Countdown to the Fabric Printing at Home Scavenger Hunt!

A NEW blog event starts on April 26th...The Fabric Printing at Home Scavenger Hunt!

You may have noticed a number of little hints on the sidebars and up above my blog posts for the Fabric Printing at Home Scavenger Hunt. After the success (and fun!) of the Fabric Printing at Home Blog Tour, I was inspired to put together another blog event. And this time I'm asking you to participate! So I hope you'll gather together a bunch of stuff from your kitchen and maybe grab a few friends, or children or grandchildren and come Join the Hunt!

The Fabric Printing at Home Scavenger Hunt starts next Wednesday, April 29th and the Grand Prize will be awarded on May 10...Mother's Day! Other giveaway prizes will be awarded throughout the event.

More details to come....Are you Game?

If you'd like a sneak peak into this event, I'll be featuring An Invitation to Play in the next issue of Julie B Booth Surface Design News which publishes this Sunday, April 26th. Find out about the first Hunt Challenge and some helpful hints. If you're not a subscriber yet, all you have to do is sign up in the right-hand column of my blog.

I can't wait!!

Aha Moment....Handkerchiefs!

I've been pondering for quite a while now how to honor my Dad. In fact, it always seems to be in the back of, if not on, my mind most of the time. Lots of mulling...about what form a series of pieces dedicated to him would take.

I don't know if I subconsciously took in the fact that one of the students in my Patching, Stitching, Weaving: Creating Healing Cloth workshop was using her mother's collection of decorative hankies to honor and explore her relationship with her mom. But...all of a sudden it hit me....handkerchiefs!!!

My Dad always had a handkerchief in his pocket...even in the last days of his life. It was a part of who he was... It became so obvious to me that cotton handkerchiefs could be the format for this series about him.

I asked my Mom, on my most recent visit, if she had saved any of Dad's handkerchiefs. She hadn't, but fortunately Amazon had a packet of nine white cotton ones, which I immediately purchased!

Now to wash them and start stitching. I have a number of ideas and it's great to have a format. I still have to decide if I want them to be colorful stitched pieces or more monochromatic...or I can try both!

I'm looking forward to starting on this personal project...I can see the possibility of it going on for a long time.

Searching for Roy G Biv #4: Green Update #7

I must have a severe case of Spring Fever! I've lost all track of time (read here)! I had great plans to get outside and photograph the new GREEN leaves that are beginning to burst out from the trees. I thought I had another week...ha!

So I'm back to the photo archives...for now. Here are some of my favorite photos from my trip to Virginia Beach last June. My friend, Laura, and I happened upon the Crezia Covington Reed Lotus Garden on our journey out to a state park. Earlier in the day, there was a light rain. The lotus leaves captured and pooled the drops...it just took my breath away...

I hope that you will join in and share your GREEN photos. Leave a comment here (and starting over the weekend, you can also leave a comment over at Jennifer Coyne Qudeen's blog) and I'll link to your blog post. Since we're getting a late start this month, I'll continue to update through Sunday, April 19th.

Fiona at Paper Ponderings has a wonderful quote about the balance between happiness and sadness. Here's a bit of it: "Happiness is like a tree going into the sky, and sadness is like the roots going down into the womb of the earth. Both are needed, and the higher a tree goes, the deeper it goes, simultaneously. The bigger the tree, the bigger will be its roots. In fact, it is always in proportion. That’s its balance.” She includes for her GREEN a forest full of trees. I can just imagine their roots...

Lisa at arzigogolare has photos of her "encounter" with the GREEN rosettes of the cicorino verde. 

ELFI has some delightful GREENS...from a closeup of a leaf to some crazy chameleon graffiti!


Sue and Elizabeth of PGFiber2Art alternate GREEN finds with some of their lovely GREEN screened fabrics. Love that frog!

Fran at At the End of the Day, says, "I don't have to search"! GREEN is around her every season of the year! 

Mary Ann at Blue Sky Dreaming is, "Dreaming in Green", this month! She has a selection of her cloth and mixed media works...love all those different GREENS!

Roxanne at Ideas in Cloth is inspired by the GREEN (Greenspiration!) items in her home. Love the pug quilt! 

