Prompt #162

The current Creative Prompt Project word is Grass .........I think my age is showing......I don't need to say more.......... do I?

Gift Bags

Were you curious to see what I was doing with that dyed fabric I showed in my last post? I was meeting my sisters for a few days in Toronto last week and wanted to make them each a little something. The idea was that like sisters, we are all cut from one cloth, and just like sisters, these bags are the same, but also quite different.

One of my sisters must have been on a similar wave length as she brought each of us one of these wonderful silk bags. She also shared with us, her involvement with the Tabitha Foundation. I would love it if you could take a moment to learn about this.....it is absolutely amazing to learn how something as simple as this little bag can have such an enormous impact on the lives of these women.

and then when I arrived home, I found a package waiting for me. It was this fabulous brooch created by Sheila Craigie, Sheila was my ATC swap partner, while visiting her site  aubirdwoman I had commented on this wonderful treasure......I could hardly believe my eyes when I opened the envelope!

Adventure in dyeing

I didn't really have any expectation of what would happen with this....but I am quite pleased with the results.
First was a Lemon Yellow dye

Then some Royal over top

and finally, Scarlet

The results (not sure how I missed taking a shot of the whole piece)

 stitching adds another dimension

The unwanted

At times you may come across a few things that others no longer want (or have use for) I look at these things as a terrific opportunity to experiment at little or no cost. In the spring I purchased a bundle of remnants at a rummage sale, it was white....appeared to be cotton, it contained a couple of decent sized pieces of plain white...for half a buck, how could I go wrong?
And recently, a close friend offered me a number of things she no longer wanted, in that, was a box full of old dyes that she had used many, many years ago to dye wool when she was into rug hooking.
So I decided to see if these dyes were still usable and pulled out that rummage sale bundle. I did a quick search online for some dyeing tips and set about to see what results I might achieve.
I dyed all the pieces using the same dye mix, crumpled up in a couple of freezer bags. I was going for an inky, evening sky sort of appearance.
here are a couple of close up shots of the nice effects I got.

I then cut the pieces and put them all back together to create one large piece (about 5 foot square) that will be used as a "background" for something that is currently percolating in my brain.

1 Year Already

It has been a full year since I was first asked to become the Artist in Residence for The Canadian Quilters' Association. So far it has been a wonderful experience, the Summer issue is now out and features this design/pattern.

The process requires us to be working several months in advance, my article for the Autumn issue is complete and has been submitted....can't show it, of course.....but a tiny peek can't hurt. Now I need to think about Winter.

Sharing the fun

As you may remember, I was participating in an ATC swap with the Quilting Gallery, I sent mine off to Sheila Craigie aka....  aubirdwoman This is what she would find in her mailbox. (I also sent a small piece of hand painted fabric but I apparently neglected to take a photo of it)
Last week's CPP Prompt word was Bird, so when I saw the name of my swap partner's blog I thought this was perfect.

But, since I know that many of you enjoy seeing my doodles, I thought I would show you this one. It was done as a semi-secret project for a wonderful Internet friend. After completing this drawing, I printed it on cotton, did lots of quilting and entrusted it to the post office. I have learned that it has indeed reached it's destination.

 

In many ways, I am sure that the electronic age has lessened the amount of mail the post office sees, but at the same time, I think bloggers likely fill some of the void with all of the little packages that make their way around the world.