Seven Down and No More to Go

Here they are, the last of the seven quilts, all finished.

The three in the first picture were started years ago because a mother saved sewing scraps from clothes she made for her three daughters. When those girls grew up someone took the sewing scraps and started these quilts. That person became unable to finish them so I was hired to border, quilt and bind them. They are cheerful quilts full of many warm memories for the women who will receive them.

I am quite proud of this quilt! It is a 50th birthday quilt for the woman who heads up the K-9 unit of the Madison police department. It features t-shirts from special events in her life spread over many years. I try to make each t-shirt quilt a unique design. As you can see if you compare this one to the one posted at "One Down and Seven to Go" on June 5th.
These done,(whew) I am going back to rust dyeing! (yeah)

Mouse House

Today I was looking for some cast iron cookware to photograph for my upcoming instructional CD on rust dyeing. I spotted a frying pan handle in this pile of cookie sheets.
When I dug it out there was this neat little mouse house built inside it. The house was lined with dryer lint and had a separate dining room filled with empty maple seed shells. You can tell it has been a long time since I have REALLY spent any time in the dye studio because the mouse moved in and out without me even noticing.

The seven quilts WILL be finished tomorrow, the CD is coming along well (now that I got the gallery thing figured out). Soon there will be so much activity in the dye studio the mice will fear to go there!!!

Lois Jarvis Reports In

During my 32 years of quiltmaking, including the past 12 as Queen of the UFO Club here in Madison, WI, I have learned that the only way a quilt gets finished is if you work on it. So I have been working on those last 4 of the 7 quilts I have to finish by June 30, and have not been posting my adventures in Rust-Tex-ing.

The Rust-Tex Report

Sadly I ran out of sumac juice and had to wait for the rain to stop before I could gather some. Then I had to wait for a dry evening so my Dear Husband could set up the outside gas ring so I could boil the essence out of it. Now that I have some new potion sumac juice, I am excited about putting scarves into the iron-pot dye bath, knowing I will get a good black .

I also washed another 12 scarves and the rest of the PFD fabric in preparation for dyeing. But have been quilting not dyeing this week. (sigh)

Cauldron Scarf

Here is the scarf that came out of the cauldron pictured below.

Cauldron ScarfCauldron Scarf Detail
10" x 56"
100% Silk Satin
Signed by the artist Rust-Tex Scarf
$65.00 USD
US Shipping: $5.00
International Shipping: Please inquire

A Cauldron of Goodies

This is a little cauldron I found lying around. My youngest daughter used it when she attended Hogwart's. She isn't interested in potions any more. (sigh) So I don't think she will mind if I use it for rust dyeing.

It must have some power in it because I put a plain white silk satin scarf, some vinegar, iron filings and sumac juice in it and a magical transformation happened to the white scarf.

Results of Thursday's Mono Printing

Here is the results from the scarf I mono printed on Thursday. Someone asked me if the sludge leaves a smudge. As you can see it doesn't. It just makes the print sharper. And look how those georgous colors move through the fabric!!!

Mono Print #1

Detail10" x 56"

100% China Silk

Signed by the artist

Rust-Tex Scarf $65.00 USD

US Shipping: $5.00

International Shipping: Please inquire

Losing a Friend

One of the cookie sheets rusted through today. I was sad for me to loose this good and reliable tool. But my rust dyeing life goes on.

Working over a plastic tray I was able to carefully control the breaking and shape the center into a big heart. Now I have a heart image to transfer onto fabric. Plus, I can always use more "Rust Flakes", which is what I call the smaller pieces that landed on the plastic tray. I dry them out , store them in an air tight container and sprinkle them where I want rust colored highlights on a piece of "Stormy Skies" fabric.

Mono Printing

Well that lawn mower spring is still with me. I have mono printed 6 more scarves since I predicted it wouldn't last much longer. I think I will be able to print one or two more times before it breaks. Here is a photo of a mono print set up. That stuff smeared on the scarf is what I call sludge. It is from the bottom of the black dye pots after I take the dyed fabric out.

