Look What Heidi Proffetty Did!

Look at this lovely piece titled "Erin" created by the fabulous Heidi Proffetty! Heidi's mosaic style is so unique that the design draws me in and I can't turn my head away until I look at every single element. I was thrilled to know that Heidi used my fabrics in her design! 

Heidi gets her inspiration from photos she takes and then creates a pattern in her mosaic style. Next she selects fabric to highlight the shadows and textures of the design. You should defiantly check out Heidi's website where she discusses her process in more detail!
Click here

Here is Erin coming to life. Adding quilting to the design is like magic in the way it adds so much more depth to the piece! Heidi is also on facebook - check her out!  

Dyeing Workshop with Apple Valley Quilt Guild Members!

What a wonderful group of women on a picture perfect summer day! I had the pleasure of meeting these folks last spring when I was invited to speak at their guild meeting. We arranged for them to come to my home studio to learn all about dyeing fabric and they created some truly beautiful pieces! 

Polly, me, Donna, Paula, Rose, Brenda, Justine, Nancy and Ginny! 

The ice dyeing technique was high on the list for the group so we got started right away on this method! 

Ginny and Nancy are deciding which colors to use! 

Nancy and Brenda are going for it!

No two fabrics will be exactly the same! 

Ginny is combining fucschia and yellow! 

Polly and Ginny compare notes! 

Each person dyed 3 half yard Ice Dyed pieces. They are all lined up and ready for the sun and ice to make some magic! I can't wait to see how they turned out. 

Next we worked on the Confetti Dyeing technique! 

We pulled out the color wheel to get some inspiration on contrasting colors!

My sister Donna volunteered to be my lovely assistant (red apron).
Her energy and spirit contributed to a great day! 

Paula and Nancy are creating some fun texture in their design by working on the uneven grassy surface!

Brenda is sharing her design thoughts with Justine!
This is a warm and collaborative group.

Donna is trying her hand at pleating fabric and spraying the folds to get a nice linear result!

Polly is spraying her fabric to encourage the dye to meander down the fabric surface! 

Justine combined some really bold colors!

Aren't they beautiful!  Each person took home 4 half yards of yummy Confetti Dyed fabric!

The last technique we worked on was using thickened dyes!
I'm demonstrating screen printing foliage onto the fabric surface. 

Rose and I working out some design details! 

Justine is going for it! 

Look at Paula's beautiful oak leaves! 

Nancy is happy with her pieces! 

Donna is taking home some gorgeous fabric!  

This is Rose's workshop "haul"... sooo many new fabrics to play with! 

A few of Polly's pieces! 

Paula went right home and washed, dried and pressed her new fabrics! 

More of Paula's workshop goodies = wow! 

Thank you ladies for sharing your enthusiasm and spirit with me! It is always a treat to have folks in the studio creating and experimenting! 

Come back anytime! 

There are a few spaces left in the August 27th fabric painting workshop - contact me for details!

Confetti Dyeing + Linen = Birch Grove!

I'm experimenting with different weight fabrics and pulled out some linen to try. The folded confetti dyed technique creates a nice linear design and I wondered how the texture of linen would come out. 

I started by soaking the fabric in soda ash and water. Next I laid the fabric on a table and created horizontal folds. I sprinkled dye powder across the surface and left to dry. I washed and cured the fabric and voila - a birch grove was born! 

The weight and texture of the linen worked well. It absorbed the dye quickly and I can't wait to try it again with other colors! 

Mother's Whispers!

My adult children are scattered across the US and even though I know they are happy and healthy I think of them daily and send them silent wishes. I imagine all mother's have favorite wishes they send to their kids either big or small. Let me share mine with you!

I started by writing my wish on a piece of parchment paper and rolled it into a scroll. I dug around in my scrap basket to pull out fabric that symbolized my wish. I added a few thermofax screen and stencil designs to help tell my story. The installation is cording with cut down clothes pins to hang each piece. 

Mother's Whispers
each piece is 6" X 8"

Health
May you continue to be blessed with strong healthy bodies and keen minds!

The element symbols are for chocolate and coffee... now I know that is not a long term diet for a healthy body but you can add some fun into the mix!  

 

Curiosity
I wish you a lifetime of curiosity about people, places and how things work!

I rusted the fabric and added some commercial travel stencils. Everyone in my family embraces adventure and cultures. I wish our future generations continue to be curious about the world.

Courage
Keep reaching for your goals and be confident with the path you choose!

My son Rob created this confetti dyed fabric and I've been saving it for a special project. For the "life" ladder I painted wooden sticks and laced them together with silk thread. Following your dreams can be filled with doubt along the way and I wish my kids keep climbing and reaching for the stars.  

Love
May you experience endless unconditional love! 

Here is another rusted fabric that had a sweet heart shape right in the center! I added snippets of Rob's fabric symbolizing an overflow of love spreading everywhere and encompassing my children's lives.

Balance
Take time to find balance in your life!

I started with a discharged piece of fabric. I wanted to keep the design super simple with a calmness about it. It's a daily focus to keep life balanced and my wish for the kid's is they discover a way to balance all the demands they will encounter as they move through the years.

I enjoyed working on multiple smaller pieces and I liked the idea of a scroll. I think I'll take those 2 elements and incorporate them into my next family oriented piece. Have you tried anything like this before! 

Cheers! 

Look What Dawn Allen Did!

I met Dawn Allen at a CT SAQA meeting and was instantly intrigued by her unique 3D fiber art. Dawn visualizes her designs in a way that I haven't really seen before. She is the master of 3D construction... click here to view her full work! 

Dawn recently created "Confetti Garden" using some of my confetti-dyed fabric plus fabric she designed! Dawn described her design process as, 'thinking about what it would look like if someone had a party and threw confetti across the lawn. The flowers are inspired by Bluets which are typically more toward white (I took poetic licence.)'

25" x 29"

For purchasing information and to view Dawn's full gallery visit her website at http://dawnallen.net/new-products/confetti-in-the-grass.