Get Ready to Show Your Love!

I feel very lucky to have my guy around, but this saying reminds me that not all of us have our love near enough to touch. I've decided this year I should give a little more effort, and let him know. Valentine's Day is just around the corner, and I know some of you have been planning the perfect day for weeks already. Most years it catches me unaware, honestly, because we don't tend to go for big celebrations. Maybe a favorite dinner at home with a glass of wine, and a movie on Netflix. 

The Devil's In the Details: Visual Inspriration in Vegas

Tiled Mosaic--Beautifully Layered Details Everywhere!

I've been out of town, lying low for a few days in a fabulous hotel. The Wynn Las Vegas is one of my favorite places for visual inspiration, and besides rain in the desert this weekend, and much warmer weather back home in Ohio, it's been a trip with some serious eye candy.

Quilted Heating Pad Cover

Turning Up the Style!

A heating pad is underrated in its ability to relieve pain. Amazing thing! It's my go-to remedy for pain, strains, and aches, and we shared a hand-me-down here for many years before it recently bit the dust. I bought the family a new one, but it had a polyester cover on it which I couldn't bear to touch. (You know what I mean if those bother you, too.) I was tired of using a vinyl heating pad. I knew I could make a better one, and pretty it up to boot!

A Solid Dyeing Experience

Left to right: Avocado, Soft Orange, Chartreuse, Clear Yellow

"Wow! I'm finally getting a grip on dyeing!"--
What I said to my family last night before dinner,
and before they all stared and laughed.

The assortment of fabric resulting from yesterday's dye session had me really excited. I finally found a reliable process to get solid colors! That is, a consistent color without the mottled effect that is so often indicative of hand dyed fabric. That may not sound like a big deal, but certainly is for me. It's one step further in controlling how and where I put color on fabric. 

January Bee Blocks

Checker Block

Last year I watched as many fellow bloggers here in QBL talked up the blocks they were making for their Hive. Hives are online quilting bees where members take turns each month as the Queen Bee, directing the others to make the block she or he has selected. As each quilter finishes the block, they are mailed off to the Queen, and she then assembles them into her quilt. You can see why these are called hives, can't you?

Soy Wax Batik & Over Dyeing Experiment

Hands down, my favorite! 
I'll show you why.

It started with a fat quarter of Kona previously immersion dyed with Procion MX Dyes. That translates as 'cold water dyed in a cup', and that's why there is a mottled color to the fabric instead of a nice, overall distribution of color. This was Lemon Yellow by Dharma Trading Co., and one of the 3 primary colors I started with. It was bright--almost neon, and perfect to experiment with over dyeing.

Uppsala Stars Goes Modern Is Quilted

 Uppsala Stars Goes Modern
in Mochi by Cotton+Steel 
from RJR Fabrics

This sweet little quilt is a modern version of Uppsala Stars that I published last month seen here. The pattern is available as a pdf download from Craftsy, and available by linking through my sidebar. 

Taming the Scrap Monster

Can you remember the first time you set aside scraps thinking you would never save enough to make an actual quilt? I used to look at those scrappy creations, and nearly swoon. Many quilters admittedly prefer the look of using one single fabric line, but others like me throw abandon to the wind, and think the more the better. 

Dyeing Pink to Orange, Painting with Dyes, & Project Quilting 7 Week 1 Challenge

Left to right: #12 Light Red, #10A Chinese Red, #10 Fire Red, #9 Scarlet--2 pieces, #6 Deep Orange, and last a tri-color piece 

These are all examples from my latest batch of low-immersion dyed cottons with Procion MX Dyes. This run was an experiment using the range of red to orange on my shelf. I chose not to use #13 Fuchsia, which might have been included.

Project Quilting Challenge: S7/Wk1 Finish: Confetti

A small sized finish, but still a finish. 

I tried several fabrics to bind this with, but none worked as well as sticking close to the colors nearest the perimeter. My strips were all 2", but when I tried turning them as a normal double thickness the binding seemed too puffy. One layer looked better, and I took up the excess on the backing.