Linda at Linda Stokes Textile Artist has some lush Australian GREENS. 

Sharmon Davidson has some transformative GREENS.

Eric at CERULEAN has some leafy GREENS. 

Margaret at Charlton Stitcher has some English country GREENS.

Maya at Take Diversion has some yummy GREENS. 

Jennifer has finally made it to the party (YAY!)! Back from Jamaica (with a tan, no doubt). Enjoy her eclectic selection of GREENS!



Here are the dates for Searching for ROY G BIV Round #4 -2015 (the colors of the rainbow and beyond!):
May 21: Blue
June 18: Indigo
July 16: Violet
August 20: Brown
September 17: Metallic Gold
October 15: Gray
November 19: Pink
December17: Blogger's Choice

Roy Reminder....Green...TOMORROW!!!

How can it possible be that tomorrow is the third Thursday of April! Here I thought I had another week but no it IS in fact tomorrow. So...here is your very late reminder that tomorrow's color is GREEN.

For those of you scratching your heads going...huh?...Jennifer Coyne Qudeen and I have a monthly blog hop searching for the colors of the rainbow (and beyond). Each month focuses on a color. We ask that you post some photos on your blog that highlight GREEN this month and either leave a comment here or on Jennifer's blog. We'll link to yours and others so you can see all the amazing varieties of GREEN. It's always a colorful treat so hope that you join in.

I may be a bit late myself...I teach a class this evening... and Jennifer is away with spotty internet (she won't be posting until the weekend) so we'll be extending the time to receive your entries to at least Sunday, April 19th at midnight (Eastern USA time). Let's hope we can all get caught up by then :)!

Looking forward to seeing lots of GREEN tomorrow.

And the Winner is...

...Barbara Woods!

Congrats, Barbara! Please email me with your mailing address (threadborn@cox.net) and I'll send off the mola-inspired fabric collection from The Printed Fabric Bee.

Hope that these fabrics inspire you and that you let us know what you end up creating with them.

Mola-licious! Last chance to enter to win the giveaway!

What a treat to receive packages full of mola-licious fabrics! In case you are scratching your head, I was Queen of The Printed Fabric Bee for the month of March. My theme was molas...the colorful layered reverse applique designs created by the Kuna women of the San Blas Islands (Panama).

I've been drooling over the results! I love how the fabrics seem to complement each other...Great job Bee members!

Today is the last chance for you to leave a comment on my April 2nd post or on The Printed Fabric Bee blog, in order to have your name included in the giveaway drawing for 6" versions of these and additional fabrics. I'll be announcing the winner tomorrow. Good luck!

Just Gelatin and Cherry Blossoms

Malou's work table...great goodies for printing with gelatin!

Yesterday was a very full day...

The first half of the day, I had fun teaching my Just Gelatin class. It's impossible not to have a great time when it comes to monoprinting with gelatin! Here's what my two students, Marou and Suzanne, created in class...

Marou Q.: Silhouette print of string.

Marou Q.: Ghost print of string

Marou Q.

Marou Q.

Marou Q.: Lace print.

Suzanne B.: Goodies from her garden.

Suzanne B.

Suzanne B.: Bubble wrap!

Suzanne B.

During the second half of the day and into the late evening, I got to spend some time with my friend Laura B.-L. from Virginia Beach. It all started with a text message on Friday afternoon... Your book and others on display Mid-Atlantic Play Therapy and Creative Arts Conference Gateway Marriott. What r you doing tomorrow evening? I invite you to see Cherry blossoms...

What an unexpected treat to spend some time with my good friend! If you're from this area (Washington, DC), you know that it's a crazy time of year. People from all over the world come to see the cherry blossoms in bloom on the trees surrounding the Tidal Basin and Jefferson Memorial. And of all the days to go see the cherry blossoms, the day of the Cherry Blossom Festival Parade...is the craziest! Laura and I plopped ourselves right into the middle of all that crazy. Here are a few photos...the blossoms are really quite spectacular...

Laura

Laura and I enjoyed a long walk and talk and then a metro ride to Old Town Alexandria for dinner. A great day all around. I arrived back home at 11:00 PM...and boy were my "dogs" tired!