Tempus Fugit, I think

Good thing I can look it up in the dictionary. Anyhow, time does fly.

Well, before I start kvetching about having too much to do, I should say that the reason I was inspired to post again was that I now, suddenly, have over 30 followers! Thank you all so much! I’m sorry I don’t have any more eye candy to post; don’t remember the last time I took time for photographs. Found one – it’s at the bottom.

Back to time flying – there are just 7 weeks to go before the first show of the fall, so I have to crank up the production numbers. I did get a lot of snow dyeing done last weekend – still washing it out. Family visit this weekend, and a trip to the Hershey show (as a visitor), then another week to snow-dye or work on poly. (More on that below.) Then I’m teaching a day class on discharge the weekend of the 13th, one-on-one, so I’m starting to dye and fold fabric for that. Then I need to prep for a demo at Oaks on Kanzashi, and a speaking engagement in October, the day before the Quakertown Show. There’s also the annual Chautauqua Show in the end of October, too! And some exciting news – I’m going to teach a 3-hour class at the Somerset show in March – Quilt Fest of NJ.

I read a great article in Quilting Arts today by Marie-Therese Wisniowski on her ‘Multisperse Dye Sublimation’ technique for polyester. I can start painting papers with dye right away, and pull out the heat press once the 90-100 degree F temperatures are over with. And I want to do more sun printing on poly, too, and try some mandalas. Plus I found a source for the sheer iridescent polyester, like I got at Jo-Ann. That’s been popular, so I must order a roll, plus more muslin, maybe. . . . So I’m keeping busy. Thanks again to my followers; if I had a tail it would be wagging!

PS - here’s a picture I have been playing with – it’s the leftovers on the lid of a bucket of spackle. I’ve learned a good bit about using Photoshop Elements in working with this one image. Maybe I should get a Thermofax screen made of it. Forgot it was there!

Kanzashi Krazy

Well, I heard about these from people who were at Spring Market, the annual trade show for the quilt industry. Kanzashi are a traditional craft from Japan – flowers made of folded fabric. Some of the folds are the same as Origami. I ordered a book by Diane Gilleland, called Kanzashi in Bloom and started making lots of petals and turning them into flowers while I waited for the nifty Kanzashi makers from Clover to come in. And I also found some patterns for brooches from la Todera patterns. Between those sources, I learned three different ways to make flowers and petals. Enough said – here are the pictures!

This is one of the first flowers I made, from a piece of snow-dyed fabric. It’s a little, well a Lot wonky. But we have to start somewhere.

Also an early effort, it was fun to incorporate different sorts of petals. More snow dyed cotton, plus white radiance.

This is a small flower made of hand-dyed Nusuede. Fun to have different texture choices.

The purple flower is made with rounded petals, which I think are the most versatile. Adding a little embroidery floss as a tie in the button adds a little flourish, I think.

The orange and white flower sports a center that was the button off a pair of pajamas. Did I mention I have 17 pounds of buttons? This double-layer style can’t be made with the Kanzashi makers, unless the fabric is very thin.

Here are a couple more early efforts. The center in
the left-hand flower is a piece of a plastic flower that looks like Queen Anne’s lace. Just the ticket for this use. Also, I learned that this gauge wire is way to thin to support the flower.

This black and copper flower looks super on the lapel of a linen-look blazer I have. The fabric is a commercial black batik that I discharged as a test. The button adds just the touch for a rather elegant flower (IMHO.)

The flip-flops were an idea from Diane’s Kanzashi book. The fabric, snowdyed; the buttons are from the stash – they were shoe buttons, I believe.

The final two lush flowers are made per the instructions in the Camelia Gigantus Brooch pattern from la Todera. The first is a mix of solid and snow-dyed cottons, the second is made from ombre’ Radiance. Both have padding under the petals to give them a greater three-dimensional quality. The smaller one has been living on a straw hat, when the larger one has a backing fabric attached, it will end up on a tote bag, I think.

Thanks for looking; and PS – the Clover Kanzashi makers are available at www.dippydyes.com!