Indigo: In Search of the Color that Seduced the World

I stumbled upon Catherine McKinley's book Indigo: In Search of the Color that Seduced the World at my local library and while I have not finished it I would like to recommend it. This is not a history book but instead a memoir that contains the history of indigo especially the Gold Coast of Africa. It is beautifully and eloquently written (I admire good writing.). I have been drawn to memoirs lately so this was a bonus find for me. If you do read it, I would love to hear your thoughts.

Butterfly?

I am back to lots of handwork. It grounds me. It also uses the indigo piece that I have had on my design wall for more than a year. Time to use it! So my question to you is, do I use the butterfly or not? Thanks for your input.

Even Broken Crayons Still Color

"Even broken crayons still color." Author Unknown

My grandmother liked to say that bad things come in threes. Who would know that I would have three years--too many friends dying, two jobs lost by my husband (currently looking), deaths of my mother-in-law and my dad, shingles that seem to never go away...Well, you get the picture. The other day I was truly ready to just throw in the towel. What was the point of making art? Then I got an email from Janet White telling me what my blog meant to her and an email from a gallery asking for my ceramic work. Next, my husband who I never thought cared about my blog told me I needed to start writing again. So here I am. I now have my quilts and my funky ceramic work in a new gallery in Naperville--Artezanato Studio. I am feeling optimistic and have a creative plan in place. Life is good!

Indigo Dreams and the Gratitude for Exchanges

Last year I played often with indigo dyeing. I did not just dye fabric but bisque fired clay and a small piece of wood. In all the cleaning out that I have been doing, I just could not bring myself to throw away the small 3" x 3.5" piece of wood. Ever just know that someday you're going to need something even though it seems silly?

Last night I was really happy. Linda Edkins Wyatt, Marie Z. Johansen have been doing bi-monthly exchanges this year. This month's theme was "indigo." It is a color that all three of us love.

I did not want to altered the wood piece too much so I added the words, some cardboard hearts, a little paper and some paint dots. I added carpet tacks with beads to the top and trim around the sides. A bone bead hanging from the bottom completes it. Happy for not only the challenge but the exchange with two incredible artists and people. "Always Dream Big!"

A New Look for Old Fabrics

Sorry about not sharing yesterday the black and white fabrics that I over dyed with indigo. Inspiration struck and I know to answer the call. Here are the black and white fabrics as promised. Isn't it interesting how the different dry goods took the dye? The range of blues is quite exciting. The last one was actually put in the vat at the end and dipped twice. Since I have a large collection of black and white fabrics, I definitely want to do this again.

Overdyeing White-on-White Fabrics with Indigo

When I made my vat of indigo I was so focused on dyeing my ceramic piece that I did not think much about fabric or really prepare any fabric. I decided to keep it simple and just play. I started by over dyeing a few white-on-white fabrics. For the most part, I simply scrunched them in my hand and dipped them into the vat. The one on the left I folded repeatedly. Like how the part that was on top came out but the rest was uninteresting.  I really like how the one with the circles came out. Another surprise was how each fabric took the indigo differently. Tomorrow I'll share my over dyeing of black and white fabrics. I can see more of this in my future. What are you exploring lately?

And the Winner Is....Drum Roll Please

Congratulations Diane! I can't wait to see what you do with my fabrics. Thanks to everyone for stopping by, your kind words and suggestions. I will be going to the library today to check out In Search of Indigo thanks to Karen Davis. I plan to do another batch of indigo dyeing in January and will be doing another giveaway. I love to share. Make it a great day!

Blog Giveaway to Celebrate the 5th Birthday of Quilting Gallery

Michele Foster is celebrating the 5th birthday of her Quilting Gallery with a Quilter's Blog Hop Party. I appreciate all that Michele does to promote quiltmaking and quilters who blog. I decided to give away pieces from my last indigo dye adventure. The long skinny piece is dupioni silk (3.5 inches x 20 inches) which just happens to be my favorite kind of silk. The rest are all cotton.

Starting top left:

9 inches x 9.75 inches
12 inches x 9.75 inches
14 inches x 9.5 inches
10.5 inches x 9 inches

Read Carefully:

1. I will ship internationally.
2. I won't be responsible if the package gets lost in the mail.
3. Winner will be announced on December 16. I will not track you down so make sure you either check back or leave an easy way for me to contact you so I can get your address. If I don't hear from you within 48 hours, a new winner will be selected.
4.  I love people who follow my blog and want them to know it so my followers will get their names put into the hat twice.

