A Little of This...a Little of That...

It's been a while! Now that my quilt is in the quilting frame most of my free time has been devoted to big stitching it! So far, I'm loving it!

I'm using 1/4" masking tape and quilting just beside it on each side. It is coming along slowly, but it is a satisfying process. The downside is that I don't have much else to show!

This weekend I did go to my local quilting retreat. Remember those hand dyed fabrics from long ago? Well I used them all up this weekend sewing log cabin blocks.

There are 2 of each color combination. I had 30 colors in all. My mission for the weekend was to piece all 30 blocks and I did! Yeah!

It will take me some time to figure out the best way to lay them out, but that is the fun part!

I wasn't very smart this weekend though because I forgot all about my camera until I was home and there was lots of show and tell! Next time...

Thanks ladies for the fun and productive weekend.

Some of you may have noticed I didn't get around to doing the Free Motion Quilting Challenge this month. I'm afraid that for part of the month my sewing machine was behind boxes of my belongings while we put new flooring down in my bedroom.

It is so much nicer than the carpet that used to be there and so much easier to keep clean. My bedroom is just through a doorway from my sewing room and I had a lot of threads tracked in. Now a quick Swiffer and it's all clean! Well worth missing a Free Motion Quilting Challenge. I`ll make it up though!

Happy Stitching!

Easy Fabric Dyeing!

This weekend I had some fun creating my own fabric. This is the second time I've done this technique and it is fun and easy!

I used this fabulous kit for low immersion dyeing. Each kit makes 30 fat eighths and it comes in 12 colorways! I bought my kit at a quilt shop a long time ago but I did find them online at Pro Chemical and Dye. You`ll need a couple of uninterrupted hours to do this.The first thing to do is gather your supplies and read the instructions over. Yes, I did say read the instructions. (I usually skip this part myself but in this case it`s a good idea to read it over.) One thing to note is that you should buy the best quality of PFD cotton that you can. The better the quality the better your color will be.

This is the very abbreviated version of how to do it...

First you stuff your fat eighths into small containers and make your dye mixes. The instructions are straight forward and easy but there is a lot of measuring involved so you`ll need to keep your attention on your measuring spoon! One tip is be careful when adding the dye powder...it can fly in a breeze. I did mine in the garage. I`m a little clumsy so I didn`t want to take chances on dripping dye in the house.

Next you pour each dye mixture over one of the 30 fat eighths.

Already it is a WOW! Then you need to set the dye, cover them up and let them sit overnight.

The next day you rinse, wash and dry them and this is what you get...

They are soft, beautiful and I can`t wait to use them.

If you are wanting to try dyeing without committing to a lot of supplies, this is a great way to do it.

Happy Stitching!