Playing with Color

Who doesn't love some rich, mottled, hand dyed fabrics?  Well I spent some time last week enjoying the day under the canopy of trees with friends learning how to dye my own :) 

Our friend Ray graciously shared her home and lovely backyard deck area, and six of us took a class with Karen Amelia Brown who was a wealth of knowledge, and very patient with those of us who didn't have a clue what we were doing (eh hem...me).  

There was a lot of measuring, stirring, a bit of shaking, dipping...dripping and pouring going on  (This was my workstation before I really made a big mess out of it).  Then later we had to follow up with rinsing, rinsing, rinsing...and rinsing...then washing and pressing.  But it was all worth it because...

I learned how to make a rainbow!

 ...And gradations... (I chose blue for my gradation experiment, because one can never have enough "sky" fabric).

...And we did some manipulations ~ folding, twisting, rolling, tying and rubber banding.  Every one came out different, and seeing how each piece turned out was the most fun.  My friend Mary at Keep Me in Quilts blogged about it Here, if you want to see how her fabrics turned out, (and she caught a photo of me in my messy clothes). 

From our day playing with color, we each came home with about 6 1/2 yards of new dyed fabrics ~ Yea, I'm feeling another quilt project coming on :)

Enjoy the day!
~ Dawn

Sheep & Wool

Last Saturday I spent a Creative Excursion day with my two Fiber Friends enjoying wool in about every form that wool can come in...

...at the annual Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival.  The weather was perfect for a day at the fair grounds...

...Amazing colors were everywhere.  This is from Mohair in Motion ~ I think Mary bought some of this for spinning :)

 ...Beautiful baskets from Friends in Reed from Howard County Maryland :)

 ...Barns full of wool!

We even took a little sit-down break and made these sweet wool pincushions to stick into a spool of thread at the Maryland Make It With Wool booth. (That's Mary's, mine, and Starlyn's)

 ...Of course there was carnival food ~ and yes, the sky was that blue all day :)

 ...and a little Bluegrass here and there :)

 ...and did I mention the sheep?  

 ...and Sheep Dog demonstrations!

 

 ...And at the end of the day, we were all a little pooped ~ but we had a blast :)

 ...Of course I came home with some goodies...

...And I've already put some of them to use :)

If you're anywhere near Central Maryland the first weekend of May next year, take a day and experience the Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival!

Enjoy the day!
~ Dawn

Road Trip Day!

Yesterday I went on a Creative Excursion with my Sewing Buddies ~ Mary drove, I navigated, and Starlyn brought the Cracker Jacks ~ we make a great team :)  We had our own little Shop Hop on the Eastern Shore and visited three quilt shops we'd never visited before ~ so of course some fabric deals had to come home with me :)

There may just have been some other stores involved too ~ we did a little Thrifting, and I scored some more Vintage Linens...

We found a great Antique Shop and I even got some fabric there too. 

This little blast from my past came home with me as well...because Yes, we all need a Fisher Price Farris Wheel in our playroom! 

...And the rest of the day included a Sonic lunch, more fabric, and a little Red, Hot & Blue for dinner.

And we even hit a yarn store and I picked up some more sock yarn to add to my collection of future socks...I think we just about covered everything :)

Enjoy the day!
~ Dawn

Yet Another Creative Excursion

Well I got back home to Maryland this weekend, and right away I got to go on another Creative Excursion!  Even on a rainy day, walking around Washington DC is one of my favorite things to do.  My morning started yesterday at a Starbucks at 1700 Pennsylvania Ave :), then I took a stroll down the street past the White House... 

...Blair House, the guest house for visiting Heads of State...

 ...The Renwick Gallery (I love this building)...

 ...The Old Executive Office Building...

 ...And I ended up Here!  The DAR is one of my very favorite museums.  I met friends from the Baltimore Applique Society, (and a visiting friend I hadn't seen in a while!) and we were treated to a wonderful presentation upstairs of some quilts that aren't displayed (We got to wear white gloves and really explore the quilts!), and then we were treated to a museum tour :) 

I left with some great photos that I was allowed to snap (but not publish), and this pattern to add to my collection!  I saw this quilt displayed in the museum, so I couldn't resist the pattern :)

...Now today I have to buckle down and get some work done for a change!

Enjoy the day!
~ Dawn

Inspiration Everywhere...

Still walking all over Shelbyville KY and finding inspiration where ever I go.  I love this beautiful fountain for it's classic lines and carvings.

I'm always attracted to old ornate buildings, and right near where my mom lives is the Historic Court House building.
 

I'm seeing applique shapes here :)

I've enjoyed wandering Main Street all week, full of cute shops and classic old buildings (This is a view from the cute little Park)...

...And I may have just explored the inside of some of the Antique Shops while on a Creative Excursion without Barkley.  It was a lot of fun this visit because I drove and have a whole car I can fill, and not just a suitcase...I've behaved pretty well though ;)

Enjoy the day!

