This is the way I originally pieced this top.
Here it is rotated to the right.
And to the left.
I had written previously that I was experimenting with discharging and over dyeing commercial fabrics. I've been using a variety of store bought fabrics and even some of my own hand-dyes and either clamping, discharging, and then over dyeing them or just clamping and over dyeing. The clamping technique is a shibori process called itajime. I thought it would be interesting to document parts of the process:
For some strange reason, I feel the need to include a picture of the unaltered piece of fabric.
I folded the fabric into fourths and placed circle forms on both pieces of fabric. It's important to note that I have a matching shape on the underside of the pieces of fabric. In other words, I sandwiched the fabric in between two matching shapes. I used c-clamps to hold the shapes in place. I tightened the clamps as much as possible while the fabric was dry. Then I wet the fabric and tightened a little more. This creates a good seal around the edge of the shape and aids in getting a crisp image. Almost all the shapes I clamp are made out of 1/4 inch plexiglass. I've tried thinner plexi, but the shapes eventually broke under the pressure of the clamps. Originally, I commissioned a plastics fabricator to make my shapes out of scrap plexi. Now, I'm lucky enough to have a friend who works in a shop where she has access to plexi cutting tools. So, I have an ever growing collection of plexiglass shapes.
The next step is to fill two washtubs with water. I added about 1 cup of beach to one of the washtubs and a little more than a cup of vinegar to the other tub. I put the fabric first into the bleach solution, let it sit for a while and then moved it to the vinegar bath. I went back and forth between the two baths until the shapes was as clear as I wanted it to be. I always finish in the vinegar solution, rinse out my fabric and wash it in the washing machine before I cut or sew it. It's also important to note that fabrics vary in how long they take to discharge. My experience has been that most fabrics, commercial or otherwise, can be discharged.
Laughter is powerful stuff and having the type of personality that elicits giggles is a unique gift. My daughter, Rachel, has that rare ability to make people laugh. She brings on chuckles in a variety of ways. Sometimes she uses her intelligence to craft jokes or point out interesting ironies. Other times, Rachel employs less sophisticated means to bring on the smiles. Rachel is not above relying on bathroom humor or bodily functions to get people laughing. Anything that does the job appears to be fair game for her. I used to call her, "My Laughing Hyena". I chose that name not because she had an odd laugh, but because she was always laughing. I'm happy to say that her love of giggling and her passion for making others do the same has not diminished as she's gotten older. Rachel is a truly a funny and fun individual.
This neighbor seeded his yard with winter rye and now has the most gorgeous shade of green blanketing his front yard.
I had originally planned to focus on photographing anything red, but maybe its too early in March to expect a lot of blooms(even in Texas) and there just aren't a lot of other things painted or stained red. There was, however, this somewhat decrepit house one street over with these wonderfully pealing windows. The house has a lot of character, but has fallen into disrepair and neglect. Thankfully, I noticed that there was a construction dumpster out front which hopefully means good times ahead for this sweet,little place.
A while back, someone wrote me and said they really enjoyed all my log cabin inspired pieces. Interestingly, though, I never thought about my pieces as having been influenced by the traditional log cabin pattern. After this comment, I realized just how blind I can be to the obvious. That really reinforced for me why it's so great to have fresh eyes looking at your work. They see things that you miss, even blatant things.
fabric for the back and to make piping along the edges. I love these fabrics and am playing around with overdying them with shibori resists. I make all my pillows so that the insert can be removed and the pillow can be washed. I worry less about actually using them if I know they can be cleaned and, once the form gets a flat, I simply remove it and buy a
new one. I also used some vintage
I was roaming around my house, both inside and out, shooting seemingly random pictures, when I noticed a connection among many of them. Color. At my very core, I am moved by color.
Especially chartreuse.
This green's called "Temptation".
Oops. Is it Wednesday and I didn't post something completed on Tuesday? Actually, I didn't post last Tuesday, but that was because my camera batteries needed charging. This week's excuse: My dog ate it. Well, not exactly. I've been busy finishing this top(I'm currently machine quilting it) and taking some new digital images for show proposals. As far as technology goes, the little victories mean a lot to me. I'm not naturally computer or digitally savvy, so figuring out how to resize my photos so that I could submit them was a big achievement.
I had to borrow this piece from the folks I sold it to, but I'm really glad I got some decent images of it.
This piece belongs to close friends and former next door neighbors. I managed to take this picture the last time we were at their house.
