Thursday, October 16, 2008

Beyond The Borders - Adventures in Dyeing Coffee Filters

Joined a new group yesterday that I have wanted to join for quite some time. I know that there is a lot of creative 'stuff' floating around in my head that I just need to let out. Beyond the Borders (BTB) is a contemporary art quilt group they encourage everyone to "embrace creativity while coloring outside the lines of traditional quilting".

I was especially inspired by the coffee filters that Liz produced and immediatly tried to dye some coffee filters myself! Well, first of all I took the coffee filter out of the coffee pot from this morning, thinking that was a good start. I proceded to dump the grounds out of the filter and rinsed it. Duh, all the dark colors came out. I put the filter in a plastic container, and poured a little bit of the leftover coffee from the pot on the filter. I let that soak over night. Nothing. Same off white color as when I rinsed it.

To make a long story short, after checking the internet, maybe I should be using 'Instant coffee' . The other tip I found was that the dark the roast, the darker the stain. (I'm using HEB San Antonio blend- should that give a red cast?? LOL) .

Today, I went over to Wally world and bought a small jar of instant coffee. Tomorrow, we are going to try the spritzing method. I found this recipe at this Folk Art blog:

mix 5 tablespoons of instant coffee crystals in half a cup of hot water.
Add a few drops of vanilla extract to for a great scent
Using an old sponge, blot the dye on the fabric, adding more until you get the desired look.
She will then put in a 200 degree oven for about 10 minutes to facilitate drying.

Wednesday, October 01, 2008

eBay is a dangerous thing!

While we were in Atlanta, sitting out Hurricane Ike and waiting on new grandbaby, I found some great buys on eBay! Always a dangerous thing! I will post some pictures of the quilt tops that I scored! Now I will need to update my list of things to do!

I'm really pleased with this bear claw top. It's old, and hand pieced. I would like to finish this one, just need to find some appropriate fabric for the backing.
I'm showing a couple of the pictures. Probably paid too much for them, but what is it about that little thing that makes you keep bidding once you've found something you like? This blue and yellow one is pretty nice, trying to figure out what kind of quilting it should get.
One of the auctions I won, said it was VINTAGE AMISH BLCOKS. Well, I don't buy that after receiving them. Since they were pieced on foundation paper that had "Shoofly Part A" printed on the backside. Of course she didn't mention that in the description. Well, with any auction you take your chances, and for the most part, I was very pleased with what I got. I only paid $3 for the blocks, and they are nicely pieced, so not a total loss.
Another one that I'm very pleased with is this bouquet flower top. I have always loved this pattern, and have always wanted to make one. I think this makes it so I don't have to piece it, but now just need to finish it. Again, need to find something appropriate for the backing. Think I might go with a nice muslin or colored solid that is representitive of the 30's.