~ Dawn

Inspiration

The other day I took the time and went on one of my Creative Excursions ~ aka Thrifting :) I always find some kind of treasure, and I take pictures that have been known to inspire a new project some time in the future.  Right now I'm loving the colors in this little dish, and feel a quilt coming on for my soon-to-be spare bedroom!

These are the treasures that came home with me from my latest outing (including the vintage sheet they're sitting on).  I only spent about $10 ...and that includes the Mocha Frappe that I picked up to sustain me on my Excursion :)  That's a quite a bargain for that amount of soul feeding inspiration!

Today I'm home, curled up in my recliner after having oral surgery this morning, so my inspiration is coming from the internet.  If you want to be inspired by what five different designers come up with using the same patterns, check out Pat Sloan's new Girls in the Garden series Blog Hop! 

Today visit Michelle from Quilting Gallery, gleen some inspiration and make sure you leave a comment for her give away!
Here's the rest of the line up for the week (Make sure you come back here on Thursday to see what I made!)

• Wednesday, Feb. 22:  Heather of Olive and Ollie
• Thursday, Feb. 23:  Dawn of Spring Water Designs
• Friday, Feb. 24:  Amy of Amy’s Creative Side
• Saturday, Feb. 25:  Heather of {House}of A La Mode Fabric

The Fat Quarter Shop is also giving away five full sets of Pat’s patterns. Visit their Jolly Jabber blog to enter.
Finally, visit Pat Sloan each day too as she shares her inspirations on designing “Girls in the Garden” and she’s giving away another full set of the patterns!

Enjoy the day!
~ Dawn

My Controlled Chaos is Your Gain

Tuesday, I took a little time out from cutting fabric and went on a Creative Excursion with Heather.  She's participating in a mystery project at our most local cross stitch shop, The Stitching Post in Catonsville, MD.  This is a lovely shop, and it's right next door to Seminole Sampler Quilt Shop, which is right next door to Cloverhill Yarn Shop ~ It's kind of the little strip mall from Heaven :) 

So of course I had to bring some goodies home.  I didn't partake in any yarn this time, and I was good and only bought one 2 yard cut of fabric that I needed.  But I did buy some cross stitch items.  Do I have time to be cross stitching right now you might ask...no, I really don't ~ but that didn't stop me!

Even though I'm not actively cross stitching right now, I'm thoroughly enjoying this copy of Sampler & Antique Needlework Quarterly that I picked up.  This is a new magazine to me, and I LOVE IT!

And I'm salivating over this leaflet from Blackbird Designs.  I follow their blog, and I think I love everything they do!

And I picked up two more of the Prairie Schooler Santas patterns.  This is my current collection (they come out with one of them every year).  If you look closely at the first picture, you'll see that the ones I just purchased were 2005 & 2006...and yes, I already had them in my collection.  (Remember those pictures of my stash the other day...the same kind of "controlled chaos" applies to my books and patterns too). 

So, my "controlled chaos" is your gain ~ and I decided that I'd have a quick Christmas In July Give Away:  Just leave a comment on this post if you want a chance to win these two counted cross stitch patterns! I'll draw one random name on Saturday. 

Also, if anyone has any Prairie Schooler Santa Patterns dated prior to 1998, or the 1999 Santa that they no longer want...I'd be interested in taking them off your hands :)

Enjoy the day!
~ Dawn

Happy Surprises

While wondering around the streets of Paducah during Quilt Week we found many nice surprises tucked here and there, but one of the most delightful was Caryl Bryer Fallert's Bryerpatch Studio.  I wasn't previously familiar with Caryl's work, but we saw in one of the show booklets that her studio was open to tour sooo... not knowing what we would find, we sought it out and were totally wowed!  ~ Don't you love it when that happens :)

Now I'm a more traditional quilter at heart and I love my cozy reproduction fabrics, but I also love color and texture, and the way that Caryl uses both just blew me away.  We had found ourselves a wonderful Creative Excursion :)

In her spacious classroom there was a gallery of quilts set up, and around every corner there was another happy surprise. 

We were permitted to snap photos, and Caryl has graciously given me permission to share some of them here.  You can click on these pictures to get a little better view of the quilts, they were just awesome in person, and my humble pictures don't really do them justice.

Caryl hand dyes some of her own fabrics, and has designed some beautiful fabric lines for Benartex Fabrics.

And her quilting is amazing.  I love how she quilts secondary shadow figures on many of her quilts.

The secondary shadows along with the curves and movement in her pieces add so much interest.  

 

Along with the Gallery/Classroom and the Dying Studio, Bryerpatch Studio has a store in the front and an entire upstairs where Caryl lives, creates, and hosts Workshop and Retreat guests.   All were open to tour along with the gardens and lovely little courtyard complete with water feature.  If you visit Paducah, make Bryerpatch Studio a "Must See" on your list.  

Whether you make it to Paducah or not, check out the Bryerpatch Studios website for many more wonderful pictures (Make sure you click on the Articles Button for information, how-tos, and free pattern!).

Enjoy the day!

~ Dawn