Enjoy the hop!

Indigo Woman

Last night on one of my breaks from machine quilting, I was going through my things trying to decide what to have for my blog giveaway when I came across a piece of my indigo fabric. It's a small piece of linen. This is actually the back which is more muted. It looked like a person with a hole in them which is kind of how I am feeling. I used some more of my fabric to create a head. Now I have an idea for a new piece! Not what I should be doing, but something I need to do. Can't wait to see how this evolves. Do you strike when the idea occurs or do you what until you have time?

Feeling Blue- Indigo Dyeing and Spirit Rattles

Created with sea shells collected from Aruba

 While researching cameras, my dryer died. It was only three years old. No fun. Good news is I have my sewing machine back and I did not have to sell my first born. Still haven't bought the new camera so I'm using my son's tiny  Olympus and am finding the colors not quite true so bear with me.

I have had a love affair with indigo for as long as I can remember. I think I was in junior high school when I learned a little of its history. I learned more about the dark side of indigo from Merry Silber. I encourage you to read the Quilters' S.O.S. - Save Our Stories interview that I conducted of her and see her wonderful indigo quilt. She was a collector. She died not long ago.

Anyway, I had been meaning to try indigo dyeing for years and decided that there was not better time than now. Dyeing with indigo is a little different than regular dyeing. There is a "flower" on top of the dye that must be preserved. It's removed during the dyeing process and replaced once you're done. The vat of dye can last 2-3 days and you have to have a lid. You can't let the fabric sink to the bottom which meant holding the fabric in the vat. A tad boring to say the least but it was so much fun watching the fabric turn from green to blue (takes about 20 minutes). It is also important to prevent oxygen from getting into the dye which means squeezing the fabric bundles. I was successful most of the time. I do know that next time I am going to be better prepared (have all my folding and rubber banding done ahead of time. That said, I try to strike when the spirit moves me and I am not disappointed. Now I have about 2.5 yards of fabric in various sizes ready to use in my next indigo quilts! I used both PFD (prepared for dyeing) cotton and dupioni silk.

dupioni silk folded, small piece of wood rubber banded around the bundle

I am becoming a better potter. Still not great on the wheel but I am improving. I can't believe there is only two more classes left. Next session does not start until January. I think I will suffer some withdrawal! As I shared before, I love hand building and here is a couple of my Spirit Rattles. The white one has been bisque fired and is ready for glazing. The blue one is ready and waiting for a new home.

Feeling Blue and Foto/Fiber

Here is my first indigo quilt which I have titled "Feeling Blue." This one was created completely out of scraps. I colored the appliqued circles with a fabric marker because they were much too white and bright. It is 22" (w) by 19.5" (h). This certainly boosted my confidence and I think it shows in my second indigo quilt which I will share tomorrow.

Exciting news on the challenge fabric front! Bonnie J. Smith has posted her finished challenge on her blog. It makes me chuckle every time I think about it. You don't want to miss seeing it. And Denise Frank has started her quilt! You can check out how she is manipulating the fabric. I'm so excited!

Count down to Foto/Fiber has begun! On Wednesday, you have the opportunity to own a great photograph by Virginia A. Spiegel, Karen Stiehl Osborn, and/or Cynthia Wenslow AND raise money for the American Cancer Society. You can preview the photographs by going to http://www.virginiaspiegel.com/FotoFiber2012PHOTOS1.html. In addition, you will receive a BONUS donated by 35 artists including me! Please join me in supporting this worthwhile event!

Here is one of my BONUSES. The silk was made during the time of the Soviet Union and I purchased it in the open air market in Osh, Kyrgyzstan. I am including a photograph of the women I purchased it from, one of my ATCs called "Memories of Kyrgyzstan" and three Kyrgyz postage stamps printed on fabric. And of course, I couldn't resist making a box to put it all in even though it's only suppose to fit in an envelope.

Now it's back to the studio for me!

Indigo Quilt

I can still remember when I first read the word "indigo." I was in third grade and trying to decide between a career as an artist or the person who got to think up the names for the different color's of paint. Of course, I decided I could do both. I just couldn't decide which one I wanted to do during the day. I've collected indigo fabrics for more than 20 years. Again, I pulled pieces out of my scrap bin and started there. This is what I accomplished last night. I'm thinking it's done and I'll start quilting today, but who knows what will happen once I get back into the studio. I do know it's time to play with all the indigo fabrics I have collected. I have been thinking about making an indigo quilt for more than a year. Feels good to be finally doing it!