Staying cool

That's exactly what I'm doing, except I'm painting fabric that I'll use in my quilts. It's been a scorcher the last few days and it's only getting worse, with no monsoon rain in sight. Stepping outside just to get the mail is brutal!

So I'm continuing to play with the fabric paints. And in Tucson's dry oven-like heat, I can put the wet painted fabric outside and it's dry in minutes!

Here's a little bit of what I've done the last few days.

The piece above is wet fabric arranged in soft folds. Below is how it looks after it has dried and been ironed flat. It still looks three-dimensional because as the fabric dries the paint wicks up to the highest points and creates darker areas.

This next green piece is silk organza drying in the sun. It's sheer, so I'll layer it over other colors. Or if I layer it over another green it will intensify the color, which is really exciting!

I like to embellish the dried fabric with stamps, smeared paint, splatters, over-painting, etc., to make it more interesting. Some of these pieces might become spirit dolls and others might end up in quilts or other projects.

I think I'm finally satisfied with my Dreams of the Land challenge piece, above. But I'll wait before stapling it around a frame in case I decide to add anything else. (It's not due until August.) Maybe a few stitches or beads here or there.

And this little orange guy is going to get stretched around an 8x10 frame and maybe become a gift or put up for sale. I can see doing a bunch of these little ones. With two months of brutal heat left, I'll have plenty of time.

p.s. I'm glad so many of you have told me that you ordered Sherrill Kahn's books. Send me pictures if you make anything inspired by them and I'll post them here!

Have a colorful day