Dip Dyeing Details

Dip Dyed Fat Quarters

Yes, I know I was supposed to stick with stamping, but I wanted to try out a different dyeing technique I'd read about. That, and I still owed fabric to Jennifer @inquiringquilter for winning the April link up for #BraveQuilter. Let me give you a quick run down on how this process is different, and the recipe is at the end.

Foam Stamps and No Reply Bloggers

Foam Stamps

One of the quickest way to produce a unique stamp with little effort is to use pre-cut foam shapes. Here's a quick tutorial for a project on a rainy day with kids.

Deconstructed Screen Printing: Fabric Art

Deconstructed Screen Printing:
Fabric Art

Making a homemade screen out of my sheer fabric worked so well, I decided to buy some larger frames with stretched and primed canvas. You can often find them reasonably priced in art and hobby stores in two packs. Even Walmart has some smaller sizes. I took a razor knife, and cut the canvas off at the stapled area on the back. I carefully set it aside to use for something else. 

Low Tech Printing and Stamping: Potatoes, Foam, and Embossing Plates

Another Layer

What fun I've been having, and all 

the better when I'm sharing it with you! 

The majority of folks don't have a bottomless purse to fund their hobbies so I've been keeping that foremost in my mind while doing these projects. I think being economically and ecologically minded with both money and materials should be a consideration in all our lives. So I try to stay within a reasonable budget, and RRR: Reduce, reuse, and recycle. If you're trying some of these projects yourselves, start being aware of where you can scavenge free materials. Your junk mail, jars, bubble wrap, onion bags, packaging on many items, etc., and so on are all freebies. Make sure they're clean, and start accumulating interesting shapes and textures to use for printing. 

Silk Screening SUPER Simplified

"Design On-the-Fly" Silk Screen Tools

Okay, so we don't normally have silk screen emergencies, but play along with me here. This is one of the most fun posts I've done in a while.

All through June I'm playing with methods of printing, and friends keep asking me, "When are you silk screening?" I had intended to do this toward the end of the project, but because I thought it was one of the more expensive, and technically involved methods. But when I got such fun results from using a lowly spud in the first posts, here and here, I thought, "How can I super simplify this so it's accessible to nearly everyone? How do I take away the dark mystery of silk screening?" 

#BraveQuilter Winner for May & June Linky OPEN

Congratulations, Kate!
 @ Smiles From Kate 
You're the #BraveQuilter Winner for May!

Low Tech Printing: On Fabric

 Cabbage and Valspar Interior Paint

My cabbage had seen better days, but instead of composting it, I stripped down the outer leaves, and sliced it in half. One half was saved for supper, but one was destined for a print. It was hard to hold on to, so I stuck a fork in it for a handle. A tiny bit of paint on a sheet of foil, and it was easy to pull a print off of it. Was it stunning? Nope, but I could see where it might have potential for a background. Can you see using parts of it as frothy wave action? Most definitely!

Low Tech Printing: Potatoes

It was late in the day before I could start printing. The whole, long day I spent mowing, I planned out what I wanted to do. I tried to eliminate all specialty materials so if you were inspired to play along, you could. How about some potatoes and leftover latex paint? 

#BraveQuilter Wrap Up for May and June Plans

It's Time to Link Up!

It's exciting for me to hear some of you writing about your new adventures as Brave Quilters. You're going out of your comfort zones to do things that are a little bit difficult--even scary, and it's making you better quilters and sewists.  You're setting your own goals, and deciding when you've completed them. Goal setting, and the follow through are excellent habits that spill over into the rest of our lives. Practicing with fabric is an easy way to make it a habit. I heartily congratulate each one of you even if you didn't participate here. 

2016 Mini Round Robin

      

Friends, my bucket list has gotten a real workout this year. Yet another adventure begins today as I join a few friends in both the U.S. and Canada for a Round Robin. This idea started as a block swap, turned into a Mini Round Robin, and then I had to ask, "What's THAT?"

Dark Sky Compliant: Another Art Quilt

"Dark Sky Compliant"

So, you ask, "What is that?" I'd never heard the term before I saw a notice asking everyone in Sanibel, Florida to modify all their outdoor lighting. In a nutshell, it means reducing light pollution while allowing the stars and moon to be more visible to people, but more importantly, the wildlife that biologically depend on it. Sea turtles nest on the beaches there. The loggerheads depend on the moonlight to lay their eggs, and the hatchlings to find their way back to their ocean home. Reducing artificial light gives them all a better chance at birth survival.

