Aloha from Hawaii

Its our first day here in beautiful Ohau and we were able to tour part of the island, see Diamond Head, the big waves and surfers and the lush and colourful foliage all around.
Sadly, it rained most of the day but we enjoyed seeing so many interesting sights. Its my first time to Hawaii, but my husband has been many times. I took pictures of some new stamping ideas that I will post later.
Tomorrow we'll drive around a bit more and then board our ship, Carnival Spirit, a bit later in the day. I'll be teaching on the days that we're sailing back to Vancouver, beginning later next week.

Another Stamping/printing idea

My friend, Ruth, sent me an image that she created using casters she no longer needed. In these days of re-purposing stuff I think it opens up the door to all sorts of ideas. What can we find around the house, yard, garage that can be used to create design. My husbands tool box is starting to look quite interesting! Do you think he'll miss anything??

Stamping Idea from Debbie

Debbie lives in Israel and sent me some images that she used on her blog for stamps. I like that she has created the reverse image, that gives lots more scope of what possibilities there might be. Visit Debbies blog at: http://debbiesfiberwork.blogspot.com
Debbie has some very interesting stuff there and be sure to check out her links, wow! I learned a lot!
How are your stamps coming along?

Dyeing Article

The latest issue, May 2009, of American Quilter came last week with my article on "clamp dyeing". Its always fun to see your work in print!!!

Clamp dyeing (itajame in Japanese) is a method of creating pattern by blocking out areas of fabric by compression when putting the fabric in the dye pot. I use lots of different tools to do this but most often wooden or plexiglass shapes and spring clamps.




I use a regular dye bath recipe and large buckets so I can get lots of fabric into the bath. Sometimes the clamped fabric packs can take up quite a bit of room as well.
Here are some pictures to illustrate the clamping method.

Chinatown

I was in Vancouver a little while back and took some pictures of the market in Chinatown. I love the arrangments of fruits and vegetable, the vibrant colours and the intriguing food. I'd love to taste some of the more exotic items that are offered, not sure I'd know how to cook them!



There's a wonderful cooking show on the Food Network that I really enjoy watching called Kylie Kwong: Simply Magic---Check it out if you can or visit her wonderful website http://www.kyliekwong.org

Sylvia Naylor Workshop

Last week I had the good fortune to take a class from a well known Canadian fabric artist. Sylvia Naylor has used fabric and thread in her work for many years and just happened to be teaching at a nearby quilt shop in Ottawa.
The topic was houses and we began by ripping coloured papers and glueing them down onto brown paper into a house design we liked. I made a design of three bright primary coloured houses with white trim. We then cut and ripped fabric onto a background and stitched it down. My piece needs lots more stitching and I think I'll add some paint washes to soften the background. But I have to wait until I get home next week for that.
Check out Sylvias web site at http://www.sylvianaylor.com

Stamping Monday on holiday!

I'm on the road for the next few weeks with travels and teaching in Ontario (I'm there now), teaching on a quilting cruise from Hawaii (poor me) and then attending Quilt Market. So I'll be taking a break from posting Stamping Mondays but will begin again later in May.
In the meantime, I'd love to post more of your stamping pictures and I'll keep you up to date with this and that! So check back again, or better yet, sign up for the Feedblitz and my posts get sent directly to you! Check the button to the left and down a bit.

Dyeing Day

I spent some time over the past couple of days sorting through a collection of fabrics, linens, laces and threads to create little "Textile Artist Packs". They are all hand dyed and have coordinating bead packs with them. There's enough in each pack to make a small project or add some of your own stash to be even more creative. I've just put some up on Etsy for sale but I have many more colour ways to tempt quilters, embellishers and more. Check them out at www.susanpm.etsy.com or email me at info@susanpm.com
I'm preparing the instructions for this technique, if you are interested email me for a copy.

Shattered Angles

Last fall I was in Cookstown, Ontario teaching my Shattered Angles class at Country Concessions http://www.countryconcessions.com/ and we had a wonderful 2 1/2 days! One of my students, Maureen Banks, sent me some pictures of her finished top. She used the Flower of the Month fabrics from Northcott.
Great Job, Maureen.
I'm also teaching this class at http://www.quiltuniversity.com

Celtic Twist

I have an article in the latest May 2009 issue of McCall's Quick Quilts. The quilt uses my Give and Take Applique technique which is a quilt and simple way of getting two designs from one applique motif or design. Its fun and an easy way to use up just a little bit of fabric. There's lots of different layout options to play with as well.