Snow Dyed Woven Background

One of my challenge groups has the theme "Snow" for December.  Well.....I mean I HAVE to snow dye the fabric for that one right????  AND we DO have enough snow!!!

First I have to prepare a place to put the whole snow dyeing process.  I like the melted snow and dye to drip below the fabric so that the fabric doesn't bathe in the dye.  One thing I say...."the right tool for the right job".   I'm so glad I picked up those big tin snips when they were on sale years ago!!!  The metal mesh is for a leaf shield on gutters.

Then I just placed the scrunched up fat quarter of PFD that had been soaked in the soda ash solution onto the screen and covered it well with snow

I had mixed up two strengths of #44 New Black from Dharma.  Also added in just a smidge of blue dye in one and a smidge of purple dye in the other for just a bit of contrast.  Then just waited for the snow to all melt.

GOING...

GOING...

GONE!!!

Results side by side

A while ago I had done a woven background like this one with an abstract tree. I wanted to do something very similar for this challenge.  So on to weaving the background.

First I cut each piece to the appropriate size - this time 15"X15". I ironed MistyFuse onto the backs of each of the pieces. Then I use my rotary cutter to slice the pieces into wavy lines.  (NOTE: On one piece, leave one edge in tact to make weaving easier to control) Also...it is important to keep these strips in order so they will fit snugly when woven.

Next I started weaving the horizontal pieces into the vertical strips. I just go ahead and set this whole weaving part up on the batting so when I iron it in the final step...it is ready for the rest of the process without having to pick up the woven piece on its own. You can see the black MistyFuse on the back of the strips that are flipped up ready for the next strip.

It may be necessary to futz with each strip just a tad to be sure it is in there snugly.

And finally, when all the strips have been woven in (you probably won't have room for the last one or two pieces of your horizontal strips but it doesn't matter).  I iron it to fuse the strips together and the whole piece to the the batting.  I love the subtle play of the color in this muted background which will depict a gray winter day.

And here is a detail shot.

Now it is ready for the tree and the snow!!

And it grew and grew!!

This is the quilt top made from the map fabric I made last week.  It was supposed to be for a 12 X 12 art quilt but I was having so much fun adding in the fields, etc. that it grew to what is now going to be a 20 X 20 quilt!! This is just the top. It still has to be quilted and bound. It doesn't fit the size for any group quilt requirements I'm currently working on so I guess this one will just be in my collection!

And it came to mean a lot more to me after driving round trip to Texas in 4 days!! Maps maps maps.

Now, can you see the fun things I put in here?? 

A vineyard which backs onto a dirt road. (purple on lower left)

A forest just right of center on the bottom

A marsh near the upper left top (kind of a mottled green)

Two plowed fields (left edge just top of center and bottom right quadrant)

A corn field just up and left of center above the little pond in the center of the map

Two green fields - probably soy beans

A brown field which is fallow dirt this year

And finally, a golden field - waves of grain no doubt!

Oh and the river, of course

TAKING THE BACKROADS

I named it Taking The Backroads because whether it is on a photo safari or on motorcycles...I LOVE the backroads!!

Besides the map fabric I made, I used my own hand dyed fabrics, rusted, rouched nad painted fabrics. Only commercial fabrics used were for the roads (both asphalt and dirt). I chose them because they look like....well...asphalt and a rutted dirt road. Here is a detail photo so you can see what I mean.

I had a blast making this top. Of course, now I have to come up with another idea for the 12 X 12 challenge this was meant to be!

My Labor of Love

It is finally finished.  A dear friend of mine died in August. Her family allowed me the HUGE privilege of making two baby quilts and a quilt for her husband out of her favorite clothes.  At first I thought it would be so easy because it was just squares of fabric.  However, it got more complicated (and some of the complication I added on myself) because there were big variances in the thickness of the pieces and I also wanted to include as much texture and defining bits as possible....just to make it more recognizable. I also left 4 operational pockets in case he wanted to put a treasure in there or something. Then when I began quilting it (it is 60" X 72") I decided to take a bit of artistic license and quilt into some of the pieces things that reminded me of her, things that meant something to her. While it was difficult at times, I so enjoyed "spending that time with a close friend".  And I was able to complete it in time for him to have it for Christmas - their first without her. Those of us who have lost close family know how difficult a time that can be. I hoped this would be like a big hug for them, wrapped in memories of her.

So here it is - along with a couple of detail photos:

Now on to the two baby quilts! I think they will seem easy after this one. But what a thrill to think of them cuddled up in the "hugs" of their grandmother someday!