A Busy Later Summer for Me

My vendors booth at Quilting on the Waterfront ~ Machine in Motions in Duluth, MN was confirmed today. I am honored that they are making a special display of my Ground Zero Quilt . My-Mini 9-Patch quilt will be there, too. I am busy making Rust-Tex products to sell in Duluth. I hope all my readers in the Upper Midwest will be able to make it to that show in August to see Rust-Tex in the cloth. The instructional CD-ROM should be ready for sale then too. Actually the goal for the CD-ROM is the Art Cloth Symposium in Minnesota in July. I'll have a table space there too. And of course at Quilt Expo in Madison in September. As you can see it will be a busy late summer for me.

My Secret Weapon

My secret weapon for finishing commissions is arriving Friday. Our middle daughter, is returning from her job in New Hampshire and will be spending the summer here. She has already asked if she could work for me. Since she is the daughter who sews, I am sure to get all those commission quilts done on time.

The picture for today is of two of the three wild bunnies we found in the yard today.

The Rust-Tex Report for 06-11-06

Rust molecules affixing to cloth slowly but surely as cool weather continues in the Madison, WI area.

Three Down and Four to Go

The bad news is: Friday I didn't post the third of the seven quilts I have to finish by June 30, as I promised you, Dear Reader.

The good news is: I finished what I had to do on it on Saturday, 5 minutes before the person who is going to hand sew the binding arrived to picked it up. Right on scheduled as far as I am concerned!!!

Here is a picture of it.

The Rust-Tex Report for today...

The good news is: It has turned cold here. The low last night was 45F. Good sleeping weather. The high today was 65F. A lovely day for summer.

The bad news is: This is not great weather for rust dyeing.

Two Down and Five to Go

Remember those seven quilts I have to finish by June 30? Well, Here is a photo of number two.

Okay it is actually only a wallhanging, 33" x 52". And it isn't really finished. This one and the next (Friday's post) are this year's service project for the Mad City Quilter's Guild. Someone else will be hand sewing the binding. Lots of people contributed blocks. All I did was design the project, arrange the blocks, sash them, quilt the sashing and do the sewing machine part of the binding and hanging sleeves.

The Rust-Tex Report for 06-07-06

If you had any side bets on how long I could stay away from the rust dyeing...you win if you bet on less than two days.I was out there today and set up a total two yards and two scarves. Can't wait to see the results!!!

Red Sky in Morning, Sailors Take Warning

Sunrise 06-06-06

Being awake at 4am is strange to start with and the colors I was seeing were all wrong. There had to be a very red sunrise to make the view out the west window those colors. That or the house across the street was on fire. So I got out of bed to see what was what. It was indeed the sunrise!

Recalling the old saying," Red sky in morning, sailors take warning" I wished I had taken time yesterday to roll some more bottles.

I was not surprised when the tornado sirens went off this evening. I was expecting wild weather today.

8:25 pm 06-06-06

My big rust-tex event today was the arrival of another package from Dharma of 60 scarves and a gallon of synthrapol. I already washed out 10 of them. I put them in nylon bags to keep them from getting tangled in the wash machine. So far I only have 5 bags, two to a bag seems to work best. I am keeping a eye out for more bags at garage sales!

One Down and Six To Go

Here is a picture of the first of the seven quilts I have to finish by June 30. It is a t-shirt quilt for a kid graduating from high school. He was on swim teams in the summers and various sports during the school year. I made a t-shirt quilt for his sister when she graduated 4 years ago. I guess she really liked her quilt cause the mom kept my phone number all these years. I am not big on making t-shirt quilts but they pay the bills.

It was a beautiful day outside today, perfect for rust dyeing but I was in my dark, damp basement studio working on quilts # 2 & 3.( I did run all the finished Rust-Tex through the washing machine today.)

It Was A Good Day

I couldn't wait any longer to unwrap these bottles. It was such a nice day I just had to have a reason to be part of it.

This is what I had after I rinsed them. Actually this is the clothesline from yesterday. The sunburst one was wrapped a little differently. Here is a close up of it. Cool huh!