A Good Day to Dye!

There are these friends that I have that are at least as crazy as ME. It is now 8:00 pm and still 94 degrees outside. (We won't talk about the humidity!) But when it is a good day to dye...you just gotta dye.

I hand-dyed 11 of my 15 bamboo scarves, plus a bit more. This scarf was dyed in peacock and then (because I have to play with something new...) I stamped a Jacquard textile color on top of the dyed fabric with a homemade stamp. Whew! barely made it from end to end with my little sample bottle of ink. I'm lovin' the texture. It will be for sale at the upcoming Azzurro Luna Studio sale that happens in November. 

In the meantime....check out the classes that are being offered at Azzurro Luna!

Pretty much feel "dog tired" tonight, but can't wait too get started tomorrow morning!! 

Happy coloring,

Tana

Change

So when you are faced with change, do you embrace it or run away as fast as possible yelling at the top of your lungs? 

I have actually done both, but today I am embracing the latest of the changes that keep rolling into my world. Remember this picture?

Well it is now part of my rolling office! There has been a change and you are looking at the new fabric rep for Blank Quilting Corp. So now you know why this blog has been stagnate!

I keep changing my mind on packing these totes. 

(Actually, there was a change in ownership at Blank Quilting Corp too.) I think everyone may still in the transitional learning curve but thanks to the worker bee's at Blank (CG and RB, specifically) with the leadership of Scott Fortunoff, that curve is more of a straight path everyday. 

Another change is on the brown truck! The new line of fabric should be at my door today, so I will get to change my packed bags once again. (Weekend project with coffee....can't wait to see what's in the box.) A preview e-mail from Scott listed the 11 new lines. The last on the list was Western Album by Western Denim & Dirt, designed by native Texan TANA MEULLER!! Now how cool is that? Native Texan Tana is going to be selling a design by Tana.  Wonder how many people I can confuse with that one. ~Good thing I sign my work tdoss, otherwise I might be the first to be confused~

Alright, on that thought, I need to go make some change!!

Happy coloring, 
Tana

On the Halves

See the update on a CHANGE here. 

When I was in my formative years if you called Granny during the summer and asked, "What are you doing?" She would probably reply, "Working on the halves."  This meant her home would be filled with the sweet sweet smells of peaches, strawberries, figs or any other fruit or vegetable that was in season. She had friends that would bring her bushels upon bushels of fresh from the farm bounty and she would either can their goodness or blanch and bag for freezing. Her payment for her labor? That would be half the bounty!

Maybe I have learned her lesson well. :-) 

Two fabric lines from blankquilting.com

I have a stitching friend, Robin Kinley, that is a fabric rep for Blank Quilting. She was in the middle of a major household move when the new line of fabrics arrived at her door. Can I just say....half of that fabric in the picture above is mine! (Insert a big smile!)

If you are in the North East Texas area and need a bit of fabric for yourself, you can reach Robin at rkinley53@gmail.com. She will bring her samples (all sewn by me...) for you to touch.

Pillow pattern converted into a table topper from Better Homes and Gardens Bags, Pillows & Pincushions, vol 2

I just loved this fabric!The variety of flowers makes it fun if you like to fussy cut, hence the center motif. The blue and yellow combination along with the turquoise is very calming, but I love how the splash of orange gives it such character and really makes these fabrics fun. 

Bag pattern from Better Homes and Gardens Bags, Pillows & Pincushions, vol 2

The second line of fabrics was a bit more challenging for me even though I fell in love with the mosaic dragonfly's and flowers instantly. When I saw this bag pattern, I knew the busy print would mix perfectly with the companion tone on tone fabrics. Really think I might "forget" to deliver this bag to Robin. (JK Robin...in case you are reading this!!) 

What fun this has been and now I'm done...guess I will have to catch up on the housework that I've conveniently ignored.

Happy coloring,

Tana

P.S. Just so you know, I could give a tomato a hot water bath, peel and core probably by the time I was 7. There is nothing like standing in a chair watching red orbs bob up and down in a steaming vat of boiling water. I can still recall the feeling of my arms covered in sweet tomato juice. 

Completing My Phd - A Challenge

Darn it! I was under the illusion that a happy place was one where you continually added to the pile of incomplete projects! After being challenged at the April Quilt Guild meeting to complete a Phd (Projects Half Done) I went home...opened the closet door...pulled out desk drawers....and...took count of the stock pile of incomplete.... The list was STAGGERING.(Stopped counting at 29, because 30 half done projects is insane...)

The quilt guild challenge was to complete 6 (six - noun \ˈsiks\ a number) of your half done projects and a seventh charity project.

