What's New in the Studio

Good Day!

I've been busy in the studio with dyeing new fabric and pearl cotton. I've added several things to the Etsy Shop.  I've also been busy with Christmas presents. So many of my grandkids love homemade items, that it is fun to make them for them. But I'm not showing you what they are, because one or two of them may be snooping. 😁

Hand Dyed Pearl Cotton DMC #8

Hand Dyed Cotton Yard Fabric

Ice Dyed Yard Cotton Fabric 

So what are you working on during the holiday season? Quilts? Holiday items? Christmas presents? I want to know. Inspire me!

Don't Forget! Free Shipping through the end of the year in my Etsy Shop. Use Coupon Code FreeShip2017

Have a wonderful, safe and joyous holiday season!

Creatively,

Jules

PS: Follow me on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest. I post a lot of new product on those pages!

What a Fun Dye Class!

Yesterday was a fun day in the Dye Studio. The Etc. Art Quilt Group came and had a creative day.

Sorry to say, we were having so much fun that I forgot to get a class picture! These 8 ladies were a blast and I look forward to them coming back to play.

We ice dyed, parfait dyed and container/zip lock bag dyed. To not waste any dye, I grabbed a piece of Lemon Lime fabric that was not on the exciting side of things and we used it to wipe our dye spoons and the blades to the mixing bullets. Here are the Before, During and After pictures.

Boring Lemon Lime

While Being "Enhanced"

Sitting before being washed

Final Product - One Yard of Monet Fabric

I also grabbed an old undershirt from Jeff's drawer and used it to wipe the bullet cups from when we mixed dye for container dyeing. This is now my favorite shirt.

I have a few pieces that I set to ice dye during the class, but haven't had time to wash them out yet. That will be another blog post.

Several of my dye students have asked if I rent out the dye studio so they can come dye and not have instruction. What a grand idea! So, I have made a cost schedule and it is posted under the Class and Workshop tab on my website. Just click over and check it out! Contact me with the days/times you would like to book. You can book during the week or on the weekend. I have two sinks and plenty of room and ice!

Until next time, don't forget that the unplanned dyeing can sometimes be your favorite!

Creatively,

Jules

Back to School - Free Shipping!

Back to School Free Shipping!

Get ready for Fall with a new scarf or treat yourself to quilting fabric (since you have the house to yourself again!).

Use Coupon Code BACK2SCHOOL for Free Shipping at check out in my Etsy shop.

Hand Dyed Scarves

I love dyeing fabric and scarves and hankies. Being able to share this love with others gives me a wonderful feeling. When you wear one of the hand dyed scarves, you will always have someone commenting on the color and the uniqueness of the pattern.

The hand dyed fabrics, each of the ice dyed pieces is different and I have started dyeing pieces using the Shibori technique. Today I posted new fat quarters that are in different colors and various Shibori techniques.

Hand Dyed Fat Quarters
Hand Dyed Yards

Do you needlepoint or hand quilt? I have some beautiful DMC pearl cotton to go with your hand work. I love to needlepoint and have hand dyed DMC to work on a project. What a peek? I am doing this to go along with the Four Year Quilt! When I'm done it will be put on a custom made footstool. 

Pearl Cotton

So, enjoy your day and pop on over to StudioJulesArt on Etsy and use your BACK2SCHOOL Free Shipping code in the Coupon Code section of check out. 

Snow Day = Snow Dyeing!

It feels good to be back in the Studio and being productive. Lately, I have been working on a new quilt for our bedroom (pictures to follow in a later post).

Earlier this week I enjoyed sitting at my machine and the sun shining on my back.

The next morning we woke up to a surprise snow.

Since enough had accumulated on the outdoor kitchen counter it was time for some snow dyeing. I pulled some of my favorite colors (Carmine Red, Teal, Golden Yellow and Wedgewood Blue) and sprinkled them dry on the snow covered fabric. 

One yard was put into a container with the snow, just to see how it would melt out. 

Container Snow Dyed

The container piece has it’s pluses and minuses, but I think the parts that look dark will be great surface work pieces.

Here are how the other four pieces turned out. They are all wonderful and I can see so many different uses and whole cloth quilts in each one. 

Can you see an English Garden?

Sunset over the mountains

Firework explosion.

Fall vegetable garden

Ice Dyeing Again!

