Author Archives: Colleen Kole

Elin Noble at the Barn

The Crow Barn

   
      I am home after spending last week at the Crow Barn. I took a class with the lovely Elin Noble called Additions and Subtractions.  We moved quickly and were able to spend extra time with some additional things not originally scheduled.

    We covered three different types of dyes: Procion Mx dyes, acid dyes and vat dyes.  And  I learned a bundle of techniques: shibori stitching and pole wrapping, clamping, discharge with thiox, using a pleater and also how to mix and make all the solutions. Just writing this makes me a little tired! We were busy as always and Elin kept the day packed with lecture and then trials of all the principles.

Clamping with resists and Mx Dyes
My work table in the wet studio

More clamping with resists
Early in the week- my fabric wall

     Sorry this picture is so dark as I didn’t turn the lights on to take it. I need to process some others I took later in the week.

    Elin was another fantastic teacher -kind, extremely knowledgeable about dyes and surface design and just plain fun to be around. I had way too much fun!  More results coming up this week.

Off To Class Again

     I know, I know I am supposed to be buckling down and doing the work with new focus. I am still machine quilting so that does indeed count. I am continuing with my little mini master’s art degree as planned this year. Scheduled next week starting Sunday is a class at the Barn taught by Elin Noble. I have been busy gathering supplies in between machine quilting. And getting a little nervous and very excited. I have always admired Elin’s work so I am sure it will be a great adventure.

    I also had signed up for the Sets and Variables # 3 at the Barn taught by Nancy Crow in October. After this, my money tree fund is all gone. I am also realizing that the next class or the next technique learned doesn’t get the work done. You have to do it yourself. 🙂 I love all these life lessons. Geez. Fun though.

 

Friday Wrap Up

     I spent lots of time this week machine quilting. If I wait until I am finished with it to blog again, it might the year 2013! I feel like a turtle and keep thinking there has to be a quicker way to achieve dense quilting. (Ahh-yes, there is another unmet goal of learning to free motion quilt. I have promised myself to work on it this summer.)

Clamping and folding in the indigo pot. Nice to be able to come back to it and know how to “revive” it and work on new pieces.

 Taking inventory and setting up the dye studio. Fabric has been ordered to dye but way too cold here yet!

Some indigo photos. I love how when you take it out of the dyepot, it is this deep blue green color. And then with air contact , it oxidizes right before your eyes.  I really love watching it happen.

 The little moons need a special piece. Maybe some hand stitching. Linen accepts the dye so beautifully.
 I had bought a bolt of it years ago when a shop went out of business and sadly this is the last piece I had.
Does anyone have a source for ordering linen for purposes of dyeing?

"So how’s your …sewing going?"

     I went to a friend’s house for dinner a few nights ago. She is a very productive person: mom, volunteer extraordinaire, and wears many other titles (which I can’t even begin to wonder why one person would need or want to have). After lots of conversation, I realized she was clearly at odds with how to ask me about how I was doing. But then, I realized it was a matter of she had no idea of how to ask what I was doing. “So how’s….(awkward pause)…how’s your sewing going?”

    And my answer was: great. I am having the time of my life.  No other explanation needed. For the first time, I felt like I didn’t need to justify what I did or who I am. It’s taken  few years to adjust to being something  different than my original career path. But it is just great being who I am right now: mom, wife and, most weeks, part time studio artist. I can’t imagine being anything else.

The Apathetic Blogger

     That would absolutely be me! I keep thinking I have nothing really important to tell you or show you. And I get tired of telling you I am busy. But I am. Instead of 30 hours a week in the studio, I am lucky to get 15 hours. I went back to tracking my studio time and daily home schedule to see where I am missing things. I came to the conclusion that spring is all about kids and their schedules. And now I am grateful to even make that 15 hours of studio time! It kind of changed my entire attitude.

     I finally finished the quilting and binding on a piece I made last summer.

Looking Through The Lens #2, 2012, 35×40

I wasn’t happy with my thread choice and the way I chose to quilt it. I felt it muted the colors out too much. But I do love the texture that quilting gives, don’t you? Now that I see it in the bright sun, I am happier with it. Why are we so critical of our work all the time?

Never leave your pins in this long-they leave a spot of rust. Of course’s it on the light fabric.  Another piece done. What are you working on?

   

A Day of Basting

     I am finally back to work this week and all the kiddos have returned to school. I spent the day sandwiching and basting the biggest piece I have in the work basket.

