Another experiment, craft show & Coursera

I’ve been working on the quilt that’s due on November 15 (no pictures until later), and today I went to the local chapter craft show and took pictures of other vendors booths, and had a good chat with a number of the vendors. This was first thing on Sunday, when it wasn’t too busy. I’ll lose any potential fans/friends out there if I hit them when they’re busy with customers.
Here is a picture of my resist experiment on polyester faille:

It compares thickened disperse dye with no resist on the right, and with the following resists (from top to bottom) on the left: print paste, laundry starch, blue school glue and wax. I was very surprised by how little the print paste resisted the dye, and by how much the starch acted as a resist.
Finally, here’s the results of my homework assignment. I asked several groups of on-line friends, and the members of my quilt guild to finish the following statement:
A gizmo that helps feed fabric into my machine would . . . .
Then I organized the results and submitted them according to the assignment guidelines.
The feed guide improves material handling
The feed guide can be adjusted to hold various seam widths in relation to the needle
The feed guide keeps seams at a consistent width
The feed guide shields my fingers from the needle
The feed guide aligns the edges of multiple layers
The feed guide keeps the layers from shifting
The feed guide trims loose thread and provides a clean edge
The feed guide presses out wrinkles as it feeds
The feed guide feeds layers of fabric equally
The feed guide flattens out ruffles as they are fed into the machine
The feed guide keeps long, pinned seams from getting tangled up before they get to the feed dogs
The feed guide keeps the weight and bulk of the project off my lap
The feed guide keeps the fabric running straight
The feed guide will not allow the edge of whatever I am feeding into the machine to get caught up on the presser foot or anything else
The feed guide reduces frustration with fabric
The feed guide enables sewing a truly straight line
The feed guide keeps the fabric entering under the foot straight
The feed guide keeps fabric at an even tension
The feed guide works with one layer of fabric
The feed guide works with many layers of fabric
The feed guide prevents lighter fabrics from jamming in the dogs
The feed guide ensures an even stitch length
The feed guide is well made
The feed guide is stable
The feed guide is see-through
The feed guide sets up easily
The feed guide is lightweight
The feed guide is available in many colors
The feed guide packs easily for portability
The feed guide will not damage the needle or machine if hit by the needle
The feed guide donates a portion of sales proceeds to charity
The feed guide can be returned to position very quickly
The feed guide works with different types of machines
The feed guide works with a sewing machine or serger
The feed guide works with different brands of machines
The feed guide works with different size machines
The feed guide stands on the same surface as the machine
The feed guide will not interfere with electronic machines
The feed guide works with cabinet-mounted machines
The feed guide acts as a third arm / third hand
The feed guide fits all the way up to the needle
The feed guide works with single- or double-needle setups
The feed guide works with straight stitches
The feed guide works with wide stitches, such as zig-zag
The feed guide doesn’t damage the machine when installed
The feed guide works with different types of fabric
The feed guide works with different thicknesses of fabric
The feed guide works with fabrics with different surfaces (slick, napped)
The feed guide works with dissimilar fabrics
Thank you very much to everyone who gave me their input!

Scarves and more

The scarves are out of the autoclave! And I did some experiments with buttons and bean-bag poly pellets while they were processing. Here are pictures:

All three wrapped pipes



The resulting scarves in the same order

Before processing

After processing



The finished scarf

Buttons and poly pellets

Some buttons did not dye either in disperse or acid dyes. All these buttons were tried in acid dye first.

More from the Barn and since then, part 4

OK, my worktable was a disaster. I needed to sew a bit on the tent, so I had to clean everything off. The tent project ended up to be a life lesson – don’t try to sew through adhesive Velcro! Once I got the gummy balls out of the machine it worked fine again, and I hemmed 4 scarf blanks. Even if I could find white polyester scarves to dye, the Pennsylvania Guild of Craftsmen won’t accept them for jurying. Then I used some of my big roll of white paper to cover the dye-stained surface, and topped that with clear vinyl. It does look better.

When I processed the turquoise dye rag, I also processed another shibori pleated piece of georgette. I’m working on an elephant quilt and really want the shibori texture for his trunk. These pieces were also an outgrowth of the black sampling I showed earlier this week. The deadline for the elephant quilt is November 15, so if we don’t lose power (the hurricane is just making landfall as I write this) I’d better get some sewing done! And by the end of November, I need a lot of product for the holiday craft festival at the Elaina Fine Art Gallery. Scarves for sure, and the camo piece quilted for a start, plus some Kanzashi flower pins. More on that later!

Thanks for looking!