Hello Everyone,
I am sure that most of you are familiar with Etsy? Well, this year I had been looking for some great hand dyed fabrics and there are tons of people out there on Etsy that sell them. I have purchased from three of them and everything that I have received I have absolutely loved. Very high quality and these ladies take pride in their work.
So one of these individuals, Chris, not only has an Etsy Shop, but a blog called Dye Candy that I follow too. She carries wonderful suede look hand dyed fabrics. I am very happy with mine. Recently she sent me a package, just for me and to my surprise.
It was a box loaded with the selvages of her hand dyed fabrics!!
You cannot believe how delighted I was to receive them. The colors are just gorgeous! Kind of confetti like.
I am loving looking at them so much, the color is just wonderful. A friend of mind suggested to just put them in a glass jar for decoration and so that I can oooh and aaah any time.
But I think that I would like to do something quilty like with them. This is where you all come in... I would love any suggestions that you might have. I am perfectly willing to try a new technique too. So go ahead leave me a comment with your thoughts and suggestions. I would so appreciate any.
Then go over and say hi to my friend Chris and take a look at all her Dye Candy!!
For some more dyed fabric inspiration, check out my other friends, Vicki and Karen. They also have wonderful hand dyed fabrics that would be a perfect addition to any stash!
Of note, I just added a ton of die cut 1930s Aunt Grace to my Etsy Shop... go take a peek.
Next time watch for my monthly newsletter and Episode 7 of my podcast!!
Next time watch for my monthly newsletter and Episode 7 of my podcast!!
Until Next Time...
42 comments:
i too adore the colours
Those are beautiful Jackie! There's a selvedge blog that shows lots of items made from selvedges -- you could search for that. I'd probably just do the glass jar thing and drool over them!
String blocks? What a pretty way to showcase all the colors!
one of the blogs I follow had a post with a tote made from salvage strips. Im trying to find it and when I do Ill give you the link :)super cute!!!!
how pretty - I'm afraid I have no ideas though. I think I would probably put them all in a clear glass decorative jar of some sort and just look at them.
Karen
http://karensquilting.com/blog/
What a delicious package! There is a new special issue from American Patchwork & Quilting (I can't remember the name -- it's not Quilts & More) with a cute pillow and pincushion project that your selvages might be perfect for. One sews raw edge strips to a background. Wouldn't the colors be great?! If I find the name of that mag, I'll email you -- it's in bookstores and quilt shops now (and costs $12.99...).
I would work them up into string blocks for sure! They are gorgeous.
What a great wall hanging they would make, and you could look at them that way all the time.
Funny you should ask I just found this yesterday and can't wait to start... http://selvageblog.blogspot.com/2008/12/how-to-make-red-zinger.html
It would be great with a black or white background with all of your pretty fabrics... also go http://www.selvageblog.blogspot.com/ here to see even more things you can do with them... I can't wait to see what you come up with.
I have friends who love hand dyed fabrics. I'll have to tell them about these sites.
I love the colors, I've never hand dyed, I'll need a class, I'm added you to my weekly blogs to watch, Beth
I think you should make a version of the "red zinger". Since your selvages are solid, you could use some of your great Kaffe Fasset prints for the centers. Check out the Selvage Blog for inspiration.
Man Oh Man, those are gorgeous! I'm working on a string quilt right now, so that's what I would do with them:-)
Dye candy eye candy! Delicious! They will make a gorgeous string quilt!
How beautiful! Do you crochet? They could be crocheted into a bag, basket etc. Or you could make the kind of basket that has strips of fabric wound around cording. :-) Have fun!
I think you could weave them together then zig zag stitch to hold them in place and either use as a wall hanging to look at for inspiration or if you have a lot they could possibly be made as placemats. Very cool either way I absolutely love them.
Beautiful! I think I would braid it for a table mat or depending on how much you have, a rug! Lucky you.
I think I would weave them and then sew them down like crazy!! I would also do tons of embellishing (couching, angelina fibers, beads, etc.). Whatever you do, have fun! I know it will be gorgeous when you are done.
What gorgeous color, candy is a great word!!
I would probably put them in the glass jar for a bit too.
When I first saw the pile of colors I thought of a ticker tape quilt.
http://crazymomquilts.blogspot.com/2009/09/ticker-tape.html
Those colours are divine.
Check out selvageblog.blogspot.com for ideas.
Have fun.
The first thing I thought of when I saw those selvages was crocheting or braiding a rug.
i think they're too narrow and such to try and sew together the way people normally do with selvages...so i'm with carrie...braid them all together then join to one long braid - coil that long braid to make a round rug...a few hand stitches here and there should hold the coil together...or do you remember the rug i wove on my rug loom? the loom with the nails on it? your strips would be perfect for making a rug on it! the colors are absolutely gorgeous!
p.s. again, i agree with carrie...crocheting these would be awesome! oh, the possiblities! ☺
Have you checked out the Selvage blog? I'm guessing you've seen it already but if not it's selvageblog.blogspot.com
she's got oodles of good selvage stuff. Those that you have there look good enough to eat!!!
I, too, would suggest pin-weaving them into placemat-shape and fusing the woven piece to a background to hold it in place; then bind as usual. But even easier is to tie the ends together and roll the long strings into balls of various sizes and place them in a glass bowl or jar on your coffee table -- they'll look spectacular!
Diane
What someone suggested already, string blocks! Very pretty!
Great colours! Knit them up into a rag rug? Or hows about loading some washaway fabric on your longarm, spary with a temporary adhesive lightly - lay strips down in pleasing pattern - layer another layer of solvy stuff on top and quilt throught the lot to make some fantasy fabric of your own - wash solvy away once done of course! You could even make a scarf this way and leave spaces between the strips of fabric and fill with thread loops to make machine lace to connect the slevedges.
Jennifer Ackerman Haywood has some pot holder looms that would be good for making pot holders too wiith them - shes at Craft Sanity
I like Dianes suggestion of putting them in a glass bowl though too !
I made a journal cover with mine
http://artbygene.blogspot.com/2009/11/selvedge-journal-cover-and-my-prizes.html
I wish I had had all those bright colors!
Hi Miss Jackie! Thank you for your thoughts and prayers for dh. He's doing as well as can be expected at this point. I know what you mean about getting caught up with blogs. With so much going on in my life, I have had little time to devote to blog reading. I see that you've been up to some really yummy things. I'll be back to read all about it real soon. Take care, hun, and thanks again!
Wow Jackie, thanks for your kind words!!! You have a lot of great suggestions. I can't wait to see what you decide to make. Chris
Hi Jackie,
I was also the luck recipient of Chris's salvages. I posted my project on my blog.
http://connie-makeeverythingright.blogspot.com/2009/09/weaving-with-salvages.html
Enjoy your goodies....
those colors are amazing! have fun with them!
Look at all these colors! They make me smile!
I can certainly see why she calls her fabrics Dye Candy! Gorgeous. I know whatever you do with the selvedges will be terrific.
pat sloan's web/blog page has the red zinger also. it is very pretty!! and from the looks of your pieces they are the right size.
please let us know and wee your finished project
Wow lots of lovely colours on the selvage...
I have been visisting your online shop and boy was I tempted to your aunt Graces jelly roll! Maybe some other time. Hmm I have spent way too much on fabrics this mounth as it is ;-))
love them. i agree they would look lovely on top of one of your Kaffe prints. take a look at this post. i would definitely leave the edges raggy.
what gorgeous colors!
what about doing a wall-hanging and you could iron them to some extent and then lay them down in strips next to each other on top of a square of fabric, maybe a neutral square, but then do a running stitch just to pin them down. then either make the whole thing strips in the same direction, or do like a nine patch of 8" squares of dark light dark, with the strips alternating direction, does that make sense? then you could have it hanging so you could enjoy all those lovely colors!! and if you REALLY wanted to be ambitious you could add beads or special stitches with colored embroidery floss or something.
Oh yummy! I would probably applique the strings onto a neutral background, like white, then there would be no waste of the beautiful coloured strings.
What a fun and fabulous gift! I love the idea of the glass jar... and every time you needed some color inspiration you could reach in and mix the strands up then look to see what colors happened to wind up next to each other. Or you could close your eyes and pull out 3 or 5 strands and then challenge yourself to use only those colors in a project. (My goodness, this sounds like such fun, I think I am going to make a selvage jar!)
It may have been said, but if they were mine (insert jealous sigh) I'd weave them! :)
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