Dyesmithy

April 17, 2012 Remembering Mom

JanetJo — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 21:41:07 +0000

My family has a long history of quiltmaking. My mother made quilts as a young woman to use as bedding. Her sister, Louise, also started young, but continued quilting throughout her life. Both my maternal and paternal grandmothers made quilts to be used on the beds. I have some quilts from each of them, some tattered, but I’m thrilled to have them. My great maternal grandmother made beautiful quilts. She and other family members contributed crazy quilt blocks to a quilt given to my grandmother as a wedding gift in 1905.

I began quilting in 1976. I saw a set of cross stitch blocks and I enjoyed embroidery. Of course, once those were stitched, I wanted to make a quilt. It was very hard to find an instruction book at that time. I found one and followed those instructions. Of course there were no mats, rotary cutters or plastic rulers. Pieces were cut using hand made templates, so my work was less than perfect to say the least. But the best part of making this first quilt was that my mother and Aunt Louise came to my house one weekend to help put it in the frame and begin hand quilting it.

That weekend got my mother interested in quilting again. She made quilts for all of her children and grandchildren, and she kept quilting beyond that. She and Aunt Louise attended the same church and both belonged to the quilting bee there. The ladies hand quilted tops and donated the money to the church. They were very good quilters.

When mom got older, she wasn’t so interested in piecing tops. So she would buy the fabric and ask me to piece for her. What she enjoyed was the quilting. And, she loved listening to the Kansas City Royals baseball games on the radio. Her best times were when she could combine the two. She would also work on my quilts when she visited. I always had something in the frame. And I would go to the church with her and quilt when I was visiting her.

Quilting gave my mother, me and my Aunt Louise a common interest that made us grow closer. It was a very special tie between us that gave us all a lot of enjoyment. Both women have been gone for many years now. I have moved to doing all my quilts by machine. But the memories are so sweet.

Grandma James quilt pattern

This quilt was made from Aunt Louise’s templates taken from a quilt made by my great grandmother, probably in the 19th century. It has long since disappeared. But this copy uses my hand dyed fabric in colors matching the original. The sashing was an element I added. It’s one of my favorite quilts because it is so bright and cheery.

682 – Airbrushed Oak leaves fabric

JanetJo — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 00:51:31 +0000

Airbrushed quilter’s fabric

: Airbrushed oak leaves

Bronze, blue and gold metallic paints were airbrushed onto the surface of this commercial black cotton fabric creating a shadowy leaf pattern. Photography can’t capture the rich beauty this technique creates. You’ll be thrilled to own it. This piece would make a gorgeous addition to your next quilt or fiber art project. There is one yard of this fabric.

The fabric was washed twice during the process, so it is preshrunk. Airbrushed fabrics should be washed gently with cold water. Made in a smoke-free, pet-friendly home.

Item Number: 682

$20.00

683 – Airbrushed metallic ginko leaves

JanetJo — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 00:47:52 +0000

Airbrushed quilter’s fabric

: Airbrushed ginko leaves

Bronze, gold and blue metallic paints were airbrushed onto the surface of this commercial black cotton fabric creating a shadowy leaf pattern. Photography can’t capture the rich beauty this technique creates. You’ll be thrilled to own it. This piece would make a gorgeous addition to your next quilt or fiber art project. There is one yard of this fabric.

The fabric was washed twice during the process, so it is preshrunk. Airbrushed fabrics should be washed gently with cold water. Made in a smoke-free, pet-friendly home.

Item Number: 683

$20.00

679 – Black with metallic paints airbrushed fabric

JanetJo — Sun, 18 Mar 2012 23:07:05 +0000

Airbrushed quilter’s fabric

: Airbrushed black with metallic paint

Bronze, blue and red metallic paints were airbrushed onto the surface of this commercial black cotton fabric creating a shadowy leaf pattern. Photography can’t capture the rich beauty this technique creates. You’ll be thrilled to own it. This piece would make a gorgeous addition to your next quilt or fiber art project. There is one yard of this fabric.

The fabric was washed twice during the process, so it is preshrunk. Airbrushed fabrics should be washed gently with cold water. Made in a smoke-free, pet-friendly home.

Item Number: 679

$20.00

678 – Black with Metallic airbrushed fabric

JanetJo — Sun, 18 Mar 2012 23:03:20 +0000

Airbrushed quilter’s fabric

: Black airbrushed fabric with metallic paint

Bronze, white and gold metallic paints were airbrushed onto the surface of this commercial black cotton fabric. Photography can’t capture the rich beauty this technique creates. You’ll be thrilled to own it. This piece would make a gorgeous addition to your next quilt or fiber art project. There is one yard of this fabric.

The fabric was washed twice during the process, so it is preshrunk. Airbrushed fabrics should be washed gently with cold water. Made in a smoke-free, pet-friendly home.

Item Number: 678

$20.00

681 – Black with metallic airbrushed fabric

JanetJo — Sun, 18 Mar 2012 23:00:03 +0000

Airbrushed quilter’s fabric

: One yard black with metallic airbrushed fabric

Bronze, white and gold metallic paints were airbrushed onto the surface of this commercial black cotton fabric. Photography can’t capture the rich beauty this technique creates. You’ll be thrilled to own it. This piece would make a gorgeous addition to your next quilt or fiber art project. There is one yard of this fabric.

The fabric was washed twice during the process, so it is preshrunk. Airbrushed fabrics should be washed gently with cold water. Made in a smoke-free, pet-friendly home.

Item Number: 681

$20.00

680 – Black airbrushed with metallic paints

JanetJo — Sun, 18 Mar 2012 22:54:59 +0000

Airbrushed quilter’s fabric

: Three-dimensional black airbrushed fabric; Bronze, gold and white metallic paints were airbrushed onto the surface of this commercial black cotton fabric. Photography can’t capture the rich beauty this technique creates. You’ll be thrilled to own it. This piece would make a gorgeous addition to your next quilt or fiber art project. There is 1/2 yard of this fabric.

The fabric was washed twice during the process, so it is preshrunk. Airbrushed fabrics should be washed gently with cold water. Made in a smoke-free, pet-friendly home.

Item Number: 680

$10.00

399 – Snow dyed one-yard cotton fabric

JanetJo — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 18:00:39 +0000

Hand dyed quilter’s fabric

: Green, blue snow dye

This fabric was snow dyed – snow was packed over treated fabric and dye was poured over the top. It looks like a snow cone, but results in this lovely watery design. This piece would make a gorgeous addition to your next quilt or fiber art project. There is one yard of this fabric.

The fabric was washed twice during the dye process, so it is preshrunk. Hand dyes should be washed again to test for colorfastness. Made in a smoke-free, pet-friendly home.

Item Number: 399

$18.00

380 – Snow dyed cotton fabric

JanetJo — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 17:50:06 +0000

Hand dyed quilter’s fabric

: Blue, purple snow dyed one yard

This fabric is snow dyed – snow was packed over treated fabric and dyes poured over the top. It looks like a snow cone, but results in this water, beautiful fabric. This piece would make a gorgeous addition to your next quilt or fiber art project. There is one yard of this fabric.

The fabric was washed twice during the dye process, so it is preshrunk. Hand dyes should be washed again to test for colorfastness. Made in a smoke-free, pet-friendly home.

Item Number: 398

$18.00

398 – Hand Dyed cotton quilter’s fabric

JanetJo — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 17:44:21 +0000

Hand dyed quilter’s fabric

: Purple, green half-yard snow dye

This fabric was snow dyed – treated fabric was packed in snow and dye was poured over the top. It looks like a snow cone, but the results are this watery, beautiful fabric. This piece would make a gorgeous addition to your next quilt or fiber art project. There is 1/2 yard of this fabric.

The fabric was washed twice during the dye process, so it is preshrunk. Hand dyes should be washed again to test for colorfastness. Made in a smoke-free, pet-friendly home.

Item Number: 398

$8.50