monochromatic blue quilt

Renee wanted a monochromatic blue quilt when she went away to college.

I tied it, but definitely should have tied it more knowing now what I didn't know then.  LOL!

She is still using the quilt.

dye resist

The Fiber Arts group I enjoy going to monthly also holds an educational session in an art studio with hands on experiences in the mornings before the meeting is held.

This is a dye resist using glue.  The top is a stencil and the bottom was combed.

this fabric was painted with a flour and water mixture then left to dry.  I crinkled the cloth to crack off some of the dried flour then sponged dyes over it.

I always have fun experimenting there.

Charity quilts

Here is a photo of a charity quilt top that I helped tie at the Mississippi Valley Quilt Guild charity quilt group get together.  Unfortunately I haven't made it back there since I always seem to be working on Thursdays.  I do plan on getting there again when I can.  The quilts go to Habitat for Humanity people and other charity groups.  

Convergence quilt

My sisters and I attended a Ricky Timms seminar in Cedar Rapids.  He showed us how to make a convergence quilt.  Here the strips are all ready to be sewn together in the final step.

Deciding how to border it.

Think I will go with the black border as it makes the colors pop.

My sister

multicultural student quilt

 When I was still teaching I co-sponsored a multicultural group that met once a week in the mornings and the students made quilt blocks representing all of the cultures in the United States.  It turned out to be a pretty wild quilt.  It was quilted by another teacher on a long arm and is hung in the school library.  My square is on the bottom next to cookie monster and is supposed to represent a Dutch heritage.  (Actually my families were from England and Alsace-Lorraine. )

Hand dyed fabrics

 I went to the Cordova Library to learn how to dye my own fabric.  I mixed 30 different colors using a chart giving proportions for 3 different colors.

The light and dark aren't light and shadows but color variations within the fabric.

Boy's quilt

Huxley is getting sooo long legged, he needed a twin sized quilt.  I found this panel at a Fiber Arts meeting I think.  Someone was parting with it for a dollar or two and Huxley loves trains.

The panel was not big enough for a quilt, so I added a border I purchased with all types of vehicles on it.

Not quite enough red fabric, so I added blue to top and bottom.

I picked up this fabric as he loves construction equipment as much as he loves trains.

I also picked up a complementary fabric with cartoon type construction equipment.

I bordered those blocks with blue and yellow because his bedroom had blue walls.

I machine appliqued his name on top of the quilt with a blanket stitch in blue.

My gracious and talented sister, Terri, used her long arm to meander around the blocks.  In the center she designed a spiral with cogs on the outside.

Not sure which side he will choose as the top.