It's All Good

Hello again...it's been a journey through sorrow these past months as my mother battled several debilitating infections that almost took her life. So much was happening that I wrote only in my private journal. During my walk last night down by the beach, I stood on the big rocks overlooking Long Island Sound and thanked God that I live surrounded by so much beauty offering healing. Even these rocks beneath my feet reminded me again that Life continues to find expression no matter how hard the circumstances.



I too have found a crack in the surface of my life's painful events, and have started creating in fabric again. All the photos and little sketches I've made these past few months are now source material. First little quilt is on the table being assembled...using my image transfers and fabrics which I dyed recently (first time using RIT dyes per article in Quilting Arts Magazine by Judy Coates Perez -- Thanks Judy, your clear instructions made it very easy!).

The article mentions that if you don't disolve the powdered dyes completely the grains will show up on the fabric -- that's how I got the speckles on the purple piece and the red on the neutral mottled piece on the left. As for the fabric on the far left, I already overdyed it last night with navy and love the results.

Since my studio table is overtaken with paints and a mosaic in progress, I set up the ironing board in the living room to iron dyed swatches and the little wooden table for photo transfers.

Earlier, out on the deck I put down a piece of plywood onto which 2 sheets of newsprint were laid to soak up excess dye and then two folded lengths of white cotton which I dyed with abandon.

This photo shows the pattern which ended up on the paper....
I laughed to think that the best part wasn't the actually dyed fabric (which will also be useful though it turned out a bit dense and dark) but the paper meant to be tossed away. NOT!  Took photos of various sections to use as backgrounds for other work by printing onto fabric and saved the paper for collage.  Lots of new ideas...

It's good to be back!