"Grid Lock" 2010

Surface Design Sample Book

More pictures from the Minnesota Quilt Show

Here are some judged quilts from the show:

And the beautiful SAQA exhibit! 

As usual, photos don't do them justice. There's a lot of great texture and color.

Some other scenes from the show:

I'm a fan of Wendy's beautiful hand-dyed textiles, threads and trims. I had to wait a while to get a picture of her so I think business was good! Her website is www.QTStudio.com .

 

That's all for now, back to my cave. . . .

Surface Design Exhibit

I'm back from the Minnesota Quilt Show and clearing the decks so I can sew! Or at least work at the design wall.

My surface design exhibit had many visitors and some old friends come by. The sample book showing surface design techniques was popular as was the chocolate. Did I mention that they were next to each other??

Thanks to everyone who stopped by-- I enjoyed talking fiber with you!

I'll be posting quilt pics from the show soon so check back.

Website Woes

My website is a little sick right now. I re-published last night- about 10% didn't publish or partially published. It's not like this is my only UFO but who likes to broadcast them? On the other hand, it could be motivational. Anyway, prognosis is good and it should be 100% by the end of the week.

Passion or Obsession: My Journey into Hand-dyeing and Surface Design

This is one page from the surface design book I'm making for the exhibit. It's a painted piece of cotton which I hit with salt while it dried in the sun. If it's a hot day, you can actually see the salt doing its thing. I used a 50/50 mix of Setacolor paint and water. It's easy and fun-- good for a group, no chemicals, water clean-up. Dried fabric has to be heat set with iron or you can just let it sit for a couple weeks if you really dislike ironing (use a presscloth) The other pages of the book cover rust printing, overdyeing, resists, discharging and others.

I've challenged myself in this project to use cloth/fiber in the majority of the signage/display items. I've had my test kitchen (same room I used to cook in) working on "will this work on this?" "will this show up well enough for a sign?" and the like.

Exhibit debuts at Minnesota Quilt Show and Conference at the St. Cloud Civic Center in St. Cloud, MN June 17-19, 2010. Stop by if you're in the area!

First Cave Blog

The first Cave blog.

I just put the binding on a large wall piece and now my design wall is empty. Looks weird. But today may be warm enough to dye fabric so will pre-wash some cotton. It's not like I'm low on fabric but there are some dye colors that I want to mix and try out.

I'm also working on the MN exhibit parts. One will be a sample fabric "book" showing some of the surface design techniques I use. Exhibit is in June at the MN quilt show and conference, details at my website: www.thefibercave.com I'll post pics when its worthy. . .