RedBarn Studios

i took pics of all the fabs i dyed last week and had all intentions of working on getting them posted in the wee hours when we were on our trip this past week. yeh, right….the best laid plans and all.  so Sat night before doing anything else i cropped and labeled them all, ready for posting yesterday.

but….best laid plans came into play again cause my mOjo somehow reappeared and ya know we gotta work when the muse hits.

so with out further ado here’s the results of my in the zone dye day, yippee!

don’t ya just love the gradation thing going on????

see the three yellow ones on the top…i actually did a 5 gradation run of  Dharma golden yellow  but this time, boo hoo.  because i did so many fabs i tried rinsing them all in the same wash in the machine (i usually separate the lighter colours).  ix-nay on that one and i should have known better.

splotchy won’t do for NC’s workshop so i’ll either over dye it or do some screen printing.  as a matter of fact, a bit of both might be in order.

the drudgery of ironing
when have lots of fabric to iron i set up my ironing board with my large studio board on it in front of my bed with the board at a comfortable ironing height and then have at it.  i figure there’s no sense in standing and shifting from foot to foot…sitting and ironing can only be a good thing…you guys should try it.

anyway that’s how I got these pics.  was trying to get a good angle on all the newly dyed fabrics all in a row and couldn’t, so tried a spiral.  love it!!!

gradations came out fairly evenly from one fab to the next.

remember this:

here’s the shirt that resulted….and i’ve worn it already i might add…..ha!

when i first brought the fabrics upstairs to begin ironing i just dumped them on my bed. Connor came in and, seeing a chance to play, dived right in throwing the fabrics everywhere.  had to get my camera for this one.

see the how excited he gets with newly dyed fabrics? Not!

my cutey pie

toodles,

Tags: hand dyed, hand dyeing, hand dyes, monday posts, pic of day by k grace howes
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my friend susan called me out on the fact that i left that teaser in my last post with no pics of the results, hee hee.  truth was i was so darned tired from being in a hot garage all day saturday that I couldn’t contemplate being out there on sunday as well.

besides…it was father’s day!

so here’s a pic of a stash of fabs I did last year to satisfy any withdrawal symptoms you might be experiencing and me begging forgiveness

YOWZA  YOWZA  YOWZA!

(p.s…..it wasn’t planned that melly testa‘s book would be in the pics
just how it happened folks cause that book is a must have!)

today’s update:
…rinsed out fabs & shirt
…hung on rack to dry
…about to be ironed & photographed
…result: gorgeous new yummy fabric in my stash
…did a batch more today as well.

On a flipping roll I am!

toodles,

Tags: hand dyed, hand dyeing, hand dyes by k grace howes
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ever since I discovered i could dye my own fabrics i kinda get into a zone when i actually get to do it. it’s been such a long while since i did anything creative and it felt sooooo good to get my hands into the dye pots again.

this time i’m dyeing fabrics for my class with Nancy Crow and, as most of you probably know, she requires A LOT of yardage in all colourways, shades and tints for her workshops.

I usually dye fabric the Anne Johnston way…..piling 3 pieces of fabric in a large jar using 3 different dyes on each layer (see above). i love the way these fabrics turn out, sort a serendipitous adventure.

this time, however,  i need tints and shades of each colour….and that means gradation dyeing that i haven’t done since i started dyeing years ago. instead of using baggies with lots of water, I utilized a low water immersion technique (thinking green here) and small plastic containers.

the process

…made up a 1 cup solution of dye for each colour

…poured 1/2 cup of it into a measuring cup

…dribbled that over one of the 1/2 yd pieces of soda-ash soaked cloth

…manipulated it with my gloved hands so all the cloth is coloured. I then

…topped off the remaining dye solution with a 1/2 cup of water

…mixed it thoroughly then

…poured out a 1/2 cup of that newly mixed solution and

…dribbled that over another 1/2 piece of fab. i continued like this until all 6 pieces were done.

the wait

i then repeated these steps for each colour and stacked up bin after bin, soooo cool to behold!  btw, i got these hand dandy containers at Target….rubbermaid takealongs squares…. 8 for about $4.00…sweet deal!.

