Rust

The rust piece is finally finished!  I learned while finishing it that apparently I would prefer to thread my machine left handed, but the cast wouldn't let me get close enough.  As I tried it just went 'clunk' against the machine, so I was forced to use my right hand.  LOL  Thankfully the actual machine sewing process isn't hampered too much by the cast! In spite of the challenges I encountered working with the rust dyed fabric (you can read about it here, and more about how the piece began here), I think I'll work with it again because I'm really pleased with the finished piece.

Here are a few close up images of the piece:

Linking up with Off The Wall Friday.

Continuing to Make Slow Progress...

As I've been working on my Rust quilt, I'm finding just how much of a challenge it is to machine quilt rust dyed fabric.

I'm making slow progress, but I thought I'd show you a couple of areas that are now done.  I'm really happy with the look I'm achieving, but I can't tell you how many times I've had to rethread the machine because the rust is literally shredding my thread as I sew.

Fortunately I am now moving into some areas which are going to have hand stitching so I'll have a break from the machine work, at least for a while.

I was considering showing you more, but Arbour thinks I should make you wait until it's done...

Spring Is In the Air!

 Last night, while listening to TV I was doodling in one of my art journals, and clearly Spring was on my mind.  I'll probably add some watercolour to this to give it some colour, but today's goal is to keep working on the quilting of my rust dyed piece.  I started working on it briefly last night, as you can see in this photo.

My goal is to finish it this week, but we'll see what other distractions pull me away from it.  Some days I feel like the crow, attracted and/or distracted by anything shiny, but in my case it's anything at all...shiny or not.  Look, there's a distraction now...

Rusty WIP

Here's a look at the basic layout of the rust piece I'm working on.  I love the rust dyed fabric, but it is really hard on machine needles!  I've got some plans for the larger black areas, although this photo doesn't show the rust in them.  The close up below gives you a better indication of the wonderful colour and texture that is showing on the black.  It almost looks like old leather.  Really cool!

Starting to Plan...

Back in January, I did some rust dyeing and talked a little about the 'how to' of it all.  Well it's time to get all those fabrics out and start planning the art quilt for which they were made.   

I'm planning to use text on this quilt, as well as a photograph which I took and digitally altered to include a quote.  

There are so many ideas floating around in my head.  Now I just need to harness some of them and get started with the actual piecing...

Rust Dyeing

I've always loved old rusty things...there's just something about their old, rustic look that I find charming.  And, as an avid cyclist, I see a lot of interesting rusty pieces of metal along the side of the road in my travels.

About a year ago, I read about rust dyeing and thought if would be fun to try.  I started carrying plastic bags in my bike's pannier, so I could collect the interesting bits of rusted metal that I'd see in my travels.  As a side note, there is a relatively large (about 14"-16" diameter) round 'thing' that seems to fall off of large trucks on a frequent basis!

I dyed one piece of fabric with some of my rusty bits and loved the result, but as with so many things, it got set aside and nothing ever came of it.

Then, last week I got an idea for an art quilt, partly in response to a call for entry that I read about in the SAQA newsletter, and I got out my collection of rusty metal and dyed some more fabric.

I just love the fun of opening up the piece after a couple of days and seeing what surprises it holds.  You have to check both sides because the results look different from each side and you therefore have a couple of choices as to which parts you will use in your art piece.

If you're interested in trying this, you just need some rusty bits of metal that you've scrounged up from somewhere, fabric, water and some white vinegar.  The acid in the vinegar speeds up the rusting.

Use relatively small pieces of fabric (fat quarter sized or there abouts) because if the fabric is too big you won't get the interesting designs on large parts of it.

I wrap the piece of metal in the fabric, put it into a plastic bin and then pour a 50/50 mix of water and vinegar over it to wet the fabric.  Let that sit for at least 24 hours.  You can check it to see how it's looking and then decide if you want to leave it longer.

Take out the fabric and rinse it well.  I continue rinsing until the water runs clear, and then I wash it in the washing machine to make sure I've got all of the residue out.

Keep the rusty pieces of metal because you can use them again.  I just put them on top of another piece of fabric (which will get rust marks on it too!  bonus!) and store them in a plastic bin until I need them again.

I wasn't sure about the long term effect on the fabric, but in last weeks episode of DMTV, Linda Kemshall was also talking about rust dyeing and she mentioned having a cushion that she made ten years ago using rust dyed fabric and it was no worse for wear.