Even in the midst of Christmas shopping and making Christmas presents, I had to spend a few minutes in the dye studio yesterday and ice dye some fabric. I needed some fabric therapy. This piece (one yard) is Strongest Red and Clear Yellow. I also dyed a half yard and four fat quarters. I don't have time to load them online yet, but if you are interested, drop me an email and I'll make time to take pics and send them to you.

While these beautiful pieces of fabric were washing and drying I got to work in the studio and made this precious tool belt for my grandson (he's pretty precious too). I already had this in the plan when our son asked me to make Hudson two tool belts. One for their house and one for ours, that way he can help Paw Paw in the workshop. I used fabrics out of my stash. Faux suede  and Building Blocks by American Jane Patterns. I found an online tutorial for the pattern. One-Hip-Mom has a great blog with the tutorial. The tool belt went together quick and easy. She has some other great tutorials on her site too. Check it out!

Okay, time to get back to work on the next little Christmas surprises!

Ice Dyeing, Oh My Goodness, I'm Hooked!!!!!

Okay, in my post day before yesterday I told you about my first day of  "Ice Dyeing". I'm hooked, hook, line and sinker. This is the way I'm going to work for a while. Just look at what happens!

These two are already posted on StudioJulesArt on Etsy.

Colors used: Lilac, Fuchsia, and Clear Yellow

Colors used: Slate Blue, Basic Red and Lemon-Lime Green

Can you believe how beautiful and gorgeous these fabrics are! Here are the other two. They are in my StudioJules Art Fire studio.

Colors used: Lilac, Fuchsia and Clear Yellow

Colors used: Slate Blue, Basic Red and Lemon-Lime Green

Dye Color Decisions

Decisions, Decisions...what's a girl to do. I need to get busy dyeing fabric so I'm not behind come the first of the year when the quilt shows are all gearing up. Last week I made a delightful trip to United Notions/Moda and bought 5 bolts of PFD.

Today, I'm sitting here with my list of dye colors and my color wheel. Trying to decide what new color combos would be pretty and pleasing to the eyes of my customers. 

So, help me out here ya'll, what color combos do you like?

Dye Day!

Today was great fun, I used my dye sink for the first time and oh how sweet it is! To be able to have a double sink and be able to mix several colors at once. I had an assembly line going! There are fabrics in the wash and these just came out of the dryer, I know it is hard tell by the picture, but the color combinations are awesome. I tried some new color combos and mixed some colors together (bright yellow and chartreuse) to see what would happen and boy, did the colors pop! In the fabric mix today I dyed my regular cotton, three different weights of linen, doilies, Aida cloth, trim, rick rack, lace, and my favorite mixed media technique item - cheesecloth.
Tomorrow is ironing day, so when the ironing is done - I'll post more pictures.
Just had to tease you a little bit today!

Hand dyed Fat Quarter Show and Tell

The weather cooperated this morning and I was able to take pictures outside of the fat quarters I hand dyed the past couple of days. Blues and greens are usually very difficult to photograph, but the clouds were working with me today and I didn't have to do any color adjustments!

The first one I want to show you is the one that was the one I had rolled with a hand painted fat quarter and then threw into the dye bath. I love it! I have posted it in my Etsy shop, click here to see it in the shop.



I've only been able to post the ones I've selected to sell on Etsy today. I'll post the ones I have selected for ArtFire tomorrow. Here are the ones on Etsy!

It is Always Good to Sleep on it

When in doubt about certain fabrics you have put in a quilt, it is always good to sleep on it and have a fresh view the next day. And that is what I did. The blue in the middle of this quilt just seemed too dark and a little off. The colors of the swirls are more in harmony now. As I was working today I just wasn't feeling the paint trails I had made with the dark blue organza (see previous post for picture with the paint trails), so I removed them and will test later, on other fabric, the paint trails that will come off the blue fabric in the middle through the other colors. There are a few other places that I'm just not 100% happy with, but that is what I will sleep on tonight.
Well, Mr. Wonderful is on his way home, time to start dinner!
Happy creating!

Feeling Good

Feeling good and feeling creative today. After two days of a thunderstorm headache, today is a great day! Oh, it feels good to be pain free and feeling creative. I've been working on the first quilt of a triptych series. All the fabrics are ones that I have hand dyed, specifically for this series. I have just a little bit of fabric left to fuse onto the quilt and then I can start painting and quilting.



