First up: I'm a winner! Intrepid writer, quilter, dyer, and all-around-famous-person Laura Wasilowski chose me as winner of her latest book: Fanciful Stitches, Colorful Quilts!
This book appeals to me on several different levels. It has easy projects featuring really bright hand-dyed fabrics. As people who know me know, those brights are near and dear to my heart.
It contains several pages of embroidery stitches. I already knew how to do these stitches, but it's handy to have them together and illustrated with really bright threads. Also, Laura combines them in interesting ways and has before and after photos of quilts showing the impact of the embroidery. And I love the chart that shows which needle to use with which size thread.
But best of all, it's a recipe book for quilts that seeks to teach and inspire, not just provide rote follow-my-pattern stuff. In my favorite of the "tip" boxes scattered throughout, Laura suggests: "Add your own creativity. Cut fabric shapes freely or with decorative blades. Ignore the photo and placement guides and arrange the design elements to your liking." Yes! Thanks, Laura!
These are my latest monoprinting experiments. Nienke blogged about it here on the "...Fire" blog. I used thickened dyes instead of the soap trick. They don't look much like flowers to me -- more like sea creatures.
I've been playing around with flour resists again. I did these with rice and wheat flours and some plastic stencils.
I'm going to be experimenting a bit more with these before I post a how-to. I like them, but I'm not thrilled with the results. More on that later.
I finished the Japanese Taupe Blocks bag. This is the inside front of the bag.
I added a zipper compartment inside.
My favorite parts of the bag are the box pleats on the sides. The instructions for this are in the book we're using for the 2012 BOM here. The author, Susan Briscoe, has a blog here.
And this is the appliquéd front. I love the way this turned out. I am considering making another. In eye-popping brights this time, though. And more pockets inside.
To see some other appliqué projects, click here to go to Angie's blog.
This book appeals to me on several different levels. It has easy projects featuring really bright hand-dyed fabrics. As people who know me know, those brights are near and dear to my heart.
But best of all, it's a recipe book for quilts that seeks to teach and inspire, not just provide rote follow-my-pattern stuff. In my favorite of the "tip" boxes scattered throughout, Laura suggests: "Add your own creativity. Cut fabric shapes freely or with decorative blades. Ignore the photo and placement guides and arrange the design elements to your liking." Yes! Thanks, Laura!
I've been playing around with flour resists again. I did these with rice and wheat flours and some plastic stencils.
I'm going to be experimenting a bit more with these before I post a how-to. I like them, but I'm not thrilled with the results. More on that later.
I finished the Japanese Taupe Blocks bag. This is the inside front of the bag.
And the backside.
I added a zipper compartment inside.
My favorite parts of the bag are the box pleats on the sides. The instructions for this are in the book we're using for the 2012 BOM here. The author, Susan Briscoe, has a blog here.
And this is the appliquéd front. I love the way this turned out. I am considering making another. In eye-popping brights this time, though. And more pockets inside.
To see some other appliqué projects, click here to go to Angie's blog.
4 comments:
The bag looks great and your dyed fabrics turned out very pretty!
Wow you dye your own fabrics. Love the bag.
That bag is so neat! Love all the details. And the applique just makes it pop. Is that a turquise/teal fabric you dyed? It is so intense. Love it!
Seems like a fun book. I don't think I've made a quilt as-per-pattern yet!
Post a Comment