PROJECT #1 Complete!! A Mondo Bag that was started with my small group of stitching buddies in 2013....been to 2 quilt shows without this lovely!

And then I had to acknowledge why I can't get things finished...

NOT on the list was a matching lunch bucket bag....but I had all these left-over scraps and it is always fun to start a new project. (Please note that this is a FINISHED bag.)

#2 on the list is a 52 1/2" x 52 1/2" quilt that I started as a Block of the Month but had a wild hair to alter the size for a 4 - Square pattern. 

Some Micheal Miller fabrics and some of my hand dyed batiks.

This still needs the backing and quilting, but that IS GOING TO HAPPEN this next week. However, I can't mark it as done until the pattern is typed and ready to go.

#7 Is the charity project. (Yes, I know, I will finish the list in a minute.)

Isn't this a great scrap quilt! My stitching buddies, the Have Knots, are letting me quilt their beautiful creation. I'm new to the group so I didn't participate in the making of the top, so a little quilting is my way of contributing to the effort! 

Have the supplies for both the quilts and I've spent this weekend clearing off my quilting surface for next week's business.

Now, just for the record:

#3 Desk side decorated (long story)
#4 Tab Top Curtain for the Kitchen...tired of looking at the one panel
#5 One Block Wonder Queen Quilt (Started the top last July)
#6 Complete the woven scarf so I can return the tri-loom to Sharon

Happy coloring  uhmmm; Happy finishing!
Tana

Busting Out in Bunnies

About a month ago there was a cute primitive bunny quietly supervising a booth at a local quilt show. I just fell in love at first site, but she wasn't for sale. (Like I said, she was supervising!) I did, however, leave very inspired. I came home and immediately drafted a pattern for a small bunny.

Then I had to remember the process of paint, distress (sand) and stain muslin to make it "primitive", but this cute little couple came out of the process. 

This little baby just can't get enough embroidery. I started with a piece of tatting and then it just kept needing more....

I should probably finish her face and call her done! I only "aged" the muslin with coffee on this bunny. I hope to have a pattern and tutorial finished by Friday that I will post on the entire process. 

There is a pattern for this bunny in paper...

I love Scherenschnitte (paper cutting). This ornament will sit on the table or hang from the center connecting thread. Working on another something Egg-stra special in paper cutting too. 

Linking up with WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced. 

Hope you have enjoyed my litter of bunnies!

Happy coloring,
Tana

Just Goes to Show You

Or at least it showed me....that would be the 33rd Annual Tyler Quilt Show.

One event after another had delayed the finishing of a quilt that I had committed to enter into the show. (Have you ever "picked out" any quilting?...At least three hours of pulling strings was really annoying.) The day the quilts were to be delivered another un-anticipated event made it necessary to leave town no later than 11:15....quilt receiving was to last until 1:00. (I had anticipated being the last person to deliver my quilt.)  So, the moral of this little tale....Even if you are sitting in the parking lot of the convention center using every last minute to sew the binding close...it can be worth the effort!

My favorite judge's comment was about how bindings should be smooth without puckers! If she only knew.

Now that all the drama has settled, it is back to things unfinished. I had pulled out the 10 completed blocks from the 2013 Saturday Sampler Block of the Month from a local quilt shop. I completed the last 2 today, but before I could get my sewing mess cleared away here comes...

It was just supposed to be a brainstorming session on what designs I wanted to fill in the "blank" spots...

Hey! No Sock Monkeys in this quilt!

...and before I knew what had really happened, I was coloring. 

I think I will call this quilt Saturday's at Home. I am going to color in those things that happen in my back yard. (Like mushrooms, toads and insects! And maybe some flowers too...dandelions teehee)

Lots and lots of coloring still to do!

Linking up with 

Happy Coloring, 

Tana

Nothin' Like Texas in the Springtime

~~Saturday, March 1st was spent outside in pleasant 70 degree weather. The hubby and I were giving our  flower gardens their Spring Cleaning. (I use the term flower garden very loosely.) We went to bed tired, but with the yard in great shape.

~~Now comes Sunday, March 2nd...66 degrees in the A.M.....46.....36.....rain starts around noon...then sleet...then 

BAM!

5:30 and it is light's out. 

Early evening and what to do? Well, color by candlelight of course! It was fun to see what colors had been used in the mornings light.

Normally our little cold spells last a day, maybe two. This one is forecast for two. Thank goodness the rescue squad was here within 18 hours. I was beginning to have techie withdrawals.

Spring on Ice

Stay warm out there!

Tana