fabric Archives | CindyRQuilts

What do you do with all those leftover fabric snippets, my quilting friends???

Today a student of mine gently commented that when she works at my sewing station, “things fall on the floor”. I looked at the workspace and was embarrassed to agree that it was cluttered beyond reason with tiny pieces of fabric snippets and small scraps from my most recent projects. They tell us to keep them so we can use them in tomorrows projects… But what do we do with them once they become cluttered piles? What do you do with batting scraps? Space is not infinite and too many piles are overwhelming.

I started the tedious job of sorting them by color. Small snippets went into small plastic containers from my husband’s cold cuts… Large pieces went into the old cookies containers we bought and saved. I sorted till I thought I would scream. I actually took a water break long enough to describe this story here, during which time, one of our many cats came in and dumped two of the containers. OH DEAR!!!

So, no choice. I will finish sorting these and cover all the containers. I have shelves for storage and they will serve me well. It has been fun to see what I have. Actually, it’s been inspiring. I started thinking about how some of the green scraps would make lovely tree foliage. So, it is not all for naught.

When I am through, I will have a tidy workspace, happier students and a nicer space in which I can create.

What is my advice? Do this process after every project. If you wait till you have heaps of scraps the task will be so daunting you will not want to do it…

Here are a few photos of before and after… just to inspire you too.

Happy creating.

June 6, 2013 By admin

2 In Accessories & Wearables

New fashion shoulder bag inspired by our cousin

What is the best market research? The commissioned work! Our cousin called and said she wanted a bag to give as a gift. But it needed a zipper and it had to have shoulder straps and maybe some pockets… Pockets are always good. Voila! The new fashion shoulder bag is born!
I just delivered the bag to her and she was really pleased. It is now available on Etsy. Comes in lots of batiks (options shown in the last image). It’s lightweight, colorful, fashionable and washable.
Come visit! Shoulder bag.
Enjoy.

August 23, 2011 By admin

1 In Quilting Techniques

Dyeing fabric is really enjoyable

I had not dyed fabric before yesterday. My friend Riki mentioned that she had some experience with it and she came over to share her knowledge. My daughter Danielle got up early to join in the fun.

Everything was ready… The table was covered and the pans for the dye were out and scraps of cotton fabric were piled high. So we went at it. We used rubber bands and pipe cleaners to make swirls and circles. We wrapped fabric around rice and lentils using rubber bands. This came out a little different than just winding bands around the fabric. Riki made an accordion out of one piece of fabric, which resulted in stripes after she soaked up dye on each side of the accordion. Danielle and Riki decorated a tee shirt from Danielle’s closet.

We read about different methods and dyes from dyeing expert, Paula Burch. Her site is really helpful and informative: http://www.pburch.net/. By the way, we used dye that works on cottons, called Rit dye (www.ritdye.com).

We poured a little bit of dye and some boiling water into aluminum pans and started dunking and swishing the fabrics in them. Although we wore gloves, we all ended up with teal colored fingers. Oh well, that’s the price for fun.

Here are some photos of our morning. I’m ready to do it again! Who wants to join us?

July 12, 2011 By admin

0 In Israel / Holyland/ Landscapes

Scenes from Holy Land: Sea of Galilee landscape quilt

Scenes from the Holy Land: Sea of Galilee is my rendition of the shores of lake Kinneret, located in the Galilee in Northern Israel. The Sea of Galilee is our main source of water and due to a severe drought water levels have been a great concern over the past few years.

This is the first of a series of Kinneret quilts I am planning. I think this part of the country is beautiful and I have tried to convey this in my quilt. I hope you too can appreciate the countryside by peering into the waters of my work. I used numerous fabrics to depict the rocks and mountains.

Dimensions: 19″w x 15″h / 48cm x 38.5cm

Available at my Etsy shop. Visit soon!

February 22, 2011 By admin

0 In Israel / Holyland/ Quilting Guilds/ Quilting Techniques

Etsy Quiltsy team: Traveling quilt blocks

The Quiltsy Team on Etsy has organized a round robin quilt. This time the blocks come from all over the world, including Canada, Australia, Israel and many parts of the US. The pattern is log cabin and the color range is blues, greens and purples. Each time someone posts a block, she sends a photo with the block within a scene indigenous to her home. All the posts appear in the Quiltsy Blog.I took a photo of my block on a windy day while standing in front of the ancient wall at Tel Tzora, Israel, famous for Samson and Delilah, which is just a few minutes from our house.
Wikipedia writes: “Samson is believed to have been buried in Tel Tzora in Israel overlooking the Sorek valley. There reside two large gravestones of Samson and his father Manoah. Nearby stands Manoah’s altar (Judges 13:19-24). It is located between the cities of Tzorah and Eshtaol.”

February 17, 2011 By admin

3 In Contests & Exhibits

Quilt contest

I am going to enter into a contest. I need to make a 12″ x 12″ quilt of a pet or animal in the wild.

I thought I narrowed it down, but I just don’t know. I am now adding a duck and a crab to the list. The crab is amazing! Maybe that’s the one? I already had a bird, a turtle and a cat in a bowl.

So far I have heard from two people. They say the cat and the bird are good choices. Thanks for responding, Amy and Lynn!

What do you think??? It should be endearing and catch the eye. And, I should still be able to create it in fabric. More comments, anyone?

December 12, 2010 By admin

4 In Personal/ Quilting Techniques

Why is quilting important to me?

Being surrounded by beauty raises people’s spirits and outlook. I am very conscious of the harmony I create through color and choice of fabric. My favorite subjects are scenes from Israel. I love taking my own photographs and recreating them in fabric. I paint with thread much like a painter uses inks and paint. If you can walk into one of my scenes, I’ve done a good job!

See more of my work at www.cindyrquilts.com

Cindy

October 1, 2010 By admin