Leduc Guild Block in a Pizza Box Exchange

Last year the Leduc Guild stated a block exchange in a Pizza Box. We were to do our first block and some fabric we would like used in our blocks. I did this block as my first one. I also asked that they use the black and purple dot fabric in the background. I sent one meter of black and a fat quarter of purple and some pink and lime greens. I also had about a doz of these hexagon flowers left from another finished project and included then in my box. I used a little note book to tell the ladies what I would like. They could then add their comments as they worked on my block. All blocks were to be 12 half inches.
I used an old pizza box that had some writing on the top and I wanted it to look good. I painted it with Gesso and the pen writing bleed though I painted it again. Then I used a ranger crackle paint in a green. I wanted to try the ranger masks I had just bought so I inked over the crackle paint and masks. I finished with a sealer and a ribbon to open it. I know I spent more time on my box than the block inside.
While the year has gone by and all the boxes are back to their owners. Here is my 8 blocks. I also have a striped fabric I bought thinking I might be able to use it with my blocks. I know I will need more blocks for a quilt but I am not sure what I will do.

Tree Trunk Vessel for the endowment fund

This is a Tree Trunk Vessel I have made out of felting wool. I have made it to donate to the Edmonton and District Quilter Guild. Every year at this time they take in donations for the Endowment fund. The Quilter`s guild started and U of A endowment fund and each year, give a scholarship to a student in the textile department at the U of A. This year we were asked to make a vessel. Other years have been Soft sculpture, Journal covers, and Bags. At our year end dinner they will sell tickets and draw for winners of the Vessels. You buy tickets and place them in the vessel you hope to win. You can place all your tickets in one vessel if that is the one you really want to win. Some people buy enough tickets to place one ticket in each vessel.
Here is how I made my vessel. Choose the wool to use. I used 2 oz of merino wool. about half was the darker brown.
This is a cardboard tube wrapped in a plastic bag and then wrapped with bubble wrap. This is the form I used to build the wool on.
I started to add wool on to the form. I wet the wool a bit as I went a long. This is the inside layer.
Here is more wool on the form. I think one more layer of brown went on before I started to felt. I did some felting and then wanted a whole on the side of my tree trunk. I just used my finger to push the wool around till I had a whole. This whole is the birds entrance to his home in the tree trunk. I moved my hand around the wet warm wool. I used soap to help with felting.
When the wool is started to felt and becoming one unit, It is time to take it off the form. More felting is needed with more pressure. While the wool is still wet, warm and soapy, it will get rolled and more felting. I used a place mat (bamboo) and bubble wrap .
I placed a piece of plastic inside the tree truck ( so the middle will not stick together). I flattened the wool and started to roll it into a jelly roll. I rolled like I was working a rolling pin over the counter. I applied pressure. Rolled more. Then unrolled and changed the direction of the wool in the roll. I rolled more.
When I thought the wool was well felted I started to rinse out the soap. I also poured boiling hot water on the tree trunk (while on the form). I pinched the bottom edge so that the tree trunk to give the tree trunk a real bottom and not just a rounded bottom. I left the wool on the form to dry. Once it was dry I spend a couple of days adding the thread and beads.
Showing the front finished.
Here is the edge beaded. I love the feel and weight of the beads on this edge.
This is the back side of the tree truck. I used a couple different colours of hand dyed thread. I used four different seed beads. Lime, copper, and brown in two sizes.

Snow Dyed Results

Pink and yellow snow dyed fabric. Each of the fabrics are 1 meter in size.
Blue snow dyed - I think it was pleated not just lumped in the snow.
I love this purple snow dyed piece.
Here are some of the fabrics I dyed in the snow this spring.

Green and pink purple - kind of a different piece.

Quilt Canada Booth 2010

My good friend Sharon took some photos of me and my friend Margie Davidson at our sales booth in Calgary. We had the best booth with lots of colour packed in a little space. Back in Aug last year Margie asked me if we should share a booth to sell our dyed and painted fabric. Well we did it. We had an incredible amount of fabric packed in to our 10 foot booth. We always had a people in our booth.
Here is both Margie and I. Margie is wearing one of her scarfs that she has dyed and block printed. Behind Margie and I is some of her fabric.

I am not sure if I will travel to another Quilt Canada to sell fabric. This time it was close to home (3hr) next time it is far far away and I would have to fly. Not sure it would be worth it to travel that far. You may see me at more local Quilt shows.

White Wool Purse

Happy Mother's Day
I have wet felted a white wool purse for myself. I started the purse by wrapping a cereal box in plastic and then in bubble wrap. ( I forgot to take a photo of the box wrapped up). I started to layout white merino wool on my box. First in one direction and then the other direction. I wet it in warm water and soap. The box with the wool on it, fit nicely into the small vegetable sink. I fully enclosed the the box with felt. I played special attention to the corners as I was worried about not getting enough wool into the corners.
I used bubble wrap under and around the box and wool as it sat in the sink.
I rubbed the top and side of the wool to get it to start to felt. I would stop rubbing and add another direction.
When I thought I had enough wool on my box, I cut open a top and took out the box. This will be the opening to my purse. I will not have any seams in my purse this way. I also rolled the purse on the counter with a piece of plastic inside. I was trying to make sure I had it well felted. I rinsed it well of all the soap and also poured boiling water on it.
I also wanted to have handles for my purse. Here I am rolling the wool to felt using a sushi mat. I have a cotton cord inside the wool handle.
I wanted to make a purse from felted wool for years. I bought this one from the Alberta Craft Council about five years ago or more. I love it and wanted to try my own some day. I was unsure how much wool I would need to use so I thought I would make a white one the first time. Next time I will have a better idea of the amount of wool I will need to dye.

I have not finished my purse yet. It is drying now. I plan to embellish it with beads when it is dry, I may add some other embellishments like silk or flowers. I also only have the handles placed into the holes I cut. I have to sew them in place so they do not fall out. I did not felt them in like my brought purse. I like the shape of my new purse, it is larger and will sit on the floor better. After embellishing I will have to show the finished project.

I just thought of an idea, I could dye my purse a colour with my wool dyes even now that it is felted. I will have to think on that for a few days.

Rug Hooker's Spring Lunch and Show

Thursday this past week the rug hooker's guild called the Alberta Handicraft Guild had a lunch and rug show. We meet the first Thursday of the month. This rug was done by Laurie Wells. It is one of my favorite rugs I have seen. Laurie taught me some more rug hooking last year in a class I took with her. She is the currant president of the Alberta Handicraft Guild. I saw Laurie working on this last winter. It was a special trip she took and tells a story.
The Horse rug was Laurie's first rug she ever did. It is a horse so I like it.
This more primitive rug is also one of Laurie's. It uses each fabric once for the circle and once for the square. There are many plaid wools.
My friend Imogene Monk made these last two rugs. The Grain Elevator is a wall rug and the floral round rug below is a floor rug.

Block of the month

At the Leduc Quilter's Guild we have had a block exchange. I finally got the last of the blocks done and to the ladies. Above is the two blocks I did for Jean. I forgot I did Jean's block last year and took the box and did a second block. Now she got two from me. Opps in a good way.
Alberta wanted baskets so I did the four smaller blocks and joined them together. I did handles with a daisy chain stitch by hand, using one of my dyed threads.

Snow Dyeing Fabric again

On May 4th yesterday we got a good spring snow storm. Here is a photo off the back deck at about 9 am. It kept snowing here for another couple hours. The nearest weather station - the Edmonton International Airport reported a record snow fall 17mm. We need the moisture so badly I will not get to upset. Now the wind is not blowing I can also go dye some fabric in the snow again.
Here are my tools for snow dying.
I have pleated this fabric and then loosely rolled the pleated fabric.

I then place snow on top of the fabric and add the dye on top of the snow.
The top peice is mostly navy and some royal blue.
Here is some of the piles of dyed snow with fabric under. I hope this works today. The other days I did this the temperature was warmer( 8 to 14C) today's high is only 2C. The dye is taking longer to work down to the fabric. I have 14 meters in the snow today. One piece is a extra large piece with the plan that I will use it for a backing.

Quilt Canada 2010

I got home from Quilt Canada yesterday. My Van is not yet fully unpacked. I drove down last week and was a speaker in the Pre conferance on the Monday and Tuesday. On Monday afternoon I did my talk about my long arm quilting business and then had to rush off to unload my van for the Merchants Mall. It all went well but there was hardly time to breath. Tuesday I spook again but this time it was about being an artist. We had four of us speaking and not alot of time each. As many of the other ladies had said some of the same things I was going to talk about, I decided to touch on getting out of a artist funk.
Tuesday afternoon, I spend my time setting up my booth. My mom and friend Deb were great help as they finished putting price tags on my fabric. Above is a basket of snow dyed fabric, it is one of four baskets I took with me. I had many other things to sell as well.
This is a photo of some of the pole wrapped fabric I dyed for my booth.

So the booth went well. We always had people in our booth. Some of the other merchants were asking why we were always busy. We did have a very brightly coloured booth with lots to see. I guess we did OK. I had one day I did not sell very much. Not sure why. The others days were better.

Here is a photo of dollies, napkins, thread, cheese cloth and other cotton bits, I dyed for a fiber kit. Here is some wool I dyed for the booth. I use Fast Acid dyes for the wool.

I did not take a photo of the booth but a friend did. I hope to post the photo later. I took many photos of some of the art quilts but these are for personal use only and I am not able to post the photos. At the National Juried show we were not allowed to take any photos but we could buy the catalog which is great and I got my copy. The art quilts were all great. There was so much to see. It was hard to get away from the booth so that I could see the quilts.

Thank you to the Calgary people that worked so hard on a great show. Thank you to the CQA and it's people to support this show. I had worked on the Quilt Canada back in 2002 when it was in Edmonton and I know what it is like to work for weeks preparing for the shows. You all did a great job. Thank You

Quilt Canada

Hi everyone I am away at Quilt Canada this week. I have been selling my fabric and thread. I spook at the Pre-conference for Professionals on Monday and Tuesday. As all these Quilt Canada's are great, so is this one. Have not taken any photos yet. Saturday is the last day so I better take a photo or two.