Warner's response to the killing of Trayvon Martin

Carol Ludington with some of her ice parfait dyed cotton, Barb Adams' new work, with Roz Spann looking on.

Happy Birthday to Me!

Happy Birthday to Me!  Happy Birthday to Me!  Imagine this being sung...

Several years ago member Linda Zimmerman suggested that, instead of all of us bringing our usual fat quarters for our birthday remembrances, we celebrate the way they do in Spain (I think it was Spain).  We each bring the others gifts for our own birthdays.

The winning point about this scheme is that one only has to remember one birthday, your own.  Should be pretty simple, right...then we never forget ;^).

The end of this month is my birthday, and, as the meeting was at my house today, I gave everyone my birthday gift to them today.  What fun!

Picture here are Janine Anderson-Bays, Robin Wolek, Gail Kotowski, Yvette Howard, Ruth Anne Olson and Carol Ludington in their vintage kimonos.  They each got to choose one from the stack.  I fell heir to them this past year and saved them for this occasion.

Happy Birthday to Me!

Using Press-Away Topping - Unorthodox Instructions

Quite some time ago, I had prepared a bottom layer of cheese cloth on which I had placed ribbons, threads, roving and small pieces of fabric.  To protect this delicate item until I could quilt it,  I placed it between two styrofoam boards.  I did not want to heavily quilt such a small piece, as I wished to preserve its delicate, lacy and airy look.  Further, the piece needed to retain its vibrant colors which a tulle cover might ruin.  So I had purchased some Press-Away Topping to achieve all these goals.  I felt this product would prevent the whole project from finding its way into the bobbin case when I would start quilting it and keep it bright and light.

With the new year came the desire to finish this quilt.  So I carefully flipped my little project onto a piece of Press-Away Topping to be used on the bottom of the piece. Then I added another piece on top and started to quilt my piece.  

The instructions for the Press-Away Topping suggest using only one layer on top of a project.  I was a little bit concerned about how I would get rid of my two layers of topping.  And it was a challenge to remove all the gunk ... but in the end, I used boiling water over the whole thing. This helped remove a lot of the topping and then I used the iron to get rid of the rest (No such thing as a dry iron as the instructions recommend, as everything was wet through.)  

In the process I gained a special effect on one side (melted ribbon,) which I tried to duplicate in a controlled manner on the other side, without success.  

Now you can't tell what all this little quilt had to go through to survive, and I just love it.  Hope you will too!

How to Unthread a Bernina 550

One of my most beloved presents ever is my new Bernina 550 which I received this last Christmas.  I don't spend as much time as I'd like using my machine.  To refresh my memory, I end up having to consult my user guide.  I particularly find that threading the B550 is less than intuitive.  Now, when my Maine Coon, Felix, wants to help, it's nearly impossible to make any progress.  While I was pulling the thread down, he would bite it from the back and watch the bobbin roll and try to dislodge it. See him here preparing his next move!  

A Different Easter Bunny - Inspired by Quiltings Arts TV Series 900

My husband, Steve, is so very fond of bunnies that I had to put a stop to their fast reproduction in our house.  He expects a bunny card for any and all occasions, and this Easter, I discovered that I had used up all my stock of bunny cards.  

It was too late to go out and buy one, so I decided I would create my own.  Then, I changed my mind and made a pillow, inspired by Quilting Arts TV's latest 900 Series.  And here it is!  

In retrospect, I would modify the bunny image to make it look more like the Japanese bunnies on the background fabric, but it was a lot of fun to make.