Group Round Robins

'Hyacinth'

Have you ever participated in a ‘round robin’ in your quilt group? I did and the process was AMAZING!  A round robin is when each participant makes a strip or block to start and each time the group meets another member gets the project to work on.  As each person has their own set of skills the culmination of the project is so much more than the individual participant can accomplish alone.

The fabric painted hyacinth was my beginning block.  My peers are so talented. This is only a small portion of the wall hanging in order to show some of the details. The asymmetrical borders, the basket weave border, the applique and the beading were added by the other quilters. Love it!

When starting your own ‘round robin’, be sure the reason for doing the project is discussed. Consider whether the overall goal is to be as creative as possible or is it to end up with what the owner envisions. For the latter it would be important to include detailed instructions with the piece. Having guidelines can be easier for participants and can definitely result in a more cohesive piece. For others however the wide open approach with support for trying innovative ideas which may or may not turn out is more exciting and growth producing. Having the group decide what the goal is before embarking on the ‘round robin’, will provide clear direction for how to proceed. Enjoy, there is much to be learned.

Lighthouses for Halifax Quilt show

'Sunset at the Lighthouse'
Hand (dye) painted cotton panel
Artist: Eileen Gidman

Quilt Canada in Halifax, Nova Scotia, will be held at the end of May and early June, 2012. In preparation for the Vendor's Mall at the Quilt show there will be Virtual Market Place for the Merchants to offer customers preshow sales, show coupons and specials. This will begin in April.

Look on the Quilt Canada website www.quiltcanada2012.ca for the Virtual Market Place specials I am offering.

Yellow, grey and white



'Yellow, Grey, White
Hand (dye) painted fat quarter - wet-in-wet technique
Artist: Eileen Gidman

"Where do your ideas come from?" Everywhere, yet nowhere specific. Last winter my husband asked what the price of gas was when we passed a gas station. He was taken aback when he learned I had no idea as I was occupied thinking of why those particular colours were chosen for the signs. Inspiration is everywhere.

This design was developed after a comment from a quilter viewing the art cloth I created this winter. She stated I didn't tend to follow the new colour trends. Well, I like to be true to my own inner creative voice but I started to think about one of the most inspiring quilts I saw this winter. Esther created a baby quilt made with purchased, patterned fabrics of grey, white and yellow. These colours were chosen by the expectant, modern Mom-no pastels for her.

The quilter's chance comment and that baby quilt brought me to experimenting with a wet-in-wet technique using yellow, grey and dark grey dyes. This close up photo shows the successful results.

Over-dyeing Black and White Fabric

Over-dyeing Black and White Cotton Fabric

Over-dyeing works well on black and white 100% cotton fabric. The black and white fabric was first washed with Synthrapol to clean it from any possible oils which would interfere with dyeing.
The cotton fabric was then soda soaked, dried, and painted with thickened Procion fibre-reactive dyes. It did not matter if a bit of dye was painted onto the black part as it did not show. This particular piece was painted by placing a variety of analagous colours on the brush at one time. The fabric was cured and washed in the regular way.


Dyeing a companion piece to coordinate with another fabric would be an excellent way of using an over-dyed black and white fabric. This piece looks fantastic as a border.

Painted Cards

Hand (dye) painted fabric card 4.5”X 6.5
'Fox In the Hen House'
Artist: Eileen Gidman

When perusing the 60 cards I dye painted and stitched this winter, this one is a definite favourite. A story is implied which I think is particularly appealing.

To start, approximately a meter length of damp soda soaked cotton lawn fabric was painted with Procion dyes. Colours were chosen with the thought of fall landscapes in mind and the dyes ranged from yellow to red with a medium blue used for the sky as a complementary contrast to the orange. The fabric was cured and washed out in the usual way. To stabilize the fabric for free-motion stitching a heavy-weight interfacing was ironed onto the back.

4.5 X 6.5” rectangles were cut, the sewing machine readied with black thread and pictures stitched with whatever images came to mind. Having a sketch to refer to as I stitch is helpful. This same fall colour scheme was used in a variety of stitched images as in the sample of a bricked fence and wrought iron gate.

A Second Dyeing

Hand (dye) Painted Panels

Artist: Eileen Gidman

A Second Dyeing

Do your hand (dye) painted projects sometimes turn out less than you expected? Don’t settle for mediocre. Consider this a time for experimentation which can result in pieces beyond what you have ever done. When I first washed out these two pieces I was less than enthusiastic. The background was a faded violet and the bird was a pale yellow.

After all the work that has already gone into a hand painted piece, you may think you don't want to invest more time in re dyeing but I have found it has always been worth the effort. Overdyeing adds another layer and can produce vibrancy of colour and depth in layering. By layering I mean you can leave some of the original colour showing.

After re soda soaking and drying this fabric, I applied a deeper blue-violet to the background. I had painted the Meadow Larks truer to form the first time but decided to add more yellow the second time. On one piece I made clouds leaving some of the first dyed sky showing. On the other piece I painted dye over the whole sky. What vibrancy the yellow against the blueviolet has now.

Drawing on top of Loosely Dyed Background

Direct Painting with Procion Fibre-Reactive Dyes

One extremely fun, messy and expressive technique is to begin with splattering dye onto soda-soaked fabric. In order for there to be enough soda to activate the dye for the next step, wash the fabric after curing it in plastic overnight and then resoak the fabric in a soda ash solution. Dry it in preparation for the next step. Mix the colour dye you want for sketching and thicken it with sodium alginate. Place the dye in a bottle with a nib and use this tool to draw in details. Use the pattern of the splatters in creating a design. Here an analogous colour theme was used: yellow-green; yellow; yellow orange; and orange.  Cure and wash as usual for fiber reactive dyes. Can't you picture stitching in additional details?