How I started ....
Stripes
My love affair with fabric began the summer of 2003 in Wichita Falls, TX. I wandered into the local quilt shop and signed up for a beginners quilting class.
Fast forward to 2005 Scotia, NY and I joined a quilt guild or three! You can never join just one; especially if you’re new to area and want to know things which are important to quilters. Meeting new people and taking classes through the guild I got to see lots of lovely quilts and fabric. Going to quilt shows I’d see hand dyed fabric; it either didn’t feel nice or the colors looked muddy or pastel. So I didn’t give it a second thought.
It’s 2007 and I sign up to take a class with Frieda Anderson on machine appliqué. This class was where I caught the dyeing bug. Frieda was selling her hand dyed cotton and silk fabrics to use for her quilts. So, a friend and I pooled our money and bought hand dyed silk. How did she get her fabric to look the way it did? Her colors were so vibrant and yummy! After class in a Q & A session the basic knowledge of dyeing was given. A small group got together and tried, at first not so successfully… But, on the second attempt eureka! I kept playing, but couldn’t get the look I wanted.
So, in July 2008 I spent 2 weeks at ProChem taking classes to learn how to dye properly. October 2008 was my first quilt show and I’ve been dyeing ever since…. More recently, I teamed up with a very good friend, who happens to be a very creative and talented designer, she has incorporated my fabric into some of her designs. Go to www.sewmanycreationsny.com for more information.
Sew More, Rip Less
Mary
Fast forward to 2005 Scotia, NY and I joined a quilt guild or three! You can never join just one; especially if you’re new to area and want to know things which are important to quilters. Meeting new people and taking classes through the guild I got to see lots of lovely quilts and fabric. Going to quilt shows I’d see hand dyed fabric; it either didn’t feel nice or the colors looked muddy or pastel. So I didn’t give it a second thought.
It’s 2007 and I sign up to take a class with Frieda Anderson on machine appliqué. This class was where I caught the dyeing bug. Frieda was selling her hand dyed cotton and silk fabrics to use for her quilts. So, a friend and I pooled our money and bought hand dyed silk. How did she get her fabric to look the way it did? Her colors were so vibrant and yummy! After class in a Q & A session the basic knowledge of dyeing was given. A small group got together and tried, at first not so successfully… But, on the second attempt eureka! I kept playing, but couldn’t get the look I wanted.
So, in July 2008 I spent 2 weeks at ProChem taking classes to learn how to dye properly. October 2008 was my first quilt show and I’ve been dyeing ever since…. More recently, I teamed up with a very good friend, who happens to be a very creative and talented designer, she has incorporated my fabric into some of her designs. Go to www.sewmanycreationsny.com for more information.
Sew More, Rip Less
Mary
