End of Summer?

Where on earth has July gone???

How can it be August?  We have finally reached the end of the summer and the grandson/nephew starts back to school on Wednesday.  For those of you thinking how can that possibly be.....we are with ya.  We will miss our excuse to run away in the middle of the day to take him to camp or the water park.  On the other side, we will have time to finish up some of our introductory items.  We will be spending the beginning of the week dyeing again as we have wholesale orders to fill.  The cheesecloth gradations are back in stock online.  Sorry for the delay.  After that we'll be making sure our trunk show suitcases are packed, fun product is ready, and kits are made for our South Carolina guild trip.  So much to look forward to.

Sale of the Week:
10% off all Hand Painted Lutradur!! 
This is our new size of 1/4yd.  This is great for using as the background of a project instead of fabric.  You can thread paint on it, embroider, and bead as it can withstand it all.  You can also "burn" it to create a lacy look with a heat gun. (An iron doesn't get hot enough to effect it.)
You can order in either 70 or 100g weights.  Colors vary slightly.



Follow us on Facebook for during the week updates on new product, where we are heading next, and occasional special offers/drawings.

Next Guild Appearance: Threads of Time Quilt Guild and Devine Quilters of Columbia, SC Aug 4-6th
There are still some seats available in the classes.  If you are nearby and would want to take a workshop, contact the guilds for non-member pricing.  Check under programs for the descriptions of the classes: Under the Sea, Over the Top and Leave your Fingerprints on the Page.

Next Show: Mancuso's World Quilt Show New England in Manchester, NH
Aug. 16-19, 2012
Booth 1006 in the Expo Hall

If you are a retailer interested in ordering wholesale, please fill out the Wholesale Form on our website.

Olympic Set up

So I get home from my work trip and I find Jan set up in her living room to work.  Of course she's blaming the puppy for not getting a lot of work done and being set up like this.  I think she's just settling in to watch the Olympics! 

Of course the puppy is not far off.  I think she's quite happy that mom set up like this so she doesn't have to work to keep track of her.  Hmmm....now if only I can figure out how the dyeing will get done if Jan doesn't want to move away from the Olympics.  I'll have to work on that.

Too Many Choices! What Will I Do?

     I do believe that my darling daughter/partner threw me to the wolves (well maybe I should say the silkworms) this week in the newsletter when she said I would be posting about my projects using our new hand-dyed products.  Since she is out of town this week she has no idea just how much trouble I could be getting into.  However I've had a bit of a bump in the road due to our new puppy being spayed yesterday....she is not feeling very good today....hopefully tomorrow will be better.  In the mean time I have found myself with too many choices...what to do, what to do?

                  

 Have you noticed that you gravitate to the same colors over and over again?  Well...after putting together some possiblities I am wondering whether to stretch myself or stay in my comfort zone.  I can envision the above combination working up into a wonderful seascape and as my darling daughter/partner tells everyone in the guild lectures we do....Mom just loves making seascapes! OR  Create some sort of floral piece using the combination below that is so far out of my comfort zone that I just might develop a rash......but it is really yummy.

 The more I fondled these new products the more I found them gathering in piles all over the studio....oh the colors, the wonderful feel of the silk items...degummed throwsters waste is my favorite to run through my "itchy fingers" as someone I know calls them...the more my mind wandered.  Can you imagine a southwestern landscape at sunset out of combination below?   However I guess that would be within my comfort zone as a previous post would show that, I have been working in those colors of late, but......

 another floral piece could be done from the combination below.....I could just leave all these "artfully" arranged till....

I really want to dig into these lucious fibers. The moment the "kiwi" colorway of our hand-dyed burlap came out of the dye pot I envisioned playing with it... a rough draft of what I saw is already on paper.  I love embroidering on burlap...the piece will be 12"x12".  I will post as I stitch....

                       

but, don't you just hate it when you hear that little voice...the one of common sense and resposibility raise it's ugly head.   I know I need to contain my "itchy fingers" and make up another class sample for one of our upcoming classes, "Leaving Your Fingerprints on the Page" in South Carolina.  I also should really make up all the kits for the classes and then I will be free to PLAY.  Dog gone the voice of common sense...I'd much rather play!  How about you?

Hand-Dyed Perle Cotton

Finally there is hand-dyed thread up online that mom didn't get to put in her stash.  Every time I walk by the table I just smile at all the color!!  We had fun coordinating the colors!!!

Hand-Dyed Burlap Now Online!!

Our new hand-dyed burlap is now up online at Fiber on a Whim!!

Each piece is approximately 18 x 28" and is full of character.  It can be used as the background of a piece or cut up to use in multiple pieces of art!  

We are slowly but surely getting everything else up online.  Currently up:

Silk Hankies

Carrier Rods/ Mixes

Cocoons(pics to be added later today)/ Mixes

Throwsters Waste

Burlap

Cheesecloth(being added as I type this)

Please keep in mind that if you are a retailer we are now offering wholesale on number of our items.  Please contact us for pricing and more information at fiberonawhim@yahoo.com

Summer Dyeing....on a very hot day!

So here is a little peek at what we spent the day doing. 

All the containers lined up so that we know the colors!  Cheesecloth on the end, moving into silk cocoons and degummed throwster's waste.

Peek at Pink Dogwood cocoons.

All the pretty colors!!  Tomorrow is rinsing day since we used up most of the containers and need to mix more dyes!

Perle cotton is still waiting!  That will be tomorrow once the new dye concentrate is mixed up.  Hmmm....means more rinsing/washing on Wednesday!  Oh well....

Sneak a Peak

Here's a sneak peak at our test runs for our new hand-dyed perle cottons. We should have the new dyed product (perle cotton, silk coccoons, throwster's waste, and cheesecloth) up on Fiber on a Whim hopefully this week. 

These are just too Yummy!  The colors are similar to those of our hand-dyed silk fibers.  The fun part of all this was how differently the silk and cotton took the dye, just when you thought you knew what you'd get...surprise. 

Thought maybe you would enjoy just a couple of close up photos...as we washed these threads I just couldn't help but get excited.  These have made their way into my private stash, I can hardly wait to use them.

Many times I often begin a new piece by "collecting".  This is the beginning of a collection for a new piece which started with the hand-dyed fabric, laces and button a couple of years ago. It has sat in a baggie waiting.....when I saw some of the threads come out of the dye baths I knew they would be a great addition to the "collection".  

Here is my latest piece of work, see why all those threads have me drooling and fingers itching.  I absolutely love working like this, simple background and lots of hand stitiches....no pre-planning just letting the fibers direct where and what to do next.