Island Management: An Art Quilt

Island Management

If I tell you I've been neglecting everyone and everything for a few days, would you forgive me? I'm sorry if I owe you an email or reply. Soon, I promise. There's a story with a not-so-happy ending, too, if you want to read on, and I'm the only one to blame. Ready?

Beading and Embellishing the Naked Ladies

All day long I thought I could just run inside, and get this post written. All day long, it was one thing after the next, and it turned out very prolific. I spent some time playing on Instagram with @gogokim and #missingmarket. Quilt Market is going on right now, and there are lots of us living vicariously through the feeds from those there. Oh, to be...or not, but it does look glamorous and fun. We're still having our fun together on Instagram. I'm PINKDOXIES. Look me up.

Second Chance Quilts

 Quilters Are Passionate About Scraps!

There are dozens of ways to say this. You've all spoken from your hearts. 

When I last presented my dilemma with the awful term scrap vomit, and how much I disliked it, I asked for ideas to give these delicious quilts a better name. You all came through. What a list!

Pink Doxies' Scrappy Quilt

I officially have less of a scrap stash than before, but admittedly could make another of these if not 2. Then there's the bin with the more traditional colors, but that's another story. I needed a finish yesterday--not to post, but for inner satisfaction. I needed to hear the purr of my machine, and I needed some time alone. My husband calls my studio, "Your Happy Place." I spent most of the day there feeding strips through my vintage Pfaff, and was perfectly content.

Guest Blogging at Confessions of a Fabric Addict Today

Today I'm taking a break here, but so pleased to be a guest blogger at Confessions of a Fabric Addict. I struggled for weeks to think of what to write, and when I sat down to actually do it, it seemed to write itself. Funny thing is, it's nothing that I planned. There's a link party there next Sunday for anyone involved in Hands2Help quilt charity, and I encourage you to pop over to check it out. 

In the meantime, I'll be working on the Naked Ladies, and have some dye pots going, too. I might even get to do some project sewing. I miss the purr of my sewing machine. It's too wet and cold out to work, so we're holed up inside with each other. I rather enjoy the company, and the break from the garden and lawn. 

I hope you have something fun to work on today. If you're working to finish your quilt for Hands2Help, I'll be sending you good thoughts. 

Come on, Doxie girls.

Let's cuddle while I sew.

Shh, Lucy. You're snoring!

Fabric Printing, Stamping, Dyeing, Painting, and Putting It All Together

Some days I sit down to write, and wonder where in the world to start. You and I both may well admit that I I work in a widely scattered pattern. It may appear that there is nothing linear in my thought process, but I swear there is. Imagine all the puzzle pieces out on the dining room table. I've finally found a few that fit together nicely.

PRINTING

I am a type junkie. I love the printing word, or just single letters or numbers, but maybe numbers most of all. I found some perfect balsa wood numbers in the scrap booking section, and turned them into stamps by painting them first, and then attaching wooden clothespins to them. (Why clothespins? Seriously, they were within reach, and I could hot glue them on.)

An Update On the Naked Ladies

Spring is harder on my quilting hours than the holidays. As fast as it rains, the grass grows, and so do the weeds. I have to sneak time to work on my projects, and there have been days at a time I didn't get anything done at all. Add to it a little planned getaway last week, and I felt pushed and stressed.

How Instagram Saved My Design

The Process Is the Prize

You may not believe the above statement, but I do. I find more joy in working out problems than finishing the project. That doesn't--or shouldn't occur if using a published pattern, so I choose to go the organic route, and create my own. 

This started as an experiment in improv block making, and merged with another design I'd made a few months back. It's dominated my design wall for weeks, and I pushed myself this week to finish all the improv blocks. When it came to the setting triangles at the sides, I decided more improv blocks would muddy it up. It was back to the stash to find a fabric that would work, and once again the Moda Grunge won with it's unique texture. There was just one problem.

#BraveQuilter Winner for April & May Linky OPEN

Welcome back to the #BraveQuilter link party!

Although anyone is welcome to link up, four bloggers completed the challenge for April, linking up at both the beginning and end of the month. I had my husband draw lots, and he came up with #3. That means Jennifer at 

The Inquiring Quilter is the #BraveQuilter winner for April! She will receive a custom dyed bundle of fabric from me in the next few weeks. Congratulations, Jennifer! Cheers to everyone who joined the challenge.

And now it's time to open the May linky!