Preparations for Two Shows....

For the past few weeks we have been dyeing fabric, fibers and I swear anything that didn't move, in preparation of vending at two different locations.  Kristin will be setting up this weekend at QSDS in Columbus, Ohio, she will be there from Monday, May 30th until June 12th.  I will be headed to North Carolina Quilt Symposium in Raleigh, June 2nd through June 5th.  Really didn't think we would ever finish dyeing all the things we had planned for, but somehow we did....now to package it. 

 We haven't done any specialty pieces in a very long time, too busy dyeing fabric that could be easily replicated.  Upon being invited to be a vendor at QSDS we decided we could do some special pieces of fabric. We dyed a variety of silks and cotton fabrics, these circles below are on silk, they are so yummy.  At one point Kristin came into the dye studio and asked if I was having fun....I said no, all I could think of was how tired I was....then I started rinsing out some pieces and voila....I was having fun.  I actually stood there clapping I was so happy with what I saw.  Hope you all will think so too.

 

 Love this wonderful stack of fabrics which remind me of the colors of a rainbow. 

Below is one our newest additions to our product line...2 sizes of hand dyed ric rac....they are really pretty.  We had wanted add ric rac for a long time but......now was the perfect time.  Less shows means more time to play in the dye studio.  

 

The sad part is that we did not have enough time to dye enough to supply both booths with all of these goods in great numbers...we did try really we did, but if you stop by either location you just may find a goodie you just cannot live without.  

Be sure to say Hi and introduce yourself....we love making new friends.

Time Passes Just Too Quickly.....

I've decided that I'm just not great at keeping up with things if there is too much going on.  Since the first of the year I have found myself trying to juggle, sometimes not so well online classes, creating "stuff", dyeing, packaging and the distractions of everyday life.  Personally I'm not tech savvy, sooooo Kristin has to keep me in line and trying to teach me is a full time job.  Really I have meant to write a blog every couple of days or so, but by evening I sit down in a chair and then fall into bed.  So I thought I would try to write one that catches you up to this point.... thought I'd spare you the photos of unpacking from our "artist in residence" gig in Paducah....you would not believe the mess.

We headed to Paducah on Sunday, April 17th for our artist in residence gig which includes Quilt Week,  each spring as we drive I absolutely love the color of the fields the closer we get.....hopefully this year I will try to capture it in a piece.

 As soon as we pulled in, we unloaded, well Kristin did most of the unloading while I took a "break" in my red camping chair that travels with me.....we then had to quickly set up, because Quilt Week opened on Wednesday, April 20th and we were driving to St. Louis on Tuesday to pick up Barb Forrister.  I did pull my weight on Monday with setting things up.  This is what the front gallery looked like when we got done.  Some great people dropped in to see what we were up to and shop....they didn't even mind stepping over our piles.

We always hang something along the hallway back to the studio....this year we switched it up with garments made from our hand-dyed Osnaburg and Linen.  First garment on this end is a Tina Givens pattern and the rest are all Indygo Junction.  It was very hard not to grab one to wear as I passed by as they are so comfortable.

This side showcased our collaboration work....stacked landscapes, which we will be teaching in Houston this fall.

The two photos below are pics of a couple new pieces I worked on, I love needle felting to me it is very "painterly" and so very relaxing.  Neither piece is complete as I will be adding hand stitches to both surfaces, but at this point I was just trying to make as many as I could so that I have something to hand stitch as we travel for the remainder of the year.  Some of you know me well enough to know I just may be stitching on them next year too.....I love the soft drape of these "new fabrics"....the top one was created using water soluble stabilizers.

On this one I used a chunk of felted sweater as the base....Kristin bought a couple felted sweaters at Goodwill and had never used them....oh....open game....I actually got 4 needle felted and still have quite a bit of the sweater left to use and we found cute little vintage looking hangers at a country store to hang them by. My fingers are ready to do more....

Every year we tell ourselves we are going to drive out into the countryside around Paducah and spend time photographing things we find for inspiration.  Well.....this year we actually did it.....we found this sweet face in an area known as The Land Between the Lakes where we found a Bison and Elk preserve.  Fantastic....and the babies were absolutely to die for....(my photos are too blurry).  

Then we drove off to Illinois, to an area known as "Garden of the Gods", we thought we'd check it out as we have spent time in Colorado's "Garden of the Gods", the two are very different from one another.  Here is a shot of Camel Rock.  People did climb out onto it.....not me folks I find myself very unsteady yet and I have a profound fear of heights...Proud of myself just for this.

 The textures of the rocks is what I found absolutely wonderful....you just may see this worked into new work in the future.....going to have to work up a "inspiration board" using this photo....which means collecting things that may work for creating a piece.

Thanks for stopping by.....