Preparations. . .

I've decided to set the green hand dye aside for the time being.  Too much obsessing that got me nowhere!

I also figured it might be a good time for some therapy sewing, a la Rayna Gillman.  This one won't be a scrap quilt, but I am using up a stash of color gradations I made a few years ago.  Throw in a good bit of solid white, and I hope to end up with a quilt for Michelle.  So far, I've got eight strip sets at least partially constructed.  Here's two after I did a diagonal cut- I'm thinking I need to do another one of those.

I've also started getting my supplies together for next week's workshop with Carol Soderlund, Dyeing to Discharge.  I have. . . 

my respirator, gloves, an old sheet (press cloth), thermofax screens, and a sketchbook. . . 

shibori supplies, containers, buckets, my little drawer unit full of stamps and stencils. . . 

two kinds of black commercial cotton, a couple of black tees, a bolt of Hoffman lawn, a bolt of bamboo/cotton, some silk yardage, and a bunch of not-so-stellar hand dyes I hope to remake.  Think this will all fit in the back of my Prius?

I had almost everything on Carol's two page list.  Today I'll get the rest, just some Press and Seal, gallon zip lock bags, some Sharpies, some lightweight gloves, and another kitty litter pan.  I figure by this time next week, I should be totally exhausted, with a brain ready to explode from all I've learned!

Today is a few hours of work, then getting ready to leave for Moab tomorrow for a friend's wedding.  The next ten days on my calendar are jam-packed!

Musings and Mumblings

That's all I have to offer up tonight, without any visuals.  I haven't taken any interesting photos recently, and I certainly don't need to bore you with photos of the snow we got over the weekend and today.  No, Shiloh and I did not go walking in it this weekend.  Since I worked on Friday, I felt rushed all weekend.  Amazing how I've gotten into a three day weekend grove, I need that long to get all my domestic stuff done, and get some creative time in the studio.  There was no creative time in the studio this weekend.

We have a new challenge for the Tangled Textiles group- Balance.  I quite like this one, and have been mulling ideas around in my head.  I think I will take some time to observe my surroundings, and get some photos of both balance and imbalance.  Beyond that, I'm not sure what direction I will take.

I thought I would be taking two workshops this year.  Rosalie Dace is teaching in Grand Junction in June, and I'd thought I could swing it.  Last week I came to the conclusion I couldn't, and took my name off the list.  Carol Soderlund was supposed to come back to Heber in July, but the studio we used for her workshop last summer is not available the week she can come- so that one has been put off until 2013.  Katie PM is coming here in August, and I just can't get enthusiastic about taking a class from her.  I'm getting more and more tired of taking design related classes from quilt artists.  I'm really thinking I just need to find the time and motivation to stay home and do the work.  So maybe the time I would have been at Carol's workshop will be staycation in the studio.  Or maybe I will take a long weekend and spend time with my brother and camera somewhere around Reno.  My brother would be the perfect companion for that kind of getaway.  Lots to think about, at least I don't have to make a decision any time soon.

So there you have it, the boring state of my mind.  I'll let you know if any of it results in action any time soon!

It's been a cool, rainy, dreary day here--

so I stayed busy inside.  I think I'm liking this list thing- it helped keep me on track, and it feels good to check off stuff as it's completed.  All the housework is done, laundry done, and I washed out the yard of fabric I dyed yesterday.  I worked on my packing list for Colorado, and got a lot of the packing done.  That means I will have most of tomorrow to finish my piece for IT!

I really like what came out of the dyepot, although it is very different from the red/green piece.  There the two colors stayed separate, there's no brown on it.  Not the case with this one--

I can see this in a Southwest inspired quilt.  The brown is a warm, earthy toned, and the turquoise just glows against it.  Look at some of the patterning--

I may have to try this on some pimatex, and see how that affects the colors.

Thought I'd share some photos from the Laura Cater-Woods workshop I was at Monday and Tuesday.  It was at the Pioneer Craft House in Salt Lake, a venue familiar to many USDG members, but I'd never been there.  They are in the process of renovation, but were very helpful in making the workshop a success.  Here it is from the outside--

And here we are in the room, some of us working with our sewing machines, others not.  It was a lovely, relaxing workshop, and I'd highly recommend Laura to anyone- at least anyone who likes process oriented workshops rather than project oriented.

Kind of interesting working in a room with all those historical artifacts.

It's getting late, I'm heading upstairs.  Shouldn't have too much on the list for tomorrow!

The Challenge from Rayna's Grand Junction class--

Rayna has now posted all the pictures she's gotten from the design class fabric challenge on her blog, including mine. I managed to get it done last weekend, and here's what I came up with--



I decided that my way of altering the 'ugly'fabric would be with thread. It turned out to be hard to photograph, but I used two different colors of Superior's Rainbows thread on the center square. All the other fabrics are either my hand-dyes, or fabric I printed at the workshop.

I experimented with doing multiple squares, but Rayna's fabric did not want to play well with the other fabric I had. And, as it turns out, I didn't share Rayna's distaste for the pink! So I chose to let it take center stage, and surround it with character actors.

At the end, it also told me it needed beads- not a lot, but enough to add interest.

It was fascinating looking at what the others in the class created. Go visit Rayna's blog, and see for yourself!

Taking Stock

After my first good night's sleep in a week and a couple of meals, I'm feeling much more human. I even got the studio put back together after breakfast.

Driving through the desolate desert between home and Grand Junction, I had lots of time to think- this kind of landscape doesn't always inspire!



When we lived in Price, my work took me to Moab regularly, so I drove this road a lot. I learned to look for beauty in the lights and shadows on the rocks. These mountains are the Bookcliffs, and they stretch for the entire sixty miles between I-70 and Price on the east side of Highway 6.

Looking further north, I could see storm clouds and snow on the summits.



I have had an idea percolating in the back of my mind, trying to juxtapose the lines of the landscape with the straight, angular lines of the power poles. I'm keeping my eyes out for a place where I can see a long line of power poles marching off into the distance.

Anyway, I've had time to think about what I brought home with me from Grand Junction. I learned some new ways to add color to fabric- I'll have to remember to plan ahead, but I certainly want to try the gelatin plate printing.

I have some new ways to begin a design- some start with the fabric, some don't. And I have new tools to self-critique during the process. I think I run into trouble when I get going, and don't stop to evaluate along the way. 'Autumn Mountains' is a good example, I could have caught the disproportionate branch and corrected it.

And, while I was putting my fabric away, I noticed I was looking at my stash with a new eye. I've dyed lots of fabric over the past five years, and some is fine as is- but others are just crying out for more layers. I found that to be especially true with the fabrics I dye painted rather than immersion dyed. I've not liked a lot of the fabric I made that way, and now I know what I'll be doing with them! I now have plenty of ideas to keep me busy this year.

Last, but certainly not least, I made some friends who share my passion for this art. I joined AQuA, the Art Quilt Association, based in Grand Junction. They are a large, creative group who certainly made me feel welcome. And Rayna was every bit as down to earth as I'd thought she'd be, in addition to being the kind of teacher who pushes you to do your own work, not copy-cat. I loved every minute in her class.

I have a challenge piece to finish by May 8 from the workshop, so I'm going downstairs to start on it. No pics, though, until I've sent it off to Rayna!