INDIGO inspired quilts

This past winter I have had the opportunity to sew with a great group of children.  We've made pillows, wallets, tote and  drawstring bags, headbands and an assortment of garlands and holiday decorations.  

As I was looking for fabrics for a quilt project, I had the idea that they could create their own fabrics, making their quilts truly unique works of art.  I remembered that Susanna gave me an indigo dye kit (buy yours here) that I had wanted to experiment with. 

I LOVE it when things work out this way and I bought a boat load of crispy cotton muslin. 

We rolled, folded, twisted and tied up big squares of fabric. Everyone had four big pieces of rolled up tied up twisted muslin to dye. 

The process of the dye bath is a little tricky but we fell into the groove and cheered each other on as the results are truly magical. We spent two classes dying fabric for the quilts. The directions included in the kit are very specific and easy to follow. 

The sewing was a breeze.. everyone had 16 squares to work with, 4 squares from each of the 4 pieces of fabric they dyed. They then chose 4 pieces to match and sew together to make new larger squares, piecing and patch working together. 

 

bundling, tying, twisting muslin

                                                        squeezing fabric in dye bath

unwrapping first batch of indigo 

                                                                     hanging to dry

                                                        sewing squares of dyed indigo 

 We  are still working on the quilts, we've got batting and backs to tackle next. 
 I  couldn't wait any longer to share the process so far, I am so proud of these kids. 
 YAY INDIGO!   and thank you Susanna for the kit! 

summer bags

It's almost time to put these sweet bags away...

but not quite yet, I've still got some summertime adventure in me.

Threads

Favorite shots from Threads, 5 days of textile heaven.. stay tuned to check out what we're sewing, weaving, threading, printing, painting and dying.

Flora and Fauna

 

How does she line it up so perfectly?

UK based designer Marthe Armitage has been making her hand-blocked wallpaper for 40 years, using a century-old offset lithographic printing press and hand-cut lino blocks.  


from here.

Marimekko

How could you not

begin your week with these playful,

intricate, and colorful patterns from Marimekko.

love here

fabric frame photo

 We LOVE to create frames at Beehive,
this time around we were working with a wood frame.

  I have a huge collection of tie dyed material/scraps
that I just knew I'd be diving into this summer.
I cut the fabric into smallish shapes,
the kids then glued selected pieces on to their frames.  

The cherry on top is the colored rice, one of many tidbits

I learned from my friend Susanna .

                                                                      simply beautiful