So Much News!

For the first time ever, I lost a pair of glasses. Also for the first time ever, I bought a pair of glasses without checking the price first. I am absolutely in love with my new glasses:

Luckily for me, the clerk is very chatty. When he found out I was a teacher, he gave me $200 off. And they were still pricey -- but worth it. Still, I really can't afford to lose this pair!

I have long admired (drooled over) the work of felt applique embroiderer Sue Spargo. I finally bought her class on Craftsy/Bluprint and started my own felt project. She provides a butterfly project, but I had to do my own thing, so I'm doing fish:

It has been hot as Hades here (and everywhere!), so I've taken advantage of the weather to do some fabric dying with  Dynaflow paints and salt. The results are always a surprise.

Yesterday I indulged in a fancy cold coffee at a cafe with outdoor tables. It was too hot to boil water and I'd forgotten to make iced coffee the night before. Also, I was celebrating: My district announced that first quarter will be virtual.

Like everyone, I have mixed feelings. Virtual teaching isn't ideal for students, nor is it fun for teachers. But I am almost 61 and I have an arrhythmia. I am terrified of going into a large high school with all those wonderful -- but less than adult -- disease vectors running around! And it turns out that teens are indeed vectors!

And the best news of all, thanks to Kat, Brenda Dayne is coming back. Pick up your pointy sticks!

On Sun-dying and Memories

Every year since 1972, when I met her at summer camp, Joni and I have vacationed together. She lives in California, and I live in Wisconsin, so this will be the first time in 28 years we will not see each other, which is really sad -- but better than one of us getting sick or worse from taking an airplane. Next summer, though, I will drive to California if I have to!

The rocky shore of Lake Superior near Grand Marais.

We like to do some kind of art or craft project together. Last year, I learned how to sun-dye with Dynaflow (a high-flow acrylic fabric paint from Jacquard) so we could dye cloth and make art quilts. It seemed like a reasonable project give that we were renting a cabin in the little artsy town of Grand Marias on Minnesota's North Shore (one of my favorite places on Earth).

Joni and I in front our little house. We love to dress alike!

It is super simple. (Directions at the end of the post).

Here are Joni and my quilts in progress (Mine is on the left):

And here is the finished quilt:

Those really bright images in white and black are silk-screened with Thermofax screens, which Joni and bought at a retreat with Judy Coates Perez.

DIRECTIONS:
You need: white cloth, water, sponge brushes, Dynaflow, stencils (or leaves or other objects), and a garbage bag or some other plastic surface. You wet the cloth, pat it flat on plastic (which I stretch over foamboard or a similar flat surface), and brush the cloth with paint. You can water down the paint for lighter colors. You can mix up your own colors. Then lay down the stencils/other objects and press them flat. Move the surface into the sun and let the cloth dry.

I'm just started to experiment with leaves, so I'll let you know how that goes!

Tiny Needle Tuesday

I've been working on this Frida cross stitch in little bits as cross stitch irritates my injured wrist. It's been a fun project, and not too hard.

After a serious rain storm on Monday, we are having a hot and humid week. I'm OK with it so far, even though we don't have AC. It does mean I need to get out early for a bike workout. I took advantage of the weather to do some sun-dying this afternoon.

And Kola naps in some pretty interesting positions when she's hot.

I love summer!

It's All About The Flowers

I've been pretty good about walking or biking five days a week -- one of my summer goals. Summer may have come late this year, but I find myself in a sea of flowers when I walk around my neighborhood. 

 Saturday evening my mom and I went to a birthday party at a friend's house. The hostess, my friend Debbie, is a gardener extrordinaire.

Thanks to the Internet, I stumbled on a way to do sun-dying with Dynaflow dyes by Jacquard. It's incredibly easy. You just slap down the dye, lay a stencil over the painted cloth, and let it dry in the sun. The results are amazing. I think this works on paper, too.

I finally broke down and bought this book. I've waited and waited for the public library to acquire it, but it doesn't look like they are going to.

I've been eyeing this spread at my local bookstore, and dreaming of embroidering these flowers onto clothing.

So, finally I've taken the plunge.

I traced the designs onto Sulky Super Solvy, which works like a sticker. You embroider over the lines, then soak off the Super Solvy. One caveat: I have found that if you leave the Solvy on for weeks and weeks, it is hard to get off. So, I'll get this done pretty quickly.

You Have To Remember...

...that I had to cancel my travel plans last summer and the summer before that due to surgeries. So when I tell you that I am at an art retreat -- after my other trips -- don't judge me too harshly. I've never traveled this much, so it feels a bit weird to me.

Judy is an incredibly generous teacher.

That said, I am having an amazing time at a quilting retreat at Woodland Ridge Retreat in northeastern Wisconsin with Joni, my dear friend from California. I have wanted to take a class from Judy Coates Perez for years, so I jumped when I saw she was teaching in Wisconsin.

We have spent the week learning to dye and print cloth with acrylic inks. Here is one of my dyed pieces:

This is what it looked like after stamping and adding Thermofax images:

Today we pieced quilts. Most participants are experienced quilters making large projects, but Joni and kept our quilts small so that we'd be ready to quilt tomorrow. This is my quilt top:

The black-and-white fabrics are commercial, but I designed the rest. 

Woodland Ridge is an amazing place. Nestled in the woods at the edge of tiny Downsville, it has luxurious rooms with whirlpool baths. Breakfasts and lunches are included -- and have been healthy and delicious. I am not sure I have ever felt so pampered.

Small as Downsville is, there is a darling coffee shop where Joni and I go for coffee every morning:

It is going to be sad to say good-bye to all our new pals tomorrow when the retreat ends.