Once around the block in Spring

 "Once around the block in Spring"

 Hand dyed cottons, machine pieced and quilted, washed for texture.

Stretched on a 12x12 frame.  $75

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Freedom Quilt progress plus

Well hello there!

Glad you dropped by!

I was looking at the photo of the quilt I lost in the divorce and found myself comparing it to the one I'm working on to replace it.

Back in the days when I made the double wedding ring, I was stuck using commercial fabrics greatly limited by the color selection available at the time. I went to lots of different stores to find those fabrics and had piece after piece after piece cut at the counter. These days I buy it by the bolt and cut it myself and dye whatever color I want. I must say, this is a VAST improvement. All those prissy little calicos, I did think they were pretty at the time. Tastes change, but my favorite colors have remained the same.  Look how consistent those colors are, the only addition is that delicious mojito mint/lime green!  Yum Yum!

Of course the Freedom Quilt has a little wild thang in it. 

A friend of mine tells me that donkeys and zebras are closely related, that in some places they are called (translated) "Stripey Donkeys."

I guess it's not too hard to see why.  

The only difference is that donkeys can be domesticated, zebras can not.  

They have been

And will always be 

Wild.

He he!

Plus, they don't take themselves too seriously!

I think the wild and not-too-serious zebra is a perfect addition to my Freedom Quilt!

Color remains the one true love of my life, color has never despised or neglected me.  

It's true, color has been gladly faithful all these years and I remain a student of its many wonders. 

The very undomesticated, 

-Carmen Rose

Freedom Quilt, one big square

I'm making progress on the Freedom Quilt! 

The blocks for this part are made, now to sew them together!

Careful not to get them out of order!

and...

Voila!

It's not too serious, 

It has good contrast,

All my favorite colors are in it.

I'm lovin it!

HAPPY creating,

-Carmen Rose

Quilt Design

I am enjoying a bit of time in the quilt studio from time to time.  It doesn't seem like I get nearly as much time there as I'd like, but when I get the chance... I sure do enjoy it!

When I saw this image of a stained glass window, I knew I had to try it in fabric.

So I played a bit with the drawing to explore some other color options.

You'd think it would be a simple exercise to put this one together in no time flat?

Not so much!

But I am pleased with how the pieced top turned out!

Hand dyed cottons and un-dyed white.

Happy creating,

Carmen Rose

Freedom Quilt 7 ~ Finishing up the Ironing

The ironing is finally finished! I'm glad to, cause after 40 yards I was getting tired of that!

I have 80 fat quarters, a zillion 3.5 inch strips and then all these lovely chunks!

 

I can't wait to see what comes of all this!

Thing is... I just realized I have ten more yards of cotton... and there are still come colors that didn't quite come through in this...

I'm considering a whole new round of dying! LOL!

(I may need more than 40 days!)

Happy Creating!

-Carmen Rose

Freedom Quilt 5 ~ Ironing

I've started ironing, cutting and folding the fabric for the Freedom Quilt.

I love the textures and tonality of these! There are some bold ones and some milder ones, all of them have a beauty of their own. Ironing feels like a process of discovery. I love it!

And somehow I manage to turn colors again... that is why we call it hand dying!

Today I ironed about 16 of the 40 yards.  I have been cutting fat quarters and 2.5 inch strips and these are the leftover chunks of the yellows.  Such a range of colors, I love them all!

Happy Creating!

-Carmen Rose

Freedom Quilt 4 ~ Laundry Day

YAY!  It's time to wash the fabric!  Now to see how it all turned out.

First the yellows:

 Then the blues:

 Then the fuchsias:

Wow, this is starting to feel like laundry day!  Now it's time to iron.  Oooo.... boy!  

Why did I do 40 yards again?  This could take a while... BUT THE COLORS!

MERCY ME I DO LOVE THESE COLORS!!

