PTA - June

I'm in this wonderful group - PTA which I've talked about probably every month. We meet at different homes, go on field trips, work on group projects, have retreats and also the best holiday party around. This month, it was at Lynne Harrills home - a new home for her after her husband retired and they returned to the Asheville area after being in Greenville, SC for many years.

 They bought their home for the view and 2 great studio spaces on the lower level. I don't think I would ever get down to my studio with a view like this - outside their family room window.

 Also beautiful forests everywhere.

 We had lots of chatter, a yummy dessert and goodies to go with our lunches and a small show and tell. Mary B showed off her painted sneakers. I especially love the heart on the flap of the sneaker with her and her hubbies initials on it. Happy feet.

 Connie showed us another piece she made in the style of the artist she used for a challenge several years back.

 It's a beautiful piece, the stitching is perfect.

 I was intrigued by Mary S latest piece that she has stuggled with as she didn't like the fabric. She started with a peachy felt, did something to it which she really didn't like - on right, although I really thought it was quite nice...

 than did something else over it - again it might have been sun dyeing but Mary was still not happy..

 until the Ah..ha...moment when she stenciled it and she had her piece. The black flowers are beaded and it's just lovely, one of my favorites I think - perserverence pays off!

 Mary B brought this older scrap quilt she was rescueing by sewing applique leaves over bad areas - a clever idea.

 Connie is a quilt appraiser and loves all old quilts and stories. She found this old book which I thought was wonderful. It included projects for making socks and the proper kind of stitches to use when knitting so they would be comfortable for the men to wear.

 And the back of the book - just as charming.

 As an appraiser, and while attending the AQS show in April, she was invited to visit the vaults at the American Quilter's Society Museum in Paducah, KY. What a thrill to go down into the depths of this building to see how and where they store all the quilts that are part of the permanent collection.

 She took this picture and handed it to me and I was so taken aback...it looked familiar...

It was my quilt (#52) which the museum had purchased many, many years ago and I had forgotten about. Well, nice to see they are all taken good care of. It also seems like a really good and organized way of doing it.
Till next time...

Fiber Junkies June - Painting on Fabric

Well, we met at Vals for our June meeting of Fiber Junkies. Her wet studio is so perfect for outside activities and she's such a darling person to put up with us, making us feel so welcome with every thing ready to go.

 This month we painted on fabric using procion dyes both thickened and not. Kate had learned so much about this in her class at Pro Chemical some time earlier - she was our leader and helper.

 We did all kinds of techniques working on a flat surface, with fabric treated with soda ash. We also had a bucket of soda ash mixed up if you wanted to work wet which I preferred.

 Denny did lots ot writing using a thickened dye and a neat little tool; we later all went on the internet and bought many of them.

 Denny also brought along some wallpaper trays for doing striped effects.

 Stencils were used with thickened dye on dry fabric with great success.

 Val as always was creating masterpieces. I always stand next to Val hoping some of it will rub off on me, hasn't happened yet - so from the starting point at the top...

 to more developed, it's going to be a really great piece.

 Kate loves circles and was madly making circles using non thickened dye...

 and then added that beautiful pop of green!

 Gen's stormy sky might have been my favorite piece. The plastic underneath created such great effects in the paint.

 also a plaid by Gen.

 I tried doing a stencil using thickened dye on wet fabric -  it was an afterthought, but it worked just fine....

 and the after - not too much wash out.

 This was my version of Gens which I tried to recreate - a little more subtle, also this is after it was washed.

This was my piece done in the wall paper tray - interesting but not as good as I had hoped for.

 This was an old piece I had given to Kate to rescue which she loves to do and does quite well, but when I ran out of fabric, she gave it back - it's a little better, think I'll have to give it to Kate again.

 I did some folding and dipping with non thickened dye on dry fabric, I think it would have been better done on wet. I like it, just not sure how I'll use it.
My granddaughter just arrived and it's crazy-ville - she does get excited. She's almost 3 and at the age when they ask "are we there yet"?gets old after 3 1/2 hours of driving, but we are going to have a fun week.
Till next time..

A Recap

Last weekend I had the great fun of attending the NC Symposium hosted this year by the Western NC Quilt Guild in Hendersonville, NC a stones throw away.  I've taught at this symposium many times; it's unique in that it moves around the state with a different guild hosting it every year. Asheville Quilt Guild is on the calendar for 2018 and we've already started planning for it. It's a wonderful event with great workshops and instructors, good food and activities, a good variety of vendors and of course the quilt show. Here are just a few of my favorites seen at the show.

 "Autumn Journey at White Oak" made by Kathryn Zimmerman and quilted by Brian Fackler - a beauty and also the Best in Show

 "Appalachian Wine" by Kathyrn Zimmerman and Karen Marchetti.  I loved this quilt for it's wonderful use of color and movement.

 "Butterflies in my Garden" by Karen Guinn was just delightful. I'm not one to make a scrappy quilt but I do love to look at them and this one was lovely. I loved the use of white to break it up and provide a resting point for your eye. It did win a ribbon - can't remember what place but well deserved.

 This "Civil War Officer Cot" Quilt made by Maria Clancy used reproduction prints and techniques from the Civil War. It was the quilt many soldiers carried with them to sleep at night. My great grandfather was in the Civil War and he came from a quilting family so my thoughts immediately went to him wondering if he had something like this.

 This was my favorite and got my vote for viewer's choice. "Not in my Martini" by Margaret Wills and Rebecca Verrier-Watt was just charming. I'm not sure what pulled me in - the fabrics that looked like Charlie Harper's art or the colors, design...?...just so pleasing, I kept going back to it.

 A detail.

 "The Sheep's in the Meadow" by Carol Price was adorable. My granddaughter is in love with lambs, carries her "lamby", the one I brought back from Ireland everywhere she goes. What little person wouldn't love this!

 I always love landscapes and "Blue Ridge Revisited" by Judy Lilly was a beautiful, well  done piece.

 I admire anyone with the courage to work in silk and then pull it off so beautifully. "Art of Hearts" by Natalie Rockley was just that - vibrant colors and great technical skills.

 "Woodland Home" by Lois Griffith was so interesting with its 3-dimensional work.

And a modern quilt - "Celebrating Kelly with Hopes and Wishes" by Carol Preston.
It was a great show - such fun to see so many beauties up close and personal.
Til next time....

The Results

Last week, we met at Vals for our Fiber Junkies and worked on deconstructive screen printing. This time we added the use of discharge paste. Ordinarily, you would place objects under a screen, and screen over them with a thickened dye, let it dry and release the dye onto fabric using a print paste mix. With this variation, you place objects under a screen and screen over them with a clear print paste mix. When dry, you release the print paste mix onto the fabric (adding no color) but using the discharge paste. When dry, iron the fabric in good ventilation to see the areas that have been discharged.

 It's an interesting variation but the discharge paste does get watered down due to the print paste mix; the effects are not as dramatic as when you just discharge with paste.

 It is something I've wanted to try and I'm glad I did, although I'm not sure I would do this variation again.

 Here are some of my other pieces. I was glad I stuck to my guns and only worked with a few colors as now I have a small little stash of fabric that will work together.

 Think I used some blue gray, blue greens, sea foam and something called Stormy Sky.

 Stormy Sky is the dark one which I really like and will provide a nice contrast to the other fabrics.

 My least favorite is the seafoam green which is also a discontinued color and I've used the last of it. Maybe I should name a future piece made with this "Goodbye to Seafoam"...

I definitely prefer the grayed tones.
Til next time...