meanwhile…
i had a white shirt that had definitely seen better days (dingy white is so out!) and decided to used some of the remaining dyes on the shirt that i scrunched up in a small bin. can’t wait to rinse this out, love the rainbow effect!

next post…the results, stay tuned.

for more in depth tutorials on dyeing check out these:
paula burch’s “all about dyeing”
terri stegmiller’s “2 colour gradation”
melody johnson’s “the lazy dyer”
melissa’s “fabric dyeing 101″
cynthia st charles’”conservation dyeing“
(this is not the most comprehensive list but a start for those not familiar or needing a refresher)

Tags: hand dyed, hand dyeing, hand dyes by k grace howes
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I had lots of small pieces (smaller than a fat 8th) of some of my older hand dyed fabrics and was in the mood for a little play. After I fused the fabrics I just started playing with shape and colour….one of my favorite things to do. When I play like this there is no end result in my head, just freely cutting, moving pieces around then carefully fusing down. 

I finished the larger piece (on the right) but had so much little bits left over that I just couldn’t stop…..so I made mini’s, 4 of then in all to go with the larger one. Whadya think…..did I get carried away?

I took it to a meeting I attended recently (more about that at another time but I’m smiling bout it) and one of the ladies popped out with its name. She said it reminded her of urban Miami with all the popping colours and structures. So there you have it “Urban Miami” and her four frolicking friends. I like!

See ya next time “In the Hayloft”,

Tags: Art, fiber art, hand dyes, stash by k grace howes
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At our recent Charlotte Guild show I did a demo on how to add facings to our art quilts. There are many ways to finish a quilt. Of course there is the Traditional Binding whereby strips are cut, joined end to end and stitched onto the quilt. The “Escape Hatch” or pillow case finish is just that….an escape through a slit at the back so that the quilt can be turned right side out.

My favorite method however is the Facings finish. I find that that this technique gives the most clean finished edges because it folds completely to the back. It is especially useful for small art quilts because there are not any distractions to interfere with the art on the front.

Follow along as I demonstrate how to achieve this look. Please note that for this demo only I used two different fabrics so you can see clearly how each side is positioned as you sew. I usually use the same fabric as my backing so that the facing and the backing blend as one continuous piece.

A walking foot is ideal to help move the 3 layers along but sometimes I do use my 1/4″ foot as well.

Supplies

~fabric strips
~fusible web
~thread to match fabric

Facings Directions

Square quilt (if necessary).

Cut 4 strips 2¼” x the length of each side.   For example, for an 18″ x 24″ finished quilt—-cut 2 strips 18″ long and  2 strips 24″ long.

Fold over ¼” on one end. Press (see below).

Cut 2—1″strips from fusible web the length of each side measurement above. Set up strips with folded edges of 2 strips (same length) facing each other like below.

Center fusible web on strips and fuse in place….don’t let folds overlap while fusing.

Crease release paper of fusible web by folding in half. Cut along center line. *BE CAREFUL TO NOT CUT INTO FOLDS*

I start with the top and bottom strips for this next step.

Peel off release paper for top strip. Pin to front of the quilt at the top aligning edges (click to enlarge photo).  Start stitching at folded edge, backstitching at beginning and end.

Turn quilt and take one diagonal stitch across corner (2nd photo above). Turn again and continue to end taking another diagonal stitch at other corner. Repeat for bottom strip.

Peel off release paper and pin one side of strip to quilt overlapping  just past the folded edge of 1^st sewn strip. Cut off excess so that other end overlaps fold.

Begin stitching from line of previous stitching towards other end backstitching as before. Repeat for other side.

Clip corners close to diagonal stitch.

One of the techniques I have taken from my clothes making days to make the facing lie flat is stay stitching the edges.  This type of garment stitch is a row of straight stitching done ⅛”along the open edge of a seam to prevent seams from rolling to the front and to prevent unwanted stretching. I employ it here to keep the facing towards the back of the quilt.

Next step is to stay stitch edges, keeping seam in same direction of facing (3rd photo).

