11" X 17" 
Detail
This quilt is made with my hand-dyed fabrics, fused, and machine quilted.
Wednesday, June 28, 2006
spine doodle
Here is a small quilt I did last week. It started as a doodle, I think inspired by my spine. The doodle was done a while ago so I can’t be sure. However, I am very aware of my back since I have a fair bit of lower back pain on a regular basis. Even though the spine was the inspiration this piece is not about pain. It’s happy, colorful, vibrant! It was fun to make. I don’t have a name for it yet. I dread naming my quilts. I'm not much of a word person. I made a deal with my girlfriend that I’ll hem her pants if she’ll come up with names for my quilts. She is a poet and more of a wordsmith than me so was quite pleased with the deal. More quilts are on the way, so soon I’ll have a stack of ‘em for her to name. Fortunately, I won’t have to hem many pants since she’s tall.
11" X 17"
11" X 17" 
Tuesday, June 20, 2006
Vented Dye Mixing Box
i haven't been blogging for a while due to being crazy busy, but great. Hopefully, I'll be a regular now.
I made a little fume hood/dye mising box like they have in chemistry classes and industrial dye studios because I am worried about the carcinogenic affects of the dye powders or at the very least developing allergies to them like other dyers I know. When the dye is in powder form it isn’t good to breathe and of course the more you dye the more exposure you get. Once it’s mixed with the water it’s fine. So, I made this box with a bathroom exhaust fan in it and vented it out the wall. A friend of mine drilled the whole and installed the vent and also helped me with some of the electrical wiring on the box. I am not sure how affective it is, but I think it helps some. I still wear my respirator mask. It would be cool to be able to test it somehow, but I don’t know how to do that. Anyone else know how to test where powder is going in the air, to determine if it goes out the fan or not?
The fume hood in my dye studio.
I made a little fume hood/dye mising box like they have in chemistry classes and industrial dye studios because I am worried about the carcinogenic affects of the dye powders or at the very least developing allergies to them like other dyers I know. When the dye is in powder form it isn’t good to breathe and of course the more you dye the more exposure you get. Once it’s mixed with the water it’s fine. So, I made this box with a bathroom exhaust fan in it and vented it out the wall. A friend of mine drilled the whole and installed the vent and also helped me with some of the electrical wiring on the box. I am not sure how affective it is, but I think it helps some. I still wear my respirator mask. It would be cool to be able to test it somehow, but I don’t know how to do that. Anyone else know how to test where powder is going in the air, to determine if it goes out the fan or not?
The fume hood in my dye studio. 
A closer view
It has a plexiglas door that goes 3/4 down of the way. I just stick my hands in the opening when mixing.
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