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Sometimes an idea for surface design is so simple, you wonder why you never thought of it before. That's how I felt when I first saw Rose Hughes' tutorial on using crayons — the kind kids use, nothing fancy-as a resist method with fabric paint. Fabric painting with crayon resist by Rose...
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Batik is one of the oldest methods of dyeing fabrics for surface design. Using hot liquid wax as a resist for dye, batik yields beautiful patterns and rich colors. But traditional batik is time-consuming and labor intensive. But what if you could learn how to batik without the hassles? In this free eBook...
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It's a new year: have you made any fiber art-related resolutions? One of my goals for 2012 is to complete — or repurpose — at least one UFO (unfinished object) in my stash, and I'll bet that might be on your list, too. Can you find the peppers in this chameleon by Jane Haworth? We...
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Fabric designed with baby rice cereal, by Lisa Kerpoe. Now that I'm all moved in down here in Houston, I'm ready to get cooking on some fabric dyeing and other surface design techniques. Although the weather here is relatively warm and sunny, it's too cold for outdoor dyeing (for me, anyway...
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The Quilting Arts/Cloth Paper Scissors crew and my quilt full of surface-design love. On this Thanksgiving Day I am in transition. I'm settling into my new Houston digs in preparation for my fresh adventure with Quilts Inc. while still consulting for Quilting Arts and preparing for the next season...
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Candy's scientific fabric dye chart. Why is fiber artist Candy Glendening holding up a dye chart that looks like the periodic table of elements? Her training as a research scientist made it seem like the most natural thing in the world to do. Her scientific approach also helps her get consistent...
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A sampling of prints made with DIY mark-making tools. I'm going to ask you a question and I want you to give me an honest answer. When choosing among items at a grocery store, have you ever selected one over the other based solely on how you could use the packaging to create surface design ? You...
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It seems as if summer is just flying by and I can't believe we're already well into July. Here at the Quilting Arts offices we're hard at work on the August/September 2011 issue of Quilting Arts Magazine. And while I can't wait for this issue to hit the stands, in the meantime I thought...
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Fabric designed with baby rice cereal, by Lisa Kerpoe. I just love to design my own fabric. Sometimes, I love it so much, I get all mushy. That's when you'll find me whipping up resists in the kitchen using mashed potato flakes, oatmeal, or even rice cereal for babies. I learned these resist...
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I confess, if I didn't love Quilting Arts so much, I'd throw in the towel and spend all of my time painting and dyeing fabric . You see, some day when I finally grow up, I want to be Jane Dunnewold (or Kerr Grabowski). I save any kind of surface design work for the summer when I can work outside...
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WEEKEND PLANS and a GIVE AWAY! Ready for the long weekend? I am excited for two main reasons: the sun is supposed to be out in Boston and I have set aside some much needed craft time. I can’t tell you how relaxing it is to just think about sitting on my back porch with nothing to do but craft....
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If I could sum up the way the world looks to me during the holiday season in one word, it would be "sparkle." Sparkle is everywhere, from the moonlit snow that twinkles like diamond dust to the strings of Christmas lights up on the rooftops, to the flickering candles lit for Hanukkah and Advent...
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Last week we asked our Facebook fans to share with us one of their blog entries in hopes of becoming the first Quilting Arts Facebook blogger of the week. There were so many great blogs that were posted it was nearly impossible to choose one! in the end, however, Pippa Eccles and I decided to pick Susan...
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Designer Kaffe Fassett has said he finds much of his inspiration for his palettes and patterns from books on ethnic textiles and his own worldwide travels. "I follow women in the marketplace to get a look at the pattern on the edge of their skirts or the way they put a flower in their hair,"...
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My head is spinning. This summer has been a traveling whirlwind for me since I've been traipsing about the country for Quilting Arts and adjusting to a Massachusetts/Colorado living situation. There have been a few mornings over the past several weeks where I’ve blinked my eyes open, groggily...