Monday, September 28, 2009

Quilting With Dyed Fabrics is FUN!


I'm flying to D.C. on Wednesday to the Sewing Expo for Hancock Fabrics to demonstrate The Tulip® Dye Techniques Kit™ and the Tulip® Cordless Heat Setting Tool™ with the Tulip® Glam-It-Up!™ Iron-On Crystals™ combined to create a cute and sassy quilted tote bag and a mini quilt wall hanging.

The Sewing Expo is part of a national campaign to bring inspiration, motivation, education and personal satisfaction to everyone who enjoys sewing, quilt making, embroidery, embellishment and related needle arts. I can't believe I get to be a part of this amazing event.

So, to design the sassiest little bag with dyed fabric, I first have to grab my supplies at the iLoveToCreate design studio and dye my little heart out. I decided to create 3 of the 5 techniques in the kit for my projects.

Our house in Clovis has a darling patio out back with a ceiling fan, and it's just begging to have a little dye party, so I got the fan buzzing, and laid out my kit. I grabbed 2 kits, because I needed 12 yards of fabric for the tote, the quilt, and the demo swatches.

First step? I washed and dried all the 100% cotton fabric to take out the sizing and prepare it for the dye.

My steel sink is perfect for mixing the dyes. They're great because all I have to do is put on my gloves and then fill all the bottles with water (the dye is already in there) and shake.

Scott set up a table cover with plastic trash bags. Of course he used bungies to hold it down. I call him Bungy Man. (When I'm not calling him Zip-tie Man.)

I started with the shibori technique and since my project is so humongus, I taped the 2 tubes together that come in the kits.

Then I laid it under the fabric and scrunched it up. The shibori tube holds the fabric up so that you get that cool look, and keeps it from puddling. You'll see!

Now, the dying begins. I squirted it onto the fabric along the top of the tube. Then, I moved the tube over about 8 inches and repeated until I was at the end of the fabric.

Voila! I hung it on the clothesline and replaced the trash bag with a new one for the next color.

Woohoo, the brush technique was amazing. I simply poured my dye out of the bottle and into a disposable bowl, dipped my brush from the kit into the dye, and made crisscross strokes all the way across. Loved it.

After changing the trash bag on the table again, I was ready for the spray technique. This was soooo easy and fast. I made little hills and valleys with the fabric, then used the spray top from the kit to spray away.

I don't know what the neighbors think, but it sure gave them a colorful view while the dye set for 4 hours. Last step, wash and dry the fabric separately and then make my little tote bag.

I love how the cotton dyed fabric turned out and it feels good, not crunchy. I'll be posting the project at iLoveToCreate.com with all the instructions right away.

The crystals were uber easy to apply with the heating tool, and I think they added a little sparkle-farkle to the bag. Like I said, super fun, and a little bit sassy with the crystals and in bright, happy colors.

Come see me at the Sewing Expo in Chantilly, VA! I'll be there Thursday, Friday and Saturday in the Hancock Fabrics booth. Look for the gal with the bright green tablecloth and the happy smile.... I'll show you how to dye fabrics for your quilting and sewing projects, and our cute little cordless heating tool for jazzin' up your projects.

See you there!
Pattiewack

Sunday, September 20, 2009

Behind the scenes of iLoveToCreate with Pattiewack



"FLIP OUR STUDIO"

At iLoveToCreate we have been given the green light to turn our design room into an ultra-uber design studio that we are proud of and excited to create in every day. That's the GOOD news.

Now for the BAD news... Okay, you have to realize that it took YEeeears for this space to become engorged with tons of craft supplies, tools, sewing machines, computers, and projects. Of course, we have to BLOG about it. And it is a work in progress which we will finish in the next 2 weeks.


And... Yes, as expected we have the pics and story to show the metamorphosis of this huge space.


So, what you are about to see might change you forever. Hide the small children, warn your mother, and you might want to peer through your fingers….


The West side of the studio is where you can find Chloe Tatro, our copy writer who is often our in-house model, and Designer Suzie Shinseki who creates fabulous ceramics and crafts every day.... somewhere in there.

Here's the East side of the studio where Designers Kathy Cano Murillo and Cheryl Ball and Allee Marderosian create amazing designs amidst the clutter.

More of the East side where my Pattiewack design space is tucked behind there somewhere.

The conference table, which sometimes is so covered up we just forget about it and put chairs in a circle.

The sink & clean-up station, where paint brushes go and never are seen again.


I warned you! Can you imagine looking for a box of pins, a bag of crystals or a bottle of Aleene’s Tacky Glue? Trust me, there are some amazing designs coming from this chaos, but it is time, time, time to get some serious scrub done.


We've rolled up our sleeves and grabbed our brooms and scrubbies. I’ll be posting more behind-the-scene pics and show how we totally re-designed this pile of crafty chaos into a seriously sweet design studio.

So in the words of Tim Gunn, "Designers, make it work!"



Saturday, September 19, 2009

House of Mutti

On a recent visit to Scott's parents in University Place, Washington, I thought it would be fun to take a little photo tour of all the cool decor in their house. Scott's Mom and Dad were stationed in Germany while the kids were young, so they called their mom "Mutti" which is German for mother. She is quite the decorator and collector of a combination of whimsical and traditional art and objects.

Shirley is also a volunteer at the Glass Museum in Tacoma. You'll notice a pair of hand blown martini glasses and wind chime in the tour below, as well as some of her darling evening dresses, some funny pics of Scott, Hummel figurines, and more. Pops is a retired Air Force pilot, and there is an unusual painting with airplanes in flight. I'll be posting pics of some of the glass soon. Enjoy!