With the last bit of machine quilting I did, I quilted a huge wrinkle in it. Obsessive as I am, I ripped out all that stitching and re-basted. So, with this piece,  I wanted to ensure it remained wrinkle free. 

I might have overdone it on safety pins though. You can laugh but I have no time to rip things out this spring!

Spring Break

     I have to say I feel kind of boring right now. Nothing major to show you. I am working. I am stitching but I am just kind of letting the cloth do the work and me just move with it.

     Playing in the indigo pot.

Hope finds her cow at Purdue- dreaming of vet school

 

Park at Butler University

      I have been busy with college visits for my daughter, spring cleaning and just plain spring playing outdoors. And I am okay with just going slow right now. I am not at all stuck. Just trying to figure out how to do all I enjoy doing and still making forward progress.

     I love the hand aspect of it. The gentle soothing of the stitch. But how does that fit with a fast track of piecing top after top in a series and having it merge with what I want to accomplish? Do I even know the answer to that? Nope.

    I don’t at all find it stressful. Just waiting for the cloth and hand stitching to meet in the middle somewhere.

Meanwhile, Lucy has been patiently waiting for a walk while I type away.

A Really Lovely Workshop with Lyric Kinard

     I spent the last two days at a workshop sponsored by our West Michigan Quilt Guild. We bring in a teacher every two months and this month we had the real treat of hosting Lyric Kinard. I remember mentioning this in my last post and someone commented that Lyric is just lovely and that is exactly how I would describe her.

     I took the first class which was Surface Design sampler platter: thermofax printing, using textile paints with carved erasers , citrosolve photo transfers  onto fabric, using grey gel and foil, wonder under and foil, wonder under and ….many techniques to create a small journal cover.

Lyric Kinard and surface design

Lyric starting out the day with a carved eraser stamping demonstration. It definitely was a taste of the various techniques and I made lots of little samples to remember them. The next day was the” Bead It Like You Mean It “class. She has a new DVD out about various beading techniques which I purchased but didn’t watch yet.

Lyric Kinard -beading demonstration

 I really appreciated how she uses a small camera to display the beading demonstrations.

Lyric using the overhead screen 

Lyric’s box of cabuchons 

She had a beautiful box of cabochons to attach  with beading. Oh so pretty .

Lyric Kinard’s beading sampler

Lyric Kinard’s work displayed for class

 She  also gave a marvelous lecture on the elements of art and it passed by so quickly with all the beautiful quilts she used to illustrate her lecture. 

    I really appreciated her calm professionalism and her absolutely wonderful teaching demeanor. I walked away calm and confident to try new things and use all of her beading techniques. So it was a treat and a privilege. Lyric was lovely and no wonder she was awarded 2011 Teacher of the Year by the Professional Quilter Magazine.
    

Obsessive Stitching: Mokume

     One of the reasons that I wanted to try working with an indigo vat was for this reason: obsessive stitching to use as a resist can really be beautiful.

 I drew a pattern lightly on a piece of fabric and stitched under the lines. I used Coats and Clark embroidery thread.

 Once I finished stitching,  I wet the fabric and pulled all the lines tightly and tied them  in a knot.

I dipped it  in my indigo pot and this pot was the one containing the Pro Chem  pre-reduced indigo crystals. I used about three dips manipulating under the water . I let it oxidize to blue. I rinsed and started taking out the stitching. Yes, you read it right in that you remove the hours of stitching you put in. And you will be left with this gorgeous patterning . Some of my threads are still there.

That is beautiful texture to be cut up and used in another stitched piece which will be stitched again in the quilting phase.

It makes me fall in love all over again with stitching. Patience and the beauty of the stitch.

I Have No Excuse…

     I have no excuse other than the weather has been way too nice to be inside. I am soaking up all this abnormally warm and sunny weather the past week. And my daughter has been home from college on spring break.

I watched as they chopped down two huge trees in our yard last week. They were absolutely hollow inside so I am glad they didn’t fall during a storm into my neighbor’s yard. Sad to see them go though.

I finished machine quilting a really old piece last week from my work basket. This was the one my dog ate the edge of the border when it was laying on my ironing board. I can’t decide which way to hang this one so haven’t attached the sleeve yet.

Loving Lucy,  36×43, 2012, Colleen Kole

Finished though and that’s a great way to start the week. I am helping out this week at our local guild workshop for West Michigan Quilt Guild and the teacher is Lyric Kinard.  I can’t wait to meet her and see what she has to share with us.