Fold facings to back, pushing corners out.

Fuse in place, pressing facing edges completely to back so not seen on front.

Turn quilt over and iron from front. If the quilt will be shown in a quilt show I would stitch the edges down by hand just like you do for regular binding. I know, I know it’s just not something you can get away from, even using facings to finish you work although the samples I make for my workshops I just leave as fused.

The only thing left to do now on your quilt is to add sleeve, a label and you’re done.

The 1st photo below is a close up of the front of the quilt with edges nicely stitched and folded under. The 2nd photo is how my facing usually look matching the backing fabric so it blends in well and almost disappears.

BTW, isn’t that the most funk-a-delicious fabric I have on the back? So very 60′s!

And here’s the finished piece.

For this one I walked in my studio one day and felt the need to play with shapes and such using some of my hand dye fabrics….NOT a piece I will put in my repertoire….I mean c’mon…..the facings are different from each other and the backing as well.

I will be putting this link on my Tutorials Page (see tab at top of blogunder banner). If you would like a PDF file of this turorial to have in front of you while you practice this easy technique please email me (see sidebar) and let me know. I will gladly get one off to you.

Send me some pics of your finished art quilts using this technique. Also, if you have any questions let met know and I’ll try to answer them for you.

See ya next time “In the Hayloft”,

Tags: hand dyes, monday posts, teaching, tutorial by k grace howes
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Two weeks ago, just after we had all that weird snowfall (who knew our area could still get inchies??) it got real warm…warm enough to sleep with the windows open…ALL night!

I had been aching to dye some fabrics but since my set-up is in the garage (one of these days I’ll have in an indoor wet studio, so hubby promises), I have to go along with the disparities in the weather.

Last week we got some real warm 70+ degree weather and my heart skipped a beat.

Time to DYE!!!!! Yippee!

Luckily for me, my order of new dyes had just come in so I grabbed my apron and had at it with a vengeance. My new dyes included chartreuse, pumpkin spice, moss and turkey red among others. I decided to dye straight colours in a medium hue to get the true colours for my dye log.

Wellllll………I got carried away. I did dye those sets (below) but before I could remind myself to cut off some swatches I decided to overdye them. As you can see there’s a bit too many white areas in those fabrics for my liking.

So I get to work and this interesting lot  is what I got (below)…..boy was I scared to see what they looked like after the final rinse.

~

But look….

…how beautiful they are. Will be adding these to my  Etsy shop tomorrow. Wait till you see them close up!

I also did a 3-step gradation (the way Lisa Call does hers) with the same colours as before but this time added about 2 oz of black dye to each dye concentrate. These beauties are what I got.

YUMMY!

Love, love, love to dye.

By the way, If you want to gather a few friends for a day of dyeing just drop me a line. Check my website (www.redbarn-studios.com) for more information about workshop prices.

See ya next time “In the Hayloft”,

Tags: Art, hand dyes by k grace howes
2 Comments »

FAB Work

Some exciting news….my art group, FAB, has a gallery showing in June where we will each be showcasing our own work and the group challenges we have all worked on.

We recently decided to do a collaborative art cloth challenge. We would each make 24 small art quilts, decide which ones we would use and stitch them together to make one large piece.

We originally started last August with over 4o yds of fabric we hand dyed in two colours….fuchia and turquoise and all the shades of the two mixed. Our next two sessions were overdying and surface design.

After that it was up to each of us to just have at it, using any techniques we chose…..the only no-no was we were not allowed to use any realistic images in any one piece.

I struggled for a bit trying to see what my muse told me about these fabrics.  Finally over a 5 day span I finally found my mojo and came up with these 17 pieces (above).

At our monthly meeting last month we brought all the pieces we had finished thus far. All I can say is Wow…..what a job we have accomplished!

I am so proud of what we have done with this challenge and  can’t wait to see the finished quilt. I will be posting details about our gallery showing closer to the date.  If you are in the area we’d love to have you join us for the opening reception.

See ya next time “In the Hayloft”,

Tags: Art, FAB, fiber art, hand dyes by k grace howes
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