Kumihimo Demo

At the Sept meeting Corienne did a hands on demo of "Kumihimo" Japanese braiding. She had prepared kits for all of us, with an octagonal cut out with slots on each side, and a set of 7 threads. The braiding was already started about a half inch, so we did not have to struggle with getting started. She gave us several handouts, and showed us how to do a braid called "Fill the Gap" I'm sure it has a traditional fancy Japanese name. She said laughingly "kids catch on quiet easy," lets see how much of a challenge it will be for us. Everyone caught on pretty easily, but I went backwards and undid the first inch she had done for me.

Corienne also had several larger forms/stands called "Marudai" which will hold many more threads and enable you to do more complicated braids. There is a book on Kumihimo, that had a lot of different techniques in it. We used multiple strands of different weight yarns, in a variety of colors. We each got several inches done by the end of the meeting, and several people said this is FUN! It can easily be done in front of a TV. She gave me 6 extra kits to take for some girls on my school bus, when we have a 20 minute break, and they all loved it too, and made anklets and bracelets overnight and wanted more yarns. It will be interesting to see what everyone does with their braids.

Members Profile - Peggy

As a child I made doll clothes for my dolls and my mother taught me to sew and to do embroidery, knitting and crochet. In my teens I made historical costumes for my dolls and enjoyed doing the research. When I began collage I was a fine arts major for two years and then got practical and went for the Teaching Education. I took painting classes along the way and enjoyed them. I began to quilt when my children were small and a few friends and I got together for quilting and cake in the 1970's and I have been quilting ever since. I have won ribbons at the Umpqua Valley Quilters' Guild for both traditional and original quilts and wall hangings.

In the past few years I have enjoyed the fun and expressive side of art and non-traditional quilting and quilting arts. It has opened another world to me to combine my two loves and to learn new techniques and products and paint. It has also brought me around to where I began, painting. Associations: San Diego Stitchery Guild, Umpqua Valley Quilters' Guild, Basin of the Umpqua Quilt Guild, Wilbur Quilt Club, Fyber Cafe

Sept. Meeting 2012

Old Business Next month, Vera will demo, iron on vinyl and organza, screen printing, she will bring supplies. Nov. Amy will demo covered buttons for embellishments, Dec. meeting Holiday Potluck. New Business New challenge for fall, "Weaving" incorporate woven materials, fabric, yarns, fibers, natural materials, in some way into an art piece. Maximum size 18" x 18" can be smaller, some of us wanted a slightly larger area to work on than the 12 x 12. No theme, your choice. Due at the December meeting, no stress, not required, just something fun to do if you want to. Show and Tell Kay had a woven/braid/stitch around a disk or button, she has instructions for several different styles. She brought a sample made with cotton cording. She also found large foam stamps at Oriental Trading Co. these have been hard to find locally.

Pat found a new book, "Studio Space, vol II" that showed wonderful storage ideas for all the bits and pieces of embellishments we collect. She also brought her ice dyed silk scarves from the workshop at Amy's. Her Beatles piece "Yellow Submarine" was brought so it can be part of the display at the Sutherlin Library.

Sandy had photos of two delicate baby bonnets she made out of vintage linen and lace handkerchiefs, with ribbon roses. They were adorable, they came with directions for disassemble to use as something old for their weddings. Nancy is still cleaning up, will it ever end? And she brought a melty piece of rubber from a horse veterinarian from her England trip. It has lots of texture and she plans on using it for a rubbing plate.

Corienne brought her assortment of scarves from the ice dye workshop. Two were hand woven tinsel/rayon which took the dye very intensely. She went home and wove two silk scarves, one plain weave, one patterned, which she ice dyed, they were very soft and subtle colors. She had two crepe de chin silk scarves which had a different texture, and some washed out pale PDF that did not take the dye at all. We all puzzled over why the PDF did not hold the dye, it was definitely soaked in soda ash.

Peggy found a book "Image Transfer Workshop" by Darlene McElroy and Sandra Wilson, on different transfer techniques, she passed the book to Amy to read and then give a demo. Her Autumn Leaf quilt top is finished with many of her hand dyed fabrics, she is also passing it to Amy to machine quilt her magic.

Jana was very proud of the silk shawl she dyed, she used only "Better Black" Procion dye on it, and it came out a shimmery plum, with touches of turquoise, with long fringe. Her piece of silk scarf came out similar with touches of bronze dye also. She is working on her Beatles challenge "I am the Walrus" we look forward to seeing it.

Vera surprised us with a Beatles challenge "Penny Lane" what a fun cheerful piece with copper pennies her husband Wayne abused, she glued them on with a hot glue gun. She also had a silk scarf to show off, and she was wearing a woven ribbon/fiber scarf in autumn oranges and rusts.

Meredith is so enamored with ice dyeing she did more, trying to recreate one of the scarves Amy made that she likes so much, not even close. The colors were completely different. She also finished a Beatles piece, a 3-D fabric wood frame, hid several lame hearts, with a lock and key. "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away" The stitching on the wood texture was realistic, and the metal embellishments added a lot to the design.

Amy brought her assortment of cotton scraps which she ice dyed, many were the same color way in pinks and peach, her cheese cloth came out very soft peachy, and her silk hankies and silk cap were rich colors, but had a lot of white areas where the soda ash had not soaked through the fibers. It was a very good meeting, with lots of exciting work by our talented artists. Corienne did a demo of "Kumihimo" Japanese braiding, which I will do a separate post on.

More Fun with Ice

Since two of our members were not able to come to the dye workshop, and wanted to try the ice dyeing, we planned another dye day Amy's. Pat ordered some silk scarves, Corienne brought some woven silk scarves that she made and some yarns, and Jana had bought black dye and a silk shawl.

We first soaked the fabric in soda ash, after putting our initials on anything that wasn't unique. We spent time tucking fabric into baskets and folding it up, and placing it on wire and plastic racks. Jana especially had fun with all the fringe on her shawl. We piled on ice and sprinkled dye powder all over it. Choosing colors was a tough choice, what color to put with which other color of dye. Then the wait.... do NOT disturb for 24 hours...let the ice melt and the dye flow through the fabric. Every one came back the next morning, and we spent time rinsing out each piece and seeing what each other had done.

Everything was luscious and rich colors, Corienne thought she used too much dye powder, Amy thought she used too little, and Pat's silk was a mix of wonderful colors. Jana's silk shawl was a deep purple with blue/green highlights from the black dye, her other pieces of fabric with the black were a deep color also. Amy did a few silk hankies, and they came out a fuzzy mess, but a rich purple, a bronze and a pink/red, what to do with them?

We all had a great time, with lots of stuff for show and tell next meeting. Our little gray furry visitor almost ended up purple as he would not keep out of the strawberry baskets with the silk hankies.