Happy Creating,

-Carmen Rose

Freedom Quilt 3 ~ Hand Dying Fabric

It's day three of the Freedom Quilt project, it's time to dye some cotton, ya'll! And I'm pretty excited, I always love this part!  Playing with color is my thang!  I started by mixing dyes, dying small samples to see if I could manage to get the colors I was looking for.  I was working with primary colors though I did use some orange, and I also mixed up some black for adding some tonality to colors.  It's not easy to tell if the colors are off at this stage, but once they come out of the dryer there is no doubt.  There is a learning curve!!

I started out with the first ten containers.

Then closed them, made some changes to each bottle of dye and then added dye to the second set of ten.

This is why I call it hand dying... because even with gloves, I will certainly turn colors!

Forty containers, forty yards. 

All that glorious color hidden in there...

No idea which ones are going to work out beautifully and which ones I'm not going to like...

Forty containers of infinite possibility.

Before long I'll send these through the wash and begin to see how they turned out.  Anticipation is part of the fun!  Day three of the freedom quilt is complete.

Happy Creating,

Carmen Rose

Today's Guest Blogger: Chris Daly: "Finding My Creative Place"

Greetings from Southwestern Wisconsin! I love to learn and explore new media.   I try to challenge myself and learn new techniques whenever I can.   Working outside of my comfort zone helps me to grow as an artist.

  

 I found my way back to art and creativity through a set of stained glass classes that I took with my husband in the 1990’s. I had put myself aside to be a wife and then a mother.  It was this class that made me realize how much of me was missing from my life.  Once that door was opened, it led the way to so many more opportunities.  I just follow where I am led…

My husband and I have always had a strong connection with nature.  After 5 years of searching for a new place to call home we landed on a small farm in rural Wisconsin.  Waking up here every day is like a dream come true.  I see inspiration everywhere I look.  Most of my original designs are abstracted from nature.

Our move introduced me to a huge community of quilters.  These women and men have enriched my life like I never would have believed possible.  We teach each other and share our ideas.  Small sparks become big ideas when we bring our creative energy together.

I love bold, bright colors.  I dye many of the fabrics I use.  Dyeing fabric allows me to work with color pallets not available at the local quilt shop.  I still work in stained glass, but fiber arts have really taken center stage.  These two loves were combined when I started making my miniature quilt block jewelry.  Each piece of jewelry includes a machine pieced quilt block made from my hand dyed fabrics.  I sell my jewelry and hand dyed fabrics on the internet and at local quilt shows.  I also belong to two internet art quilt challenge groups.  I like the idea of working from a theme or keyword and then letting your imagination interpret the design.  I usually start with a concrete idea in mind and end up with something completely different by the time I finish.   I just follow my intuition to see where it leads.

 You can read more about my rural life at: www.shadygrovestudios.blogspot.com
I maintain a second blog that is related to fabric dyeing with tips and tutorials and show and tell: www.dyecandy.blogspot.com  
Warm regards from Southwestern Wisconsin.  I am home and this is my creative place.
Carmen, thank you for sharing yours with me.

She is... Beginning to Bloom

Some floral inspiration:




That's some great inspiration, right?
Great inspiration and some great raw materials:
A beautiful woman, her name is Jill.

A couple yards of hand dyed fabric in a color gradation from yellow to fuchsia.

Some olive (about five different shades of greens and earthy tones) procion dye for the clothing...

A little time and attention to making petals...

Plus a handful of sunflower seeds, some moss covered wire, some spirit gum and mineral makeup

And then a very patient model who let me put it all together...

And a funny little red cardinal who sat on her shoulder for a moment.  (And then fell off!) 

I don't have any photos back from the photo shoot yet, that will take some time.  This was just one I snapped when I had the chance.  So... more photos coming.  I think one of my favorite parts were the jewelry on her wrists and ankles/feet which you can't even see.  And another angle would better show her head gear, but patience... photos are coming.

Nothing like a creative day in the studio hard at play...  If I could give that to you as a gift, I sure would.  Because there is nothing like loving what you do!  Nothing like it!

Playing hard,
-Carmen Rose