Oops! An Edit mistake in Quilter’s Newsletter
May 3, 2011 Recently I had an article published in Quilter’s Newsletter. It was a workshop about airbrushing fabric. The article looks wonderful and the staff at QN is great. Unfortunately, there was an important error in the text. When using a compressor to power the airbrush, the pressure should be set at 30 psi. ...read more
Fun things to do with the scraps
April 10, 2011 I’ve had a fairly lazy weekend, after cleaning house. In my studio is a basket overflowing with scraps of hand dyes. I’ve used them for years to make my note cards, but it seemed time to come up with something else – something new for me. So I started making pin-cushion animals. ...read more
New Designs in Airbrushed Fabrics
Today was a glorious day! The sun was shining, it was 70 degrees and the wind was calm – mostly. It was the perfect day to airbrush new fabrics. I wanted to make a few more of the scrunch and plaids, but I also wanted to try something new. I have a palm leaf from ...read more
DyeSmithy fabrics in Pueblo
The Pueblo Quilt and Stitch Expo was such a fun experience! So many friendly quilters, and a few husbands. Of course, we have a few male quilters as well. Can’t forget them. The weather was absolutely perfect – 70-75 degrees and sunny. The Pueblo, Colorado convention center is a lovely facility with lots of space ...read more
The special challenges of special orders
I invite people to place orders for special fabrics with me, and I enjoy the learning process that almost always comes with making them. I feel a strong need to get those pieces “just right” so the customer’s vision is made real. It usually requires making up a new technique or searching out an existing ...read more
Excitement is where you find it!
Remember how much fun it was as a kid to zip down that slide in the playground? Or to ride on a carousel for the first time? Or to walk barefoot in the warm sand? Those are the moments ...read more
Cut into those hand dyes!
February 14, 2011 Valentine’s day – the time for supper at a restaurant, beautiful flowers and other special gifts. My dear cupid gave me a Waterford vase this morning. (He neglected the flowers!) But that’s easily remedied. That aside, I’ve been snow dyeing like crazy while the opportunity exists! We got 18″ of snow last ...read more
Brrrrrrr, it is cold outside!
Two thirds of the nation is hunkered down and in the midst of one of – if not the- largest snow storms in history. I suppose we here in Colorado could be considered “lucky” as we received only 2″ of snow. But it is so COLD. While Denver is -3 at 5200 feet, in the ...read more
Snow Dye vs. Parfait dye
With all of the chat on the quilt art list about whether snow dyes produced a different look than multi-layer dyes, I had to experiment. I already knew that I thought they looked quite different. I love the soft, sometimes floral, look the snow gives the fabric. I suppose it’s the slow dispersal. The following ...read more
What a day for snow dyeing!
I’ve been reading posts on my art quilter list about a technique for dyeing fabric using snow. Contrary to all I’ve read and heard about procion dyes, the process does not need to be done at 70 degrees. Obviously the snow is cold, yet the dyes set just fine. I tried two techniques. With the ...read more
Showing off my holiday cards
December 13, 2010 Back from the latest trip to Phoenix and my precious grandbaby Luke. Now I’m thinking of the upcoming holidays – Christmas and New Year. Always a busy time with family and friends and cards are the perfect way to keep in touch. These are some I made this year in Christmas colors. ...read more
Those visits to Luke
November 4, 2010 Sometimes I think I don’t know what to blog – but I realized that one of the most important things in my life is my grandson Luke! I was with him in early October. He had learned to sit on his own, which means he can entertain himself for up to 30 ...read more
New look with Airbrushed Fabrics
October 12, 2010 I learned to airbrush fabric more than a decade ago, but had gotten so involved with dyeing that I didn’t continue with airbrushing. I did make a couple of quilts, including the one shown here. It was meant as a wall quilt (since it has small bead embellishments) for baby. The fabrics ...read more
Lessons learned
September 27, 2010 Whew! I finished the custom fabric for a new friend in Finland and will show a photo here. I’m not sure what the project is, but asked her to send a photo when it is complete. I learned a lot about discharging in the course of making this piece. I had a ...read more
Learning about discharging fabric the hard way!
September 16, 2010 Recently I made some discharged fabrics and put them on this website for sale. I was experimenting with a Clorox bleach pen, straight bleach from the bottle and discharge paste with stamps. It was fun and the results interesting. These fabrics were also in my DyeSmithy shop on etsy.com where they were ...read more
New Fabrics
September 4, 2010 Here’s a New Hand dyed Fabric Spent the entire morning dyeing twenty yards of fabric for my upcoming booth at Quilt-A-Fair in Longmont, Colorado. I have a lot of fabric and hope to have a successful booth this year. Then I baked a peach cobbler with the fabulous Colorado peaches. There’s nothing ...read more
Kansas sunset
Kansas sunsets are beautiful this time of year. Lolling in the hot tub, sipping a glass of wine and feeling good about life. At night the coyotes howl. Good friends like these are more precious than any possession. It’s safe here to relax and be quiet. We have adventures too, getting a pedicure and manicure. It’s ...read more
Rolling Hills of Kansas
August 19, 2010 After all that hard work canning, it’s terrific to sit on the back deck overlooking the rolling hills of Jackson County, Kansas. The land has seasons beyond those of the weather. The pasture behind the house lies fallow in winter, resting up for the spring. Once the grasses begin to grow, a ...read more
Topeka, Kansas Visit
August 18, 2010 I’m at my friend Jan’s house just north of Topeka, Kansas. It’s a beautiful place that was her parent’s farm. This is our annual August “make tomato soup and salsa and can it for the year” project. It’s a wonderful time for me, getting back to my roots. I feel as if ...read more