Jar Dyeing and a quilt challenge (not from me)

Here is a half-gallon pickle jar full of dye and fabric.  I thought the jar would be perfect for dyeing but not so.  The biggest problem is that the opening is more narrow than the rest of the jar. That meant that the material all nicely scrunched couldn't fit through the opening.  So, I had to put the fabric in the jar little by little.  For me, that was the fatal flaw for the jar.  I won't use it again.  The second problem I had was that I used one yard pieces of fabric and could only fit three in the jar.  That could be overcome with a bigger jar or smaller fabric.  The last problem I had was with the pink dye.  See the lov-er-ly pink dye at the bottom of the jar?  Well, it was dead.  Looked pretty but didn't dye the fabric.

Of the three pieces, I like one of them as is.  

A second one I over dyed with yellow and I like it much better.  Looks kinda like a forest on a sunny day, doesn't it?

The third is overdyed with blue and it still is not ready for public viewing!  All three will get more something later but I am finally satisfied for this step.

And now the quilt challenge, "If you were a quilt, what would you look like?"  Hmmm....what would I look like?  I bit older and raggedy perhaps.  I friend, Bonnie Dyer, from my quilt guild just got published in a book "Vintage Revisited."  There a group of quilters took antique blocks and turned them into modern art quilts.  Maybe that would be me.

Washed

Washed.

I might still do some tweaking of the metal cable.  I am not sold on the placement yet but the rest of it is done.  I called it Washed because it started out with metal washers sewn onto the fabric (some old pants of my husband's) by embroidery floss using the buttonhole stitch. 

I then progressed to making "washer" with silver metallic thread and embroidery floss again using the buttonhole stitch.  

And there are a few "washers" made from silver Shiva oil sticks.  The last type of "washers" are the two sizes of grommets that let you see through the fabric to the other side.

The metal cable is supposed to represent the sewing of the quilt layers together as it weaves in and out of the "washer" grommets. The ends are frayed because they have been "washed."  Tee Hee

Hardware Store Challenge

I have a quilt due this Saturday that needs to be finished (like last minute finishes are foreign to me!  LOL).  Dear Husband is doing the cooking, the dishes, and the laundry while I sit on the couch and hand quilt.  Dear Husband is also going to bed alone as I stay up for another hour or so sitting on the couch and hand quilting.  When I go to bed, I dream of the quilt.  Not all of the dreams end up happy.  I then sleepwalk through my work day from lack of sleep and only wake up when I return home to work on the quilt some more.

I am at the stage of the quilt that I think of as scary.  I kinda like the quilt.  It still needs something to make it special.  Will one more thing make it special or ruin the weeks of work I have in it?  Which risk shall I take?

If I am lucky, I will get the quilt finished tonight after work.  Last night I  finished the quilting, applied all the grommets except three more that I have decided the quilt wants, brushed on my silver oil stick, and sewn on the binding and hanging pocket.  Tonight I need to add the three grommets, turn and sew the binding and hanging pocket, then thread and fray the steel cable.

The quilt itself is for my guild challenge --- incorporating something from the hardware store.  I have incorporated a couple of things but they seem so generic that I kinda fear that others may have incorporated the same things.  We'll see on Saturday when we all display our entries.  From there the quilts will be hung in the Maine State Quilt Show.

On Friday, fingers crossed,  I'll give you a preview.

A gift in the mail!

Got home from work yesterday to find this in my mailbox. Can you guess where it is from?  Woooo Hoooo!  It is my atc swap with Anni!

Not only did Anni send me an ATC but she wrapped it in lace and a wonderful fabric ribbon!  Once I opened it, I decided it was worth being wrapped.  It is spectacular! Take a look!

The fabric is rusted and she paired that with some wonderful...oh..misty sea green thread and ribbon and sequins that match the color of the rust perfectly.  The ribbon that it was wrapped with is incorporated as part of the card.  It is really magical or a "Fantasy" as she named it.   I won't show you the back but it is the best back for a card I have seen yet.  I am going to have to ask her how she prepares the back of her cards--I have been unsatisfied with mine and looking for a better method.  Her work is outstanding and you deserve a look at her blog.  Follow the link above!

June's picture for Interpret This!

Here is the picture for the Interpret This!  June challenge.  Beautiful butterfly, isn't it?  I am one of the first to reveal this time so no time to spend pondering--I need to come up with an idea for my quilt quickly!  I am unsure how so far how to turn the picture into a lovely quilt design.  That is the first step, of course. Then I have to consider technique.  I have thought about batik, pool dyeing, or lino printing but have not committed to any technique yet since I don't have a design in mind yet.  I want to stay in the whole cloth category in my design.  I think I will spend this evening with past issues of Quilting Arts and Cloth, Paper, Scissors and see if anything jumps out and inspires me.

If any idea immediately strikes you for the overall design of the quilt or the technique to use to achieve it, let me know.