This past Saturday I had a great day with my friend Kathy Mayhew! We started the day with manicures and pedicures, stopping by Oxide Gallery and then off we went to the Denton Jazz and Arts Festival. What fun! The weather cooperated with cool breezes and the sun peeking through the clouds on and off. The shopping was fantastic! I found two great pairs of earrings, a summer dress and homemade jellies. Kathy bought some great jewelry too!
Okay, time to start dinner for Mr. Wonderful! Have a great evening everyone and keep on stitching!

There is A Lot Going on This Week!

There is a lot going on this week. I'm spending time catching up on paperwork, cleaning up the studio, putting supplies back from a workshop with Deborah Boschert, and working on a few little projects. Today as I work on a few little projects, there are men downstairs taking the old tile out of the master shower....the drain pan is leaking. By the end of the week we will have a new shower with slate tile, so yum, I'm going to feel like I'm at a spa.
Last week I finished the "Outside In" quilt. There aren't any pictures to show you the finished quilt, my camera is at the manufacturer being repaired. Monday I have an appointment to have it professionally photographed, along with "The Truck Quilt" and "Sunflower with a Passion for Color". So, stay tuned, next week there will be pictures!
When it warms up a bit tomorrow or Friday, I'm going to get back to dyeing fabric for the next series of quilts. Hopefully I will be able to start on the first quilt next week.
Okay, just wanted to pop in and give you an update!

Hugs and Kisses Mixed Media Art Quilt

Just finished this great little art quilt! My thanks go to my friend Kathy Mayhew who let me use one of her screen prints to start this project. Really, I started this back in August when I had my birthday "Dye Party". Kathy taught us how to screen print and this is on the pieces I started. After I screened it, I soaked it in a bath of turquoise dye. I then accent painted it, added some mixed media items, hand wrote some phrases, hand quilted it and then had stitched the binding. This week I hand painted a canvas to mount it on and I'm really pleased with the way it came out!
So, if you really love this piece, it's for sale in my Etsy shop, StudioJulesArt.

Early Happy Valentines!

More Snow!

Well, I didn't think we would get any snow this year in North Texas by the weatherman's report a few months ago, but Mother Nature has proved them wrong and we are having our second snow for the season. So, this morning I set up to dye fabric (with the help of Mr. Wonderful) in the garage. I'm so glad he is a HVAC dude and has a HVAC unit on "his side of the garage" (aka the workshop, when it gets built out). Heat was on while I was mixing dyes, yum! There are 4 yards, 4 fat quarters and a couple of fat quarters that I did surface dyeing on this past Saturday.



Now for the snow....... this is the drift outside our garage.



Jeff took the shovel and just piled on the snow on the fabric for me.



In this picture you can see my little roll cart in the background. It holds my dyes and dye utensils. It's great for rolling from "my side of the garage" over to workshop sink area (and the heater).



This is my huge fabric snow cone. Colors of Midnight Blue, Chartreuse, Golden Yellow, Hot Pink, Robin's Egg Blue, Turquoise, Fuchsia, Purple, and Light Red. Yes, I like lots of color!



This next picture shows a small container. It has a couple of pieces in it that I surface dyed on Saturday. I just wanted to dye them Robin's Egg Blue, so we will see how the snow dyed technique works with it.



So that is my work for the morning. This afternoon I am going to iron the fabrics I parfait dyed on Saturday. Show and Tell for those fabrics tomorrow!

Stay warm Ya'll!

Parfait Dyeing Results from Last Week

Well I have dyed, ironed and posted fabrics on Etsy and ArtFire! Thought I would give you a peek at what came out of the dye containers. The colors are so beautiful and I'm amazed at how the dyes take so differently from the snow dyed fabrics. The snow dyed fabrics, the colors are so much more brilliant and the parfait dyed fabrics are softer. The movement in both are wonderful and unique. So, here are the parfait fabrics!


Hand Dyed Cotton Fabric Fuchsia


Hand Dyed Cotton Fabric Varigated Green and Yellow


Hand Dyed Cotton Fabric Fuchsia and Blue


Hand Dyed Cotton Fabric Blue and Fuchsia


Hand Dyed Cotton Fabric Purple, Fuchsia and Blues


Hand Dyed Cotton Fabric Golden Yellow and Green


Fuchsia and Blue Hand Dyed Fabric


Multi Color Dyed Cotton Fabric 1 Yard