Layer Cake Additions

When the gov’t calls a legal holiday, I have a quilting friend with the day off!  🙂  Lunch out, a good drive, a quilt shop or clothing store or many of the above, and lots & lots of chat.  It is great!

This trip I had 2 layer cakes (already purchased) that needed companion fabrics and my friend said one store had a lot of batiks and brights.  The store was beautiful!!  And quiet.  And great inventory! And I spread out all over.  Left them money and came home with 2 packets for future quilts, all ready to go.

Yellows, darker greens, browns, and near white with a “background” of grayish white and splash of brown/black.  Dynamic!

Pinks, blues, purples in batiks with a “background” of violet and splash of gold with purples.  I knew that color-wise a yellow would be a good compliment but I sure wasn’t sure I’d ever find it.  Pleased with this stop in Monticello!

Do you separate your precuts when you buy them?  I keep them wrapped up until I’m ready to use them.   My friend got a new charm pack while we were out and immediately spread it out when we got home.  So funny when we realized that!

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Birthday Bonuses

And then….

Sheila mailed me a package “just because” she is praying for my family and she is super sweet and it just so happened to be right around my birthday….   🙂

Pale pink with a butterfly

Pink & Green lacy

These are the SOFTEST dishcloths I have EVER felt!  Luscious!!

I said to JP, “they are too pretty to use!”  To which he reminded me how much that grates on me when someone says that about my soap.    🙂   So I will use them.  Just had to show you first.

And then…

When K came home over the Long 4th Weekend, she brought birthday blessings too!

A bundle of fabrics by Kaffe Fassett (a designer of bright moderns that I like) from her neighborhood quilt shop.  (I do wish they’d be more friendly to this 20-something customer!! Hmpf!!  If you know them, give them a clue.  :p )

And this ring —

Do you see what it is made from?????

A GOLD ZIPPER WITH PINK TAPE!!

♥♥♥♥♥♥

And it is HONKIN’ cool & big!   🙂

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K’s Book

For months I’ve been planning and formulating a fabric memory book highlighting just a bit of K’s time in Chicago.  I’ve titled it Opening.

I wanted to include a tag book with her story so turned to Phil.  In the last several years, his writing has come to bloom and I thought this would be another avenue for him.

I asked him to write a short something as a review of K’s time in Chicago.

About a week later, I asked how the story was coming.  He hadn’t done it yet.

Another week passed and I asked again.  (thankfully he doesn’t get upset at this nagging)

So after lunch that day, he grabbed his spiral notebook and click pen and wrote.  Thirty minutes later he came to read to me.

We laughed.

We cried.

I said it was perfect!

I copied his story on tags I had coffee stained

it works better with instant coffee... must buy some

and stamped his title, “Life So Far”, added her name, the date, and had Phil sign it.  I covered the back side of the tags with fabric paper.

my big sheet of fabric paper

Fabric paper is muslin covered with paper scraps, layered with pattern tissue and then painted with a wash of fluid acrylics.  The tag book is tied together with an assortment of yarn & rick-rack.

back of tag book

As Keturah grew up on a farm

Animals were something she could charm

Her curly hair would bounce all day

And down by the creek she loved to play

—

Her school was decided to be at home

There were hidden talents later to be known

In 2004, when school was done

She decided to work and have some fun

—

But to our surprise

To the city she would arise

She became a student at SAIC

And soon a great artist to be

—

Mom & Dad are so proud

She says it’s like floating on a cloud

You grew up around Ag

Now go get them and make a new bag!

Just lately, I went to the work of assembling a few pictures, some fabric, some photos of her fabrics printed on fabric, and a few bits of embellishment.

later I added words from a book inside the keyhole: she can

The pages of the book are canvas boards covered with fabric.   The ribbon runs through the pages to hold them as one.

The book can be folded up like a book or stood up accordian style for display.  Both sides are decorated.

If you have followed K’s work, most of this will ring a bell with you.

description of all the elements

Here is the 2nd page with the pocket to hold the story on the tag book –

Each side:

K got this in the mail yesterday with her lotion refills I made last week.  🙂  Now I can tell you about what I’ve been doing!

This idea is from Lesley Riley‘s book: Fabric Memory Books.   She is one of my favorites!!

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Fabric Postcard

I made this fabric postcard and sent it to my mom last week.  

It is me… and I’d be less than 2 yrs old.  Mom says it was on the porch at 811.

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Fabric Cards

I have made quite a few fabric cards in the last 2 years or so.  I enjoy them and hope the recipients do as well.   Most are about 8″ x 10″ or 9″ x 11″.   They fit in a small padded envelope or a flat rate priority envelope.   

Last week I had several on my mind so made several cards.  First I made a background.

During the night before I made these I was given the idea that I wanted fall colors, a tree in navy, and a Bible verse.   That morning I found a tree image and figured out how to make it navy.  Then I did a Bible search online and found one on seasons.  All of us are in a season of life.   I printed the images on muslin (adhered to freezer paper) with my printer.  

I played around with fabrics until I decided on what I wanted to do.

Then I sewed my items down and added some leaf quilting.

I love the idea of these… my struggle is that I like the messy look but don’t pull it off when I get down to work.  I think I need more play time.

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Fabric Dyeing

In a few of her classes, K has hand dyed a project whether it be a hat or fabric.  She now knew just enough to get me going with dyeing fabric.  🙂

I was fortunate to have found Kona cotton at a chain store :-p for about $4 a yard so had stocked up with 11+ yds.  

We were ready!!  K brought home 6 jars of Procion dye & soda ash.  I had the fabric, salt, and equipment.

pile of fabric ready to dye

 We worked in the basement in the little shower so we had access to water and didn’t get dye in the wrong place.  It was a tad chilly for us to work outside.

Here are the fabrics in the dye buckets.

Brown Rose, Hot Pink, Bronze

Olive, Turquoise, Raspberry

 

Ready to rinse them out.

And then we thought we’d hang them outside to drip dry!  Isn’t this funny!!

Even tho we had rinsed them out before drying, it hit me on Sunday that we should have rinsed them in Synthapol!  >head smack!<  So on Monday I did that.  Oh dear – it is a good thing I did!  Synthapol helps set the dye and rinse out the excess.  We still had lots of excess in there.  That would have made a disaster when I went to use the fabric in a project.   {lets not go there….}

Finally today I finished ironing all 6 pieces.  This makes me happy and has me anxious to do more.   I’m thinking this will be a great way for me to get an assortment for my Wildflower quilt I’d love to do someday without buying a zillion batiks.  We’ll see.  Don’t worry… I’ll tell you all about it!  😉  

Here they are!  

Avocado

Bronze - light touch

Brown Rose

Hot Pink

Raspberry

Turquoise

And the whole lot ~

All 6 fabrics

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