New projects

I've been working on a couple of new projects. The first one I forgot to take pictures as I went along, but it started out as a mono-printed circle, black on white. I cut it up and painted it with dye, gold, magenta, and aqua. Then put it together with black strips and now it's ready to quilt.



I've done several more pages in the "This is not a sketchbook" project. This is a pretty bad picture of two of the pages.



I'm also working on a larger quilt that I got the inspiration for last spring while coloring with my granddaughter. I've drawn it out full size, 4 ft. x 6 ft., and have traced it onto some old interfacing to use as a pattern. I'm normally not a pattern user, but I was having trouble figuring out how to do it. So this is my big leaf.


This is one of the pieces of fabric I'll be using.



These are a couple more.



The leaf will be created out of a large pile of pole wrapped shibori fabrics that I have done over the past few years. I've been saving them for just the right project, of course there's a lot more than I need so it will end up being several more projects in the end. I'll also probably decide that I don't have just the right color and end up doing more. But at least I'm getting started on it.

Time flies between posts!

It has been awhile since I've posted, I've gotten things done, but I guess I haven't felt like writing about them.

I did paint dye on the stitched leaf, and I like the leaf, but now what? I like the process of stitching a resist, dyeing it, taking out the stitches, layering the piece with batting and backing, stitching again overall and then painting on dye. I'm having difficulty using the process to create a completed composition. The two that I've done are samples to figure out what I can do, now I want to create a satisfying piece of art with the technique and that's where I'm stymied. It's a very time consuming process so I'd really like to have a finished piece that I could enter into shows.



I did paint a piece of rayon with dye and then made this little topper. This was fun, quick and easy. The pattern is "A Little Something Jacket" from CNT.



I've also been stitching on a piece of rusted fabric that will also be beaded.



I worked on the stitching while we were camping. We went on our annual camping trip to pick huckleberries and blackberries.
The picture below was taken while we were picking blackberries along the Salmon river. Shortly after this picture was taken we went down to the river and waded in to cool off. We picked the huckleberries up on a mountain side where it was quite a bit cooler.



Since returning I've been making jam and freezing berries. We have eaten some also, while camping we had huckleberry pancakes for breakfast one morning and fresh brook trout for breakfast the next morning. Nothing like eating well when your out roughing it. Roughing it in a travel trailer that is, but it was a forest service camp area with no hookups, up a steep and winding dirt road.

Red and green leaves

I've been doing background stitching on the leaf I showed last time. When the stitching is finished I'll paint dye over the whole piece.


I'm planning on using some muted greens, the picture below is my inspiration.


Every summer I plant the barrel that's next to my studio door with plants that have interesting leaves. This is how it looks this summer.