Lots of great stuff going on in here. Love the pastels and all the pics make me want to try dying. I have a friend who does indigo and I've asked her the next time she does it, to let me know, so I can learn. I'll post a pic when I do it.

Geneva - congratulations on your win! It's a special quilt!

Wow I'm so impressed with all the creativity, painting and printing.

Congratulations Geneva that's terrific

Pam it sounds like you've cracked it with the quilt.

Congratulations Geneva! - Love your doors quilt I remember seeing before.
Rosemary - Glad to hear you'll be picking up a car over the weekend. Nice you're doing sewing project too.
Luann - Interesting re your latest dyes. I really like your 'fire' work.
Lorna - Nice to see you!
Kathy - Fun to see your painted fabric!
Barb

I must admit, I really do like the pastel ones. I think it took, looking at them in a picture to help me get a little distance. Wouldn't they make awesome cushion covers for my wicker couch? I don't have enough, but that would give me a reason to dye more cloth!!
I think the problem was twofold. First was the fact that I just plain squeezed too much of the dye out. If you watch the show, you'll see why I thought I should. The second thing is that I did not use my Pfd dyers muslin from P&B Textiles. That's what I generally use. This time, since I was experimenting, I used an old sheet that I had washed and put into my tool box for a drop cloth if I needed one. It could actually be a poly-cotton blend, or have some sort of permanent press finish on it.
I will try this again, using pretty much the same methods. Just squeezing less and using pfd cloth. I bet my results will be more along the lines of what I have done in the past.
Now there's a project for tomorrow. Before the heat index goes over 95*F !
Till then,
Luann

Hi Susan, Janet's 2014 BOM is a joy to quilt . I'm using superior Bottom Line in the bobbin for all the quilting, Aurifil 50/2 in the top for the crosshatching and Madeira 40 weight rayon (nice sheen) and bottom line in the top for the different coloured quilting motifs. I am following the Janet's original quilting by studying a link that Anne (Anne 1 ) provided of close up photos on the Forum BOM 2014 "Quilting the quilt". I have quilted the cross hatch grid at 1/2" but I think that it would be better at 1" but I didn't want to unpick what I had sewn so it's going to stay at 1/2". I haven't started the borders yet, Sharon (Sewengel) has finished her quilt and it's beautiful, so, when I reach the borders I'm sure I'll be asking her how she quilted hers.
Best Wishes Pam

LuAnn, Wait until you get over the fact that those fabrics turned out differently than you expected and you may see them differently. I agree with Judith (I think it was Judith) that they are beautiful and would make lovely back grounds for something very interesting.

Versatex colors are quite bright, but can be diluted with water or an "extender" gel medium. Yes, the ink is heat set after drying. The teacher chose these inks because they don't stiffen the fabric the way some paints do; the fabric is still soft, except for the fern image which was more heavily layered, but it's still not too stiff. Perhaps after I heat set and wash it, it too will soften. Dharma Trading sells them online: www.dharmatrading.com/paints/versatex-printing-ink.html?lnav=paints.html

I bought the Starter Set of primary colors plus brown, black, and white from the teacher so I can play at home.

Kathy

Kathy,
This is the first I have heard of Versatex Screen Printing Inks for Fabric.
How bright are the colors compared to paints?
Do you heat-set them?
Do they change the hand of the fabric? Is it a little stiffer, like paint?

Judith

Here are my fabric painting class samples:



Upper right is a monoprint - I brayered paint on a rubber printing plate then removed some of the paint with a rubber stamp, then placed fabric on the paint and gently rubbed. The fabric below that one is the second printing since there was still some paint left on the rubber plate. Middle top - paint was first splattered onto fabric using a tooth brush flicked with my thumb, when that was dry I placed a rubber stamp under the fabric and rubbed the fabric with a solid paint stick, much like people take rubbings of gravestones. Upper right, scrunched and pleated Saran plastic wrap around some cardboard, dabbed it in some paint and stamped it on the fabric. The vertical lines work well as a grass image, but the overall pattern is nice, too. Lower middle - brushed paint on a corn cob and rolled on the fabric; then I cut the corn and dabbed yellow paint in the middle and pink paint on the kernels to produce a flower image. Lower right - first layer was paint sponged on the fabric, then when that was dry, I stenciled the fern image on top.



For this one I scrunched up the fabric and using a very wet sponge dabbed the paint all over. If I had added more water, the paint would have soaked through and distributed more evenly, but this is a nice effect as well.

Very fun and messy class. The paints used were Versatex Screen Printing Inks for Fabric.

Kathy

Kathy,
What a treat - belonging to the same quilt guild as Linda Schmidt!

My guild meeting was this morning. We had another big thunderstorm yesterday and the power went out. I could not sew. Thankfully it went back on in time for me to get a shower before the guild meeting. I am sure those around me appreciated that!

Judith

Luann,
You may be a little disappointed with the pastel ones, but I think they are beautiful. I think they would be wonderful background fabrics for art quilts.

I know that the stated shelf life for Procion dyes is 1 year. I have some dyes that are several years old. I emailed Ann Johnson asking her asking how long Procion dyes last. She said she has some that are several years old that still work. It depends on the particular dye and how it is stored. Keeps longer stored in a cool, dry, dark environment.
I read that when you open one, you need to be quick about closing the lid, to keep moisture out.

Another tip I read is that a Procion dye that is too old may look bright when it comes out of the dyebath and is batching, but IF you have to keep rinsing and rinsing it, and the dye keeps coming out, it may be too old. Of course, there are other reasons the dye keeps coming out - not enough soda ash, or wrong water temperature. I guess the only way to know for sure is to test it.

Judith

Luann - Linda Schmidt is a member in my quilt guild. She is an amazing and prolific quilter. I have seen her doing hand work on a project during a meeting.

I took a fabric painting workshop offered by my guild last Sunday and learned lots of techniques for different effects. Now, if I can't find the right color or print of fabric, I can make my own! I'll take some photos of my samples and post them in a bit.

Kathy

Geneva,
Congratulations!!! I am not surprised that you won. "Doors" is very well-designed quilt.

Judith

Geneva,
Congratulations on your art quilt.

And I finally put those fabrics out and took two pictures







And here's a comparison for size on the 'elements' pieces




And a bit closer on the fire




Off to knit for a bit,,
Luann