THIRD ANNUAL RETREAT

Three of my Cyber Fibre peers- Terry, Dawn, and Barb, came over to Refuge last weekend for our annual three day "dye fest". We took over my studio, surrounding area, the yard and bushes for sessions oozing with fun and creativity. We played with dyes and cotton and dyeing paraphenalia (sounds like drugs...yes, I'm addicted to dyeing!) to create a beautiful collection of new fabrics to use in our compositions.
                                                

The weather was beautiful...almost too hot. My friends slept in the "Hope House" located down by the docks and enjoyed the view and ambience, but hated how hot that place was at night. My studio is open air but well covered (shaded) so it wasn't too bad. We used the bushes and lawn to dry our pieces.

On day#2, my friend Suzie joined us. She and her husband charter a boat every summer and spend two weeks in Desolation Sound. A while back, she asked to join us and I was excited to have her as part of the gang. Suzy is an amazing calligrapher and has done quite a bit of work on fabric. She and my friends really hit it off.
Here are the techniques we played with: tree bark rubbings, reflection pieces, bubble wrap prints,deconstructive screening, cross-over dyeing, "dark, light, 1,2,3", using leftover dyes, fractured folds, wine bottle wraps, credit card smears, moon dyes, vaseline freckles, tray dyeing, cedar bough printing, rust dyeing, clamping, plastic paintbrush wraps,lace pressing, using cheesecloth, stamping, using and filter wraps.  We also collectively painted a white sock doll, sent to Barb from her Aussie friend. By the end of our three days together, she was cute and colorful, all ready for some of her own dyeing fun with her own paintbrush. She started out as "Thelma" but before long she was renamed Lady Dye.
                                     
I can't wait to see what we all will produce with our beautiful new fabrics.

200!

Yes, today is my 200th blog! Also, it's August 1st, and I am wondering where the summer has gone, and how in the world did I get to #200 on this blogsite?????

I promised to post my "storm at sea" one-piece wonder. Here it is! How fitting, as last night we had the most amazing electrical storm here at Refuge Cove (and in surrounding areas). It lasted over 2 hours and was a SLOW buildup, allowing us to sit out and experience it for over an hour before the heavy thunder and rains came. Beautiful!

Upcoming: 3rd annual Cyber Fibres Retreat (this weekend!)...stay tuned!

THE CELERY HEART

Audra and Alden are here for their summer visit (Tom's daughter and grandson). We had a fun "ladies night" party the other night and Audra put together an appetizer plate of celery with cream cheese. She chopped the stalks away from the heart and called me over to see it. I immediately knew what I would be doing the next day.

I prepped a fat quarter by soaking it in soda ash and drying it. I had some dark brown print paste waiting to be used, so I rolled it over the heart and started printing away. 

 The next day I mixed a green thickened dye and applied it with a credit card.

 Here's a close up of my finished piece. Celery hearts are sturdy and show good definition. I wonder what I'll use it for?

I don't have the "heart" to throw this away yet...

THREE DAYS OF DYEING

Not three FULL days of dyeing. Just a simple dye job every day for three days. Three days of dyeing.

I finally set up my studio. It's a converted woodshed with a great sink area and large work space. Just spending about 20 minutes in the studio for a wee tiny bit of dyeing felt great! Three days of dyeing. Here's how they went:

Day #1

On all of the three days, I was overdyeing. I began with rather uninteresting pieces from days past. I mixed up one cup of "new black". On Day #1, the original pieces were pastels. I soaked them in soda ash, formed folds into them as they set on a large try (establishing hills and valleys), and poured black in the tray to soak up into the folds. The orangey piece on the right was wound around a wine bottle, then squeezed down and placed into the black dye.

Day#2

I just dyed one piece on Day #2.  This is part of a larger piece (20"x30'). The full piece looks like a storm at sea. A real storm at sea, NOT the quilt block. I promise to show it in its entirety on another blog. It's very nice, but the section I am showing above is my favorite part of it. It started out as a blue/gray ice-dye.

Below are three results from Day #3. Each piece was folded and clamped in multiple spots, then dipped into the black dye.
I am happy with all my new pieces!

Day#3

CROSSING OVER

I crossed over the Straits to get to Canada and have crossed over the civilization line as I returned to Refuge Cove...my little haven of nature. I've been here exactly one month, and that's been one busy month of transitioning a summer home, a garden and big yard that had knee high grass when we arrived. The sewing machine area has been up and running for a week. Just yesterday I began dyeing fabric again in my outdoor studio (once a woodshed!).

I escaped Refuge and its full-bore responsibilities last weekend with my friend Corrine. We boated over to Cortes for their annual "Studio and Garden Tour". Among the dozen places to visit, there were some interesting fibre (I'm writing from Canada!) art scenes.

Brig has a wild, productive garden that she inherited from a friend who passed away a few years ago. On this property is her natural dye shop for wool. Such a body of knowledge she must have. She's also a mushroom expert and I'm sure she uses some in the dye process, along with lichens, barks, roots and flowers.

Lee memorialized her mother's passing with a show of her fantastic knitting collection (many wild Kaffe Fasset sweaters). The pews in the tiny Anglican Church in Whaletown were laden with these many colorful and beautiful crafted items.

 I tried one on...it was huge, and so cozy! (Wish I had that picture!)
Across from the church lives my friend Jan Boas, a quilter who does amazing work with batiks! And we were treated to delicious chocolate chip cookies! (No picture here either...)
I was inspired and enthused to get back to my little slice of heaven at Refuge Cove!

GYPSY QUILTING

For I am just a gypsy quilter,

Needle and thread in tow,

I stitch my stories as I travel,

Across this land I go.

Yes, it's that time again...moving time. Transitioning. Packing up and heading out.
Tomorrow we head north to our summer spot in Refuge Cove. Four days later we'll arrive. There will be friends along the way to visit, and familiar places to enjoy. And lets not forget all that last minute shopping.

I have these three little story quilts from my "Signs of Life" project ready to go. Thank goodness I don't get car sick. I can stitch away mile after mile, ferry ride after ferry ride.

Refuge Cove, here we come.

AND MORE BIRDS

I just finished a job for a woman in Victoria. These pillows have been on order for almost 9 months. They've been "gestating" in my mind during this time and finally made it to cloth in the past month. They are done, finished, and ready for the drive north in a few days to pass them on to her (and to head to Refuge Cove for the summer).

 

I really can't get enough of these birds!