Fish Scales

These fish scales are from the cast iron pan I showed in my last post. They transfered from the pan to the cloth very nicely. So I thought I could create a school of five fish swimming across a fat eighth of fabric surrounded by a dark sea. I arranged the cloth so the fish would be in a "s" shaped curve, very artistic move on my part!!!

I got the dark sea but no fish. Well...maybe suggestions of fish but it will take a lot of thread drawing to bring them out.

I am always surprised by the results I get when rust dyeing.

I think that is why it truly engages me.Here is a piece I did last summer.

I was trying to create turtles but I got these wonderful gold fish instead.

A Good Day For Rust Dyeing

Today was another good day for working outdoors. The picture of the day is of a cast iron pan I am using quite a bit right now.

(Don't you love just those fish scales?)Here is some information about Saver's. It turns out it is not a non-profit store, but does support charities. I found this article to be very informative.

(I will still be shopping there and asking for the senior discount.)

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The weather this week has been perfect for rust dyeing!!!

Rather than spend time on the computer in my cold damp Wisconsin basement studio, I choose to work in the warm fresh air of the Rust Tex Studio.

When I post again, you will know it is raining here.

Help End Alzheimer's Disease

This quilt is up for auction now through May 10 to raise money for the the Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative (AAQI), which is an Internet-driven, grassroots, totally volunteer effort to raise awareness and fund research through art. Ami Simms founded the AAQI in January 2006 because her mother has Alzheimer's disease. All profit is donated to Alzheimer's research.

My quilt uses rust dyed fabric, seed beads, plastic beads, metal leaves, cotton boucle. It is machine pieced, machine quilted, couched, and free motion machine embroidered. The cat is made of ultra suede and colored with water soluble colored pencils. The entire piece is 8.875" x 8.875".

Mine is not the only one up for auction. You can see them all here. Your generous bid is appreciated by the artists who made these beautiful quilts and by everyone struggling to end this disease.

A Good Buy at Any Age

I found 12 brand new damask napkins at the Saver's Store. It is something like a Goodwill or St Vincent De Paul store. I think these stores benefit Easter Seals.

I knew the napkins were new because they were never cut apart and hemmed. The original stickers were stilled glued to the linen. Since I am going to dye them in the black dye pot this summer and then sell them to art quilters, I will never have to hem them. I wonder if that is why they were never used?

The other part of this story is I got my first senior citizen discount while buying these. The cashiers always ask if you have any coupons. I have searched in newspapers, coupon packs and fliers for these alleged coupons. So I ask where I would get a coupon. She said from making a donation or if you are shopping with someone 55 or over. I don't remember ever having made a donation to this organization but I did remember having a birthday in Dec and knew I was not 54 any more. Finally I said, "I AM 55." And without even checking my driver's license she gave me a 30% discount! WOW!!! I thought the napkins were a great price before the discount